On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 19:23:35 +0100, Kay
wrote:

Does anyone have any ideas for a trailing plant for a really dry window
box?

It's high up on the toilet window sill, so I don't bother watering it.
Atm it has orange flowered aloes and grey echeverias, but I really need
something that will trail down the front. I've tried a trailing sedum
'burro's tail' (can't remember its botanical name) but that didn't
survive the winter.

So I need something succulent, doesn't need full sun (it faces E and
there are trees blocking the sun from S) that can tolerate wet soil and
low temperatures in winter (though obviously there is some heat loss
from the toilet which means it isn't as cold as it would be in the
ground).

I think Euphorbia myrsinites might do, but does anyone have any other
ideas?

If you can grow aloes, Aloe ciliaris is a scrambly crawly one that
might trail, and grows outside on Tresco and St. Michael's Mount in
Cornwall. It has bright red flowers. Aloe meyeri actually hangs upside
down from cliff faces, but where you'd get the latter, I don't know.

Some of the perennial mezems are also fairly trailing, at least they
do on the cliffs around here. The two common ones are Carpobrotus
edulis (Hottentot fig), 3-inch long fleshy triangular-section leaves
like potato chips, with variously pale pink or pale yellow flowers,
but not very floriferous. I think the other is a Disphyma, with little
fat sausages for leaves and bright magenta flowers in plenty. Both
take a light frost and withstand gales and heavy salt spray (not that
it'll experience the latter on your windowsill!). They'll take winter
wet as long as the soil is well-drained.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net