Window box planter wood selection?

[Michael Poller]

Hi All,

The fiance wants me to make planter boxes for the house.

She is looking to stain instead of paint. Also said she will take them down and store them in the house in the winters (we live in central MA).

Looking for input regarding wood choices.

Aside from looking good stained, they will be taken down for the winter and stored indoors, so the wood doesn't necessarily need to stand up to cold New England winters, just wet springs and summers.

Thoughts off the top of my head are the standards like Redwood and Teak, but thought I would see what other suggestions folks have for this newbie to woodworking.

Also, if you have any good sources for designs, that would be appreciated as that is another factor that hasn't been settled on yet.

Thanks in advance for the help,
Mike

[Josiah Bartlett]

No.1 clear cedar is the standard here in the wet, not very cold Pacific NW. Make sure whatever stain you use isn't toxic to your plants, my mom made that mistake once. It will leach into the soil.

[Ben Cadotte]

I agree on Cedar. We used to live in Hingham Ma, and I did the first ones in pine and painted them. There is a reason I said first ones. The wood oils bled through the paint. The end pieces cracked. Lasted 3 years tops.

The second set, I bought rough sawn cedar from the local lumber yard and planed down the rough side. I did better with these and put slots in the bottom. Covered the insides with the garden fabric. That way water could drain and not loose the soil. I left them up year round and after 3 years they were just fine (moved away). I did not finish these. I let them start to go to the natural grey.

One thing I did on the second one's that I didn't do on the first. Was make templates for the front face boards. I rough cut really fast on the band saw, and finished the curves with a router using a guide and template. Went at least twice as fast. And they matched each other much better. I still have the templates. But the windows in my new house are 6" wider than the old. Have not done any for the new house yet. Other more pressing projects. But I think I will do the Cedar again when it comes time.

[Chris Padilla]

Cedar is a fine choice, redwood would work well, and cypress is another one. White oak is pretty durable as well but could be on the heavy side. I'd suggest Ipe, too, but also pretty heavy.

Teak would be mighty pricey for such a piece....

[Tom Godley]

In my area of the east, redwood is not available in any regular yard. We used to be able to buy planters out of redwood years ago and they held up quite well just using them as a pot filled with dirt.

About 15 years ago I decided to make a set -- I did them out of no 1 cedar. I wanted them to look nice so I bought wide boards and used large band clamps at the top and bottom so the wood could move -- they still cracked and twisted.

I had the best luck making them out of smaller strips of cedar for the front, back and bottom then used brass tacks with nice heads to hold them together. I used three small pots and put moss around them to make it look like the whole planter was filled with dirt. I wanted to find a single plastic liner - but could never find one that was the correct size for the boxes I was making. They still weathered more than I like.

The last set I gave up and made them out of the PVC lumber

[Greg Hines, MD]

I would suggest Cypress. It is tough, very weather resistant, and fairly light. It will take stain well, or you can let it weather to a silver-grey color.

Doc

[Dave Lehnert]

Being cheap. I used cedar dog eared fencing boards. They come a little rough but ran them through the planer. Worked great and I keep them out doors year round. Must be 10 years old now. They would look good in the rough also.

[Joe Mioux]

Being in the greenhouse business my three definitive choices are Redwood, Cedar and or Cypress.

All will work well for your planters.

joe

[Hank Knight]

I made some window boxes for LOML 5 or 6 years ago from cypress. I painted them with white latex paint to match our wood trim and they look as good today as the day I put them up. I think one reason they have held up as well as they have is that I made them to hold rectangular plastic "liners" that you can find at the big box stores. No soil touches the boxes. My wife can change the plantings by simply lifting the liners out, replanting them and putting them back in. I also made them with lots of drainage in the bottoms so water doesn't stand in them. Cypress is great for this project, but I think white oak, cedar or redwood would work as well. Oak is heavier than the rest by a good bit.

My $.02.

Hank

[Dave Dionne]

Hi Mike
I live over the boarder in New Hampster and Northlands lumber in Kingston has Cypressf or $2.75 bd ft. or my local lowes is carrying 5/4 red cedar deck boards nor sure of the price. Either one will hold up nice in our weather. I myself use Northern White cedar but I got 400 bd ft at $.64 a bd ft or short up to 6' long cheap wood for my outdoor projects(mini gloat)

Dave

[Brian Penning]

I made some window boxes for LOML 5 or 6 years ago from cypress. I painted them with white latex paint to match our wood trim and they look as good today as the day I put them up. I think one reason they have held up as well as they have is that I made them to hold rectangular plastic "liners" that you can find at the big box stores. No soil touches the boxes. My wife can change the plantings by simply lifting the liners out, replanting them and putting them back in. I also made them with lots of drainage in the bottoms so water doesn't stand in them. Cypress is great for this project, but I think white oak, cedar or redwood would work as well. Oak is heavier than the rest by a good bit.

My $.02.

Hank

I did the same thing except my boxes have no bottoms. The container lips overhang the wood box sides. They're now 10 years old.
Come planting time I simply lift the containers out of the bottomless boxes and bring them over to the Mrs to do all her planting at her bench.
After she's done we simply drop them into their boxes.

[Bill Fellmy]

I have used cedar for several standalone planter boxes and finished them with a 50-50 mixture of tung oil and spar varnish. They sit out year round in Central Indiana, and an adjustable shelf allows LOML to change out the plants, which stay in their own containers, to fit the season. Here's a pic of one I just finished for her.

[Tom Godley]

I have not used cypress -- also not easy to get in the mid atlantic -- Although I did just order some for a big green egg grill I purchased.

I do not know what you guys are doing to keep them looking nice -- I think the sun alone on the front of my house did them in.

And forget anything at the beach.

[Dave Lehnert]

Forgot to add. I use auto undercoating in spray cans to paint the inside of the window boxes. They have held up good