Lots of things work and it will be fun to see what people use. I use a lot of white pine and spruce. Leucothoe winterburns badly here. Could I offer three tips?

1--The more sun the window boxes get, the faster they brown and dry out. Take that into consideration.

2--Try to fill your window boxes before the soil in them freezes. I made the mistake of waiting too long one year. They were frozen solid and I had to drag them indoors-they weighed a ton--and leave them for days til they defrosted so I could stick stems in them.

3--One common green that is not very successful is Canadian hemlock. It loses its needles very fast.

I have always wanted to try greens in our containers, but I never feel I have enough to prune off of what we have without altering the shape of shrubs that I like the shape of. How do you manage that?

So, you leave winter tolerant containers that have had the annuals pulled from them from the summer and leave the soil in them and just stick greens in them?

I was thinking I might be able to buy some at a nursery to use, maybe?

Has anyone used Spruce? Blue Holly? Taxus? I might be able to get enough of those. Taxus might not be the prettiest though.

pm2

Wendy & Ginny,
Leucothoe burns excessively in my neck of the woods but does react favorably to spraying with anti desiccants ie Wilt Pruf, which are also marketed as good for preserving Xmas trees and cuttings. I have been told that Ilex will tolerate pruning year round so I put off pruning mine until the holiday season.

pm, in my case, I have pine trees all around the perimeter of my lot which helps. Its the only time of year I appreciate them!!!

I thin out crowded seedlings or lower limbs that are encroaching my cultivated space. I let the pines be the filler and I accent with smaller amounts of everything else. Three 6' tall hollies helps too. Initially I was going to keep them natural and not prune them at all. But they really don't look so good that way, so I just take off some wayward branches. With the Leucothoe,seems that a little goes a long way. The pine branches trail a little bit. Sometimes I stick in some dried/dead hydrangea blooms if they dried somewhat decent looking. Or some winter accents from Christmas Tree shop. Or Winterberry branches. Or Red Dogwood branches.

I suspect that greens in the garden center will be pricey. I recall seeing them sometimes and being amazed at how much they get for them. Actually, I was at a local farmstand just yesterday and they were selling a bunch of what looked like winterberry branches, but it was actually something else whose name escapes me. I looked at the price and flipped out. I forget how much...$15 $20 or thereabouts.

kt, good idea re Wilt Pruf. I watered the containers well and a I even threw on a bit of mulch too. but WP should help, especially if we have any mild stretches.

I like a mix of textures, and I use what I have available, so mine usually have white pine, spruce (not sure what kind), juniper, hemlock, evergreen holly and occasionally winterberry holly, and occasionally balsam fir. Leather gloves are helpful since the spruce, holly leaves, and juniper can all be pretty prickly.

I usually do two - one for my home under a red maple, and one against the east-facing front of the local school. I haven't noticed any branches fading faster than any of the others, except the broadleafed holly when there isn't much snow. We typically don't have midwinter thaws, though, and early spring thaw is when they really start looking tattered, so maybe how well they last is more of a function of the weather cycles.

In years the soil has frozen, I have used a screwdriver to make holes to put the branches into, though it has never been frozen totally solid, just a couple of inches down.

Thanks Wendy and NHbabs...I think I will try that this year. I imagine it is better to wait to put them in the containers until we are having consistently colder weather? I like the gloves and the screwdriver tips. :-)

Weston Nurseries did a blurb in their newsletter on Wiltpruf this month and mentioned they are good for wreaths and cut greens.

pm2