On 8/2/11 8:21 PM, wrote:
"David E. Ross" writes:

On 8/2/11 5:33 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
On Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:42:15 -0500, Chris Thompson
wrote:

Hi all

I just inherited a rectangular planter, about 3 feet by 16 inches by 16
inches deep. I am looking for suggestions on what to stick in there. I live
in Rockaway, NYC, close to the ocean, so salt might be an issue. We do get
hard freezes here. I would prefer some kind of hardy perennial. Would some
lilacs do OK in that size planter? I don't know if they could take the
winters. Thanks

Chris

Put an evergreen azalea into it. I have grown them successfully here
in Northern NJ in tubs. They do well, will provide you with blossoms
in the spring and will be an easy to manage shrub the rest of the
year.

When I lived in Manhattan, I did not have your sea breezes, but did
all my terrace gardening in containers. I even had a large ginko for
years and years..

Best of luck.

Boron

I too had thought about azaleas. Since I'm not familiar with your
climate, however, I was not sure they would do well.

Your container is the right size for two. With careful watering and
feeding, it might even hold three. There are many great varieties. You
might consider 'Inga', which I found was a repeat bloomer that sometimes
bloomed not only in the spring but also once or twice in the summer. My
favorite is 'George Taber', which I have as an informal hedge in front
of my camellias; but it blooms only once a year.

Azaleas bloom once in the spring in the north.


Azaleas bloom once in the spring here in southern California, too.
Except 'Inga' bloomed 2-3 times a year for me while in a container.
This included early spring, late spring into early summer, and mid-summer.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:53:01 -0700, "David E. Ross"
wrote:

On 8/2/11 5:33 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
On Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:42:15 -0500, Chris Thompson
wrote:

Hi all

I just inherited a rectangular planter, about 3 feet by 16 inches by 16
inches deep. I am looking for suggestions on what to stick in there. I live
in Rockaway, NYC, close to the ocean, so salt might be an issue. We do get
hard freezes here. I would prefer some kind of hardy perennial. Would some
lilacs do OK in that size planter? I don't know if they could take the
winters. Thanks

Chris

Put an evergreen azalea into it. I have grown them successfully here
in Northern NJ in tubs. They do well, will provide you with blossoms
in the spring and will be an easy to manage shrub the rest of the
year.

When I lived in Manhattan, I did not have your sea breezes, but did
all my terrace gardening in containers. I even had a large ginko for
years and years..

Best of luck.

Boron

I too had thought about azaleas. Since I'm not familiar with your
climate, however, I was not sure they would do well.

Your container is the right size for two. With careful watering and
feeding, it might even hold three. There are many great varieties. You
might consider 'Inga', which I found was a repeat bloomer that sometimes
bloomed not only in the spring but also once or twice in the summer. My
favorite is 'George Taber', which I have as an informal hedge in front
of my camellias; but it blooms only once a year.

I think Rockaway is Zone 7a and I know the common southern azaleas
can't make it up here in 7a. I am not familiar enough with the
California ones, specifically those you mention, to know if they'd
hold, either, but I think Tabor is a bit tender.

Boron

On Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:21:09 -0400, wrote:

"David E. Ross" writes:

On 8/2/11 5:33 PM, Boron Elgar wrote:
On Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:42:15 -0500, Chris Thompson
wrote:

Hi all

I just inherited a rectangular planter, about 3 feet by 16 inches by 16
inches deep. I am looking for suggestions on what to stick in there. I live
in Rockaway, NYC, close to the ocean, so salt might be an issue. We do get
hard freezes here. I would prefer some kind of hardy perennial. Would some
lilacs do OK in that size planter? I don't know if they could take the
winters. Thanks

Chris

Put an evergreen azalea into it. I have grown them successfully here
in Northern NJ in tubs. They do well, will provide you with blossoms
in the spring and will be an easy to manage shrub the rest of the
year.

When I lived in Manhattan, I did not have your sea breezes, but did
all my terrace gardening in containers. I even had a large ginko for
years and years..

Best of luck.

Boron

I too had thought about azaleas. Since I'm not familiar with your
climate, however, I was not sure they would do well.

Your container is the right size for two. With careful watering and
feeding, it might even hold three. There are many great varieties. You
might consider 'Inga', which I found was a repeat bloomer that sometimes
bloomed not only in the spring but also once or twice in the summer. My
favorite is 'George Taber', which I have as an informal hedge in front
of my camellias; but it blooms only once a year.

Azaleas bloom once in the spring in the north.


I have two plants that make a valiant effort to bloom very sparsely on
and off during the summer. Both were here when I moved in, so I do not
know what they are. They are very low, stiff limbed varieties that
drape over a support wall. They are misfits, and cannot be said to
truly re-bloom, but I get a laugh out of them.

They could be great local oddities, too. There was an azalea and
rhododendron breeder a 5 minute walk from my house (her home nursery
grounds are now an arboretum) and this whole area is flower-sprinkled
with her "leavings" every spring.

Boron

On Aug 1, 3:42*pm, Chris Thompson
wrote:
Hi all

I just inherited a rectangular planter, about 3 feet by 16 inches by 16
inches deep. I am looking for suggestions on what to stick in there. I live
in Rockaway, NYC, close to the ocean, so salt might be an issue. We do get
hard freezes here. I would prefer some kind of hardy perennial. Would some
lilacs do OK in that size planter? I don't know if they could take the
winters. Thanks

Chris

Any planter above ground will experience colder winters than things
planted in the ground.
As a result you may want to look at plants hardy in zone 4 .