Topic of the Day: Blooming Windows and Balcony Boxes

Topic of the Day - Blooming Windows

Custom blooming windows are something every skilled grower would love to have. With our guide, you can easily choose and plant a window box. If you have, for example, 60 cm long window boxes, count on three pieces of the main plant per box. If you're planning on geraniums, they prefer a drier substrate rather than regular watering. If you're considering purchasing self-watering window boxes, you'll need to gradually train some plants to use these boxes. Let the self-watering box dry out even for geraniums and only then add water. On the other hand, if you've fallen in love with petunias, they'll be happy in self-watering window boxes and therefore prefer more than regular watering. You can also try less common species this year. Choose carefully, according to the location and flower colors of plants that will bring you joy from spring to autumn.

How to Do It

Prepare window boxes that we thoroughly wash and dry. Don't be afraid to really scrub them with a brush, removing all possible mold spores, etc. If you have wooden window boxes, definitely impregnate them with a coat of wood preservative or apply a new coat of wood paint. If you have new ceramic containers and pots, it's advisable to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before planting.

The foundation is to purchase or mix a suitable substrate. The substrate consists of four components: peat, silica sand, topsoil with high nutrient content (into which compost or farmyard manure has been incorporated). Peat can be replaced with well-composted aged tree bark and leaf mold. We mix the soil in proportions according to the requirements of individual flower species. For begonias and heather plants, we mix light peaty soil. For drought-tolerant plants, we mix light permeable soil with a predominance of sand and without peat. Common annuals are sown in standard good garden soil, with the addition of a small amount of peat. We can mix in suitable fertilizer, for example, cererit. It depends on the concentration of fertilizer you use. Always read the instructions. Generally, for 1 liter of soil, use 0.5-5 grams of fertilizer.

At the bottom of the window box, prepare a drainage layer of pebbles, gravel, or coarse sand. On this drainage, place a thin layer of peat. Then add the mixed substrate according to the type of plants we've chosen to beautify our window sill. Fill the window box with soil to the brim and press down well. After watering, the soil will settle further.

Plant selection is important. It's natural that we don't put heat-loving flower species in window boxes that don't get sun, and vice versa - we won't plant begonias on the south side of the house. We sow plants in window boxes after May 15th, when spring frosts are no longer a threat.

Watering is carried out according to plant requirements. It's important not to let the substrate dry out. On hot and dry days, water generously. In spring and autumn, water moderately. We recommend watering with settled water.

Tip: You can also water with boiled, settled water. Feel free to steep a bag of black tea left over from breakfast in this water.

Fertilizing - in the small space of a window box, plants will quickly deplete nutrients. Roots will grow throughout the entire space of the box. It's therefore good to supply them with nutrients continuously using commercial fertilizers. This will help plants achieve richer and longer-lasting flowering periods. We definitely don't recommend using fertilizers with nitrogen content, as these help plants develop lush foliage, not flowers. In spring and autumn, we fertilize once every three weeks. During the flowering period, we add fertilizer continuously with regular watering.

If you have window boxes on higher floors (at higher elevations), plants may be damaged by strong winds. Therefore, choose more resistant and low-growing varieties. We recommend - lobelia, ice plant, stonecrop, cinquefoil and dusty miller.

If you have a weakness for climbing and trailing plants, plant your boxes with sweet pea, scarlet runner bean, nasturtium, and others such as ornamental varieties of morning glory, bindweed, and more. These plants create natural shade over where we sow them.

The most commonly sown plants for window boxes are - begonias, pelargoniums, fuchsias, marigolds, heathers and petunias. Perhaps less known options include ivy (for north-facing and shaded areas), gazania (for south-facing areas). Cosmos, everlasting flower, busy lizzie, mignonette and pansy are suitable for sunny spots. Cypress is suitable for larger summer containers.

Now we'll introduce you to a lesser-known but very interesting annual, suitable for flowering window boxes:

Gazania - the origin of this plant is in Africa. In our regions, it is grown as an annual. It belongs to the Asteraceae family. The most common color is yellow. However, there are many hybrid varieties in different color mutations. Gazania blooms from July to August. If we pre-grow it, it blooms from June to September. We sow Gazania from February to April at room temperature of 18-20°C. As soon as the plants emerge, we thin them out and transplant one plant at a time. Gazania prefers a sunny location. It can tolerate even light frosts. During the growing season, we water the plant moderately, avoiding overwatering. We never let the root ball dry out completely. If we want to overwinter the plant, we move it to a dry and frost-free place. In spring, we cut the plants back by half and remove all dried parts completely. We plant them in containers 20 cm apart. If you want to combine them in a container, they get along well with pelargoniums, petunias and marigolds, which prefer the same substrate and location. With their colors, they generally suit any other annual. We definitely fertilize Gazania, like any abundantly flowering plant. We recommend fertilizing once a week with liquid fertilizer in the watering. During the flowering period, we continuously remove faded and dried flowers. This helps the plant produce new blooms. On rainy days, Gazania flowers close.

Author: Hana Michalíková