I live in an apartment with no access to a garden, so I compensate by having a couple deep (about 1 foot) window boxes on my balcony so I can enjoy some pretty fleurs. Unfortunately, my balcony gets a lot of sun during the day, and any flower I’ve had in those boxes has ended up fried to a crisp in only a few weeks, even with daily watering.
Is there a hardy annual out there that can withstand lots of sun and heat, and also survive dormant through the winter well? I live in Southwesten Ontario, Canada so our weather can climb to a blistering 40 degrees in the summer and then dip to -30 or even lower in the winter.
Hmmm. I don’t think you’ll find something for year round (although such plants exist for your climate of course).
By definition, annuals do NOT survive more than one growing season. If it’s perennials you want, don’t read further (just reread your post, sorry!)
I think you need to get some of the water retaining soil/potting mix out there. It’s more expensive than regular potting mix, but worth it for your purposes (small area, high water need).
What kind of effect are you going for? Bright and bold? How aboutmarigolds? Too dull? How aboutmoss roses(portulaca) mixed with alyssum? I haven’t had much luck with alyssum, but perhaps petunias (not my favorite flower, but an easy one to grow).
Google drought resistant flowering perennials to get some ideas. Perennials tend to be larger and also don’t bloom all season, so perhaps a mix of both annuals and perennials would work. Hope this helps.
Morning glories! You’ll have to re-plant each year, but the seeds are only like $1.75 us.
You might try some bulbs like full sun gladiolas or amaryllis, but they are significantly more expensive to purchase.
Have you considered (and do you have room) putting a small to medium sized potted shrub to provide some shade for more sun sensitive flowering plants?
I’ve had a few common perennials that did well in a very narrow and shallow plot surrounded by nothing but cement and blacktop (driveway). They got full sun all day long and lots of heat. Damn it all if I can remember what they were, though (they were purple). My sunflowers did very well in those conditions as well. Of course, I watered the hell out of them (in the morning or evening).
Survival of any perennial or hardy shrub is very doubtful under your conditions, unless you have a basement storage space that is cool in winter.
As for annuals, in addition to lantana and portulaca, others that can take heat and scorching sun include Cosmos sulphureus, Zinnia (esp. Z. angustifolia) and Salvia splendens varieties.
One thing you can try to prevent summer burnout is to mix some moisture retention crystals into your potting soil. With a steady moisture supply the plants might do better.
Hmmm, those moss roses are looking like an option so far! I’ve had morning glories in the past, and while they did last longer than other flowers, they did end up crispy eventually. The roses’ foliage looks tougher, so that may be a plus.
Petunias are cheap and pretty solid. You can get a nice color variety going. I’m opposed to lantana, which, though easy to grow, will out-compete anything else you have going, grow woody and spiky, and smell like weeds.
If it gets as sunny and hot as you say, have you considered cactus? Might make for a pretty box, and cactus flowers are as pretty as they come.
I’ve thought about cactuses, but are there North American varieties of cactus that can winter without being killed by the cold? I can’t bring the boxes inside during the winter as they’re fairly large, and I have a tiny apartment and no room for them indoors.
Another vote for petunias. Mine get lots of sun and heat reflected from the house, and they don’t die until frost, even without watering.
Would coleus work? I’ve had them in sun and they’ll wilt, but they revive quickly after watering. I like that they wilt – some plants won’t tell you when they’re thirsty, they just die.
One perennial that might be able to tolerate those conditions would be one of the hardy Sedums. There are a lot of different sedums - some of them are small groundcovers and others are tall showy plants like Sedum “Autumn Joy”, so you have a lot of options. Since sedums are succulent, they are more forgiving of hot and dry conditions than a lot of other plants are.
Probably wouldn’t survive at temps as low as you describe. If you had room, I’d say just empty the boxes, plant cacti in flowerpots, then put the pots inside the boxes, taking them indoors for the winter, but since you say you have no room for that, forget I even mentioned it.
There are plenty of cold hardy cactus species. Some that grow outdoors around my home (Indiana, Zone 5) are theAgave , Prickly Pear and Hens and Chickens .
Is there some reason that annual geraniums (pelargoniums) are a no-go? I’m surprised no one mentioned them yet. There are a lot of varieties, colors range from white through deep red, with stops at salmon, rose, fuchsia, and other intermediate colors. There are varieties with striped flowers as well, and showy one (the Martha Washington varieties). There are regular old zonal pelargoniums with the round leaves, and ivy-leaved ones that trail. There are even scented-leaf varieties, from apple to mint to chocolate to pineapple.
