🪴 Step by step
❄️ Winter balcony
🌿 In brief
A successful winter window box combines four types of plant: an evergreen structural plant that adds height, a plant with flowers, buds or berries for colour, foliage that changes colour in the cold, and a trailing plant to soften the edge. Plant it between October and December, closely spaced, in a frost-resistant window box with drainage holes. In winter, water sparingly, on frost-free days. And in spring, nothing gets thrown away: each plant goes into its own pot.
In November, most balcony window boxes empty out or fade. Yet there is a whole palette of plants that show their best colour in the depths of winter: white flowers that open in the cold, red buds that last until March, foliage that turns burgundy in the frost. Here is how to choose them, combine them and plant them to keep your balcony alive until spring.
The four roles in a window box
A winter window box barely grows: the plants stay more or less the size they are when you put them in until spring. So the arrangement has to look right from the moment you plant it. The simplest approach is to think in four roles, as you would for a bouquet.
Structure
An upright evergreen, taller than the others, that adds height and stays green whatever the weather: a dwarf spruce Picea glauca 'Conica' in a small size, a skimmia 'Finchy' or a heavenly bamboo 'Obsessed Seika'.
Colour
Flowers, buds or berries that catch the eye in midwinter: the Christmas rose 'Christmas Carol' with its white flowers, or skimmia 'Rubella' with its clusters of red buds that last from October to March.
Foliage
Leaves that change colour in the cold and tie the other plants together: leucothoes such as 'Scarletta' turn bronze-burgundy, while carex 'Ice Dance' adds a bright, airy touch.
Trailing plants
A plant that spills over and softens the edge of the window box, most often a variegated ivy such as ivy 'Goldheart' with its golden centre, or variegated Persian ivy.
For a 60 to 80 cm window box, allow one structural plant, two colour plants, one or two foliage plants and two trailing plants at the ends. For a small railing box, a single colour plant and an ivy are enough.
Choosing by aspect
In winter the sun is low, and a north- or east-facing balcony gets very little direct light. The good news is that most winter plants are woodland plants, which actually prefer partial shade.
| Role | Partly shaded or shady balcony | Sunny balcony |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Skimmia 'Finchy', Picea glauca 'Conica' | Picea glauca 'Conica', Nandina 'Obsessed Seika' |
| Colour | Christmas rose 'Christmas Carol', Skimmia 'Rubella' | Nandina 'Blush Pink' with its pink foliage, hellebore 'Diamonfire' in gentle sun |
| Foliage | Leucothoe 'Scarletta', Leucothoe 'Makijaz', Carex 'Ice Dance' | Festuca, Carex and Uncinia grasses |
| Trailing | Variegated Persian ivy | Ivy 'Goldheart' |
Next to the window box, a standard shrub in a large pot carries the arrangement upwards: standard holly 'Blue Maid' with its red berries, or standard euonymus 'Emerald 'n' Gold', whose golden foliage turns coppery red in winter. Our guide to choosing plants for your balcony helps you work out which way yours faces.
Three combinations that work
The Christmas classic: red, white and green
A dwarf spruce 'Conica' in the centre, a Christmas rose 'Christmas Carol' on one side, a skimmia 'Rubella' on the other, and a cream-variegated ivy trailing over both ends. To save space, the Festival skimmia duo brings red and white buds together in a single compact pot.
Pink and burgundy tones
Combine hellebore 'Angel Glow' with its frosted pink flowers, leucothoe 'Scarletta' with its bronze-burgundy foliage, and heavenly bamboo 'Blush Pink' in the background. A soft scheme that looks very bright on grey days.
White and silver
Combine skimmia 'Finchy' with its creamy white buds, 'Double Ellen White' for late winter, hellebore 'Silver Dollar' with its silver-grey foliage, leucothoe 'Makijaz' splashed with white, and carex 'Ice Dance'. Ideal in a white or light grey window box on a north-facing balcony.
Planting your window box step by step
The best time is from October to December, on a frost-free day. The earlier you plant, the better the roots establish before the hard frosts.
- Choose the window box. It must have drainage holes, be frost-resistant and be at least 20 cm deep. For a railing, a hanging window box such as the Elho Greenville Easy Balcony in white or green, with a water reservoir, keeps the balcony floor clear.
- Drain the bottom. A 2 to 3 cm layer of clay pebbles or gravel stops the roots from sitting in cold water.
- Prepare the potting soil. A good-quality multi-purpose potting soil, lightened with a little perlite, suits all these plants for one winter. Our guide to understanding substrates details these materials.
