Protecting Your Window Box Plants When the Cold Hits

When the weather gets colder, plants naturally start to die or go into hibernation.  This cycle is just the way of life, and gardeners know how to work with the changes in weather.  They also know how to get around them sometimes.

With your window box, depending on what you are growing, you can do both.

Cleaning Out the Window Box

If you grew flowers that were annuals (they have to be replanted each year) and they have started to die, collect their seeds and pull the plant out.  Save those seeds until next spring and plant the seeds back in the box after the last frost.  But during the late fall and winter, take the plant out to give the soil a much needed rest.

This is also a great time to take out any weeds and make repairs to your window box that may have occurred over the spring and summer growing season.

Once you have an empty box, think about using it to display some fall decorations like pumpkins and gourds.

Bringing in the Window Box

In the case that you have a window box that detaches and your plants are still doing well; bring them in for the colder months.  You can use the window box as an indoor planter and store it in a kitchen window or bay window space; anywhere that the plant can continue to receive a good dose of sunlight.

With bringing in the window box for the winter, there are two things that you need to keep in mind.  One, it is warmer and drier in your house than it is outside.  This means that you may have to water the plant more often and keep an eye on it to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.

Two, because you aren’t allowing the soil to rest you need to add nutrients back into the soil in the form of a fertilizer.  If you allow a plant to continually grow and grow in the same potted soil, it will eventually leach all of the nutrients out of the soil and then die.

Cover Up the Window Box

When the weather reports start calling for frost at night, it is time to think about protecting any plants you have remaining in your outdoor, window box.  The best way to protect a plant from frost is to prevent the frost from getting on it in the first place.

You can do this by wrapping a plastic bag (that has holes poked in it) around your window box.  You can also use pillow cases or create a frost tent. Frost tents are made with a stick in each corner of the window box and then have plastic or a good fabric placed over the sticks that fully cover the plant.  You can also further protect your plant by putting down grass clippings on the soil, to create a little more insulation for the roots against the cold.

Just remember, the goal is to keep the frost from settling on the plants in your window box to keep them healthy and growing for at least a little bit longer.