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ISO suggestions for front-porch plant/no awning/very small space

10 years ago

Hi all!
I am new here and hope to get some good suggestions..

Our house is small and very blah. Pretty limited with what we can work with due to the very small front porch (about less than 5' x 5' square, no joke). I bought a ceramic planter that I love and goes well with the color scheme of the house (kind of a marigold base color with chocolate/mocha brown and green stripes). The house is a yellow brick with a very dark (almost black) wooden front door with a white screen door on the outside. When the screen door opens to let people out or in, of course that swings out and takes up a good portion of what is left of the mini-porch (if you can even call it a porch???).

I need a small-ish medium sized plant. The planter is about 10 to 12 inches tall and about 8 to 10 inches in diameter at the top and about 7 to 8 inches in diameter at the bottom/base. I am looking for a plant that will not need to be re-potted, but can stay in/live in this planter for a long, long time.

There is no awning or covering whatsoever, and the mid to late-afternoon sun that hits the front of the house can be pretty wicked.

Then there is the issue of the weather.
We live in western PA. We get a LOT of rain and a lot of winds these last few years. I suppose I could move the plant to the garage if the weather gets really to bad during the spring/summer (and will have to in the winter months). So I need a pretty hearty plant (or flowers?) that can get pretty beat and still thrive..is there one...? --and one that can live in this pot for a very, very long time, as I do not have room for a bigger pot on the porch..One final note, not sure if worth mentioning or not, but it gets quite humid here........

Any ideas...?
I am not too particular as to colors, as long as it fits the other needs..I know this is a tall order..thanks so much!!!

This post was edited by mstilly on Tue, Feb 25, 14 at 17:07

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Comments (2)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Does the pot have a hole in the bottom? A pot this size may dry out every day in hot weather. Left outside below freezing, it could crack.

'Porch pots' are usually planted fresh each spring, and almost as often, changed at least once when the first plant fizzles from the heat of mid-summer. The sun beating down from above creates heat, and will probably heat up the porch to a sizzling degree. Even plants that like to be in the sun all day can get too hot at the roots to do well in these conditions. Knowing what the porch is made of would help predict possible heat levels.

If you feel like adding a pic of the front of your house, you might get some suggestions beyond plants that one might put in a pot on the porch. Maybe an idea you hadn't considered.
MarenAL
10 years ago
I have Star Jasmine on my porches in pots- very hardy, and if you have any structure for it to climb or wind around, it will grow a nice green trail with spring blooming white flowers.
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