What Type of Wood is Needed to Build a Planter Box?
If you're looking to buy or build a garden box, choosing which type of wood or wooden garden box works best for you can get a bit confusing. Though there are many different types of wood from which to choose, the three most common types of wood used for outdoor gardening and furniture are teak, redwood and cedar. There are also a wide variety of other tropical hardwoods that are equally sturdy and attractive. Garden boxes are great for growing vegetables, and can be part of any raised or tiered garden. Does this Spark an idea?
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Choices
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Pressure-treated wood tends to shrink over time and doesn't take stain or paint well until the wood dries out, as the wood is sold before it is dried. Left alone, it fades to a silvery gray. Redwood is the longest lasting of the natural woods and takes stain well, but some paints adhere poorly and peel in a few years. Cedar paints and stains well and will last a long time if maintained.
Function
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Choose pressure-treated wood where stain or paint are unimportant or unlikely to be maintained. Match existing structures such as home siding or a deck with redwood or cedar. Cedar and redwood require maintenance, but even without maintenance, it will last a number of years.
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Appearance
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Southern yellow pine is a knotty wood that is often pressure treated for rot resistance. The knotty wood and natural fading enhance its beauty over time without the worry of rot and decay. Good cedar will have few, if any, knots and has a very light red or tan coloration. Some cedar lumber is left rough sawn to give a rustic appearance. Redwood may have some small knots, but not many. The wood is smooth and feels soft and light, similar to cedar but with a richer, darker red tone to the wood.
Considerations
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Build planter boxes from any of these three types of wood. Choose which based on your requirements for how it looks and the amount of maintenance that can be performed on it. Cedar and redwood have a pleasing appearance when stained, but the wood should be sealed every other year at a minimum. Pressure-treated lumber often has many knots, as it is a pine. Once it is weathered, it's appearance can be very pleasing in some locations.
Lining a planter box with heavy plastic before filling it with dirt will make it last longer. Add brush on wood preservatives inside and out to help extend the life of the planter. Yearly applications of wood sealer will further extend the planter's life.
Benefits
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Use these wood types to build planter boxes for a finished project that will last for years if properly constructed and maintained. Given a fresh coat of sealer every year, cedar and redwood will last 20 years or more. Pressure-treated wood can last a lifetime. Wood is a renewable resource and with proper harvesting, helps sustain the planet.
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- Photo Credit Valerie Everett