- Arrange the plants while still in their pots. Try out the arrangement before planting: structure in the centre or at the back, colour around it, trailing plants along the front edge and at the ends.
- Plant closely. In winter, plants do not grow: set the root balls almost touching for a full look from day one. Keep each root ball at the same level as in its original pot.
- Fill and water. Fill the gaps with potting soil, firming it gently, then water generously to drive out air pockets.
- Finish neatly. A mulch of bark, moss or a few pine cones hides the potting soil and stops it drying out too quickly.
Winter care
Water sparingly, but do not forget
A window box sheltered by the balcony above often gets no rain at all. Winter wind also dries out the potting soil more than you might think. Check with your finger every one to two weeks and water when the top few centimetres are dry, on the morning of a frost-free day, so that the water has time to drain away. Never water frozen potting soil. The finger test is still the best guide.
Protecting the roots from frost
All the plants in this article are hardy, but in the small volume of a window box, the soil freezes much faster than in the ground. In very cold weather, move the window box close to the wall of the building, raise it on pot feet if it stands on the floor, and wrap it in horticultural fleece or bubble wrap, leaving the foliage uncovered. Our guide to overwintering your balcony details these measures.
A little tidying up
Remove damaged leaves and faded hellebore flowers. No fertiliser in winter: the plants are dormant and do not need it.
🐾 With pets
Hellebores, ivies, leucothoes and skimmias are toxic if eaten. The dwarf spruce 'Conica' and carex 'Ice Dance' are non-toxic. If your cat chews the balcony plants, place the window box out of its reach. Our guide to cats, dogs and plants helps you get them living together safely.
What to do with the plants in spring
A winter window box is not disposable: all these plants are perennials and shrubs that live for years. In March or April, when you want to move on to spring flowers, lift them carefully and give each one its own pot.
- Hellebores, skimmias and leucothoes spend the summer in the shade, in a pot slightly larger than their root ball. Skimmias and leucothoes then appreciate a slightly acidic potting soil.
- The dwarf spruce 'Conica' moves to a wider pot, in partial shade for the summer: it dislikes dry heat and soil that dries out completely.
- The ivies and carex can stay in the window box alongside the summer planting.
- In October, simply plant them together again to get your winter window box back, even fuller than before.
Our guide to combining plants in pots has more arrangement ideas for the rest of the year.
Mistakes to avoid
⚠️ Avoid
Planting too far apart. In winter, nothing grows: the gaps stay empty until spring.
Using a window box without drainage holes. Water collects, freezes and damages the roots.
Forgetting to water under a sheltered balcony. Without rain, the root ball dries out even in midwinter.
Watering on a frosty day. The water freezes in the potting soil instead of draining away.
Choosing houseplants. Florist's cyclamen and indoor ivies cannot take frost: always check hardiness.
Our selection
You now know how to put your window box together. Here are the plants for each role.
For structure
Evergreen and upright, they add height and stay green all winter.
Dwarf spruce Picea glauca 'Conica'View →
Skimmia 'Finchy'View →
Heavenly bamboo 'Obsessed Seika'View →
View our cold- and frost-hardy plants →
For colour
White flowers, red buds: these are what make a winter window box.
View our plants for shady balconies →
For foliage
They change colour in the cold and tie the other plants together.
View our plants for partial shade →
Trailing plants and the window box
Variegated ivies to soften the edge, and a window box to hang on the railing.
Verdeia — Winter balcony
A colourful balcony until spring
Christmas roses, skimmias, leucothoes, dwarf spruces: all our hardy plants for a window box that lasts all winter.
Frequently asked questions
Combine an evergreen structural plant such as a dwarf spruce or a skimmia, a colour plant such as the Christmas rose, foliage that changes colour such as leucothoe or carex, and an ivy trailing over the edge.
From October to December, on a frost-free day. The earlier you plant, the better the roots establish before the hard frosts.
Yes, but sparingly: when the top few centimetres of potting soil are dry, on the morning of a frost-free day. A window box sheltered by a balcony often gets no rain at all.
The plants are hardy, but the soil freezes quickly in a window box. In very cold weather, move it close to the wall, raise it off the ground and wrap it in horticultural fleece.
Replant each plant in its own pot, in partial shade for the summer. They are perennials and shrubs that live for years: you can plant them together again the following autumn.
Well planted
The right window box for your balcony
Hanging window boxes, frost-resistant pots and planters to give your winter plants a lasting home.
