They look fine to me. Post another photo of what you think looks so bad. No one cares if you post several, one at a time. ;o)

Also, when you post again, tell us what direction they face, whether they get full or some sun and when, and how deep the box is.

Sorry. :-) I made an account today and minutes later posted this. Don't know the rules or whats required. The box is facing east so it gets morning sun for about 6 hours.

It only let me add one image. I tried copy and paste in the actual message space and that didn't work. Anyhow, the flower box is about 10-12 in deep but since I keep rocks at the bottom there is about 6-7 in of soil.

I zoomed in and cropped the part I think has issues. I'll post other pictures separately until I can figure out how to do them together.

Here are the dried leaves close to the bottom

Here is from a far. It looks good right? except for the close ups. Supposed to be 2 pink and 2 purple on each side of the white vincas. But it didnt work out like that. :-(

The ones on the side that are shriveled are dead. I planted some this year that just lasted a few days too. They just shriveled up and died. I have some that are beautiful like your white ones. Mine were in separate pots. I have no advice except I have to water mine everyday.

Yup, the ones on the side are dead looking to me too. I'd just buy one or two replacements, plant them and see what happens. If THEY die quickly then I'd worry there's some bacterial wilt in the soil or something, but they'll probably be fine. If they DO croak, just tuck in some other type of plant or just enjoy the plants in the center which look great. Some small pea gravel mulch would give it a nice finished look and help reduce evaporation. Either way, keep us post and keep the posts coming! Happy gardening!

Laura, vincas get pretty big and I think 9 plants are just too many for that box. Take Grant's suggestion and plant something else on the sides. Purple, red or lavender verbena would look nice, plus it would trail over the sides.

tomatofreak, those are Selina's vinca plants.

Make sure you water daily with a coca-lined planter. They lose moisture fast.

here's my 2 cents. Selina, don't put crushed rocks in the bottom of pots hoping it will help with drainage- it won't help. It actually makes things worse. Just make sure your container has holes in the bottom of it for drainage.

Don't feel bad about losing some vincas. I planted a bunch I bought from Home Depot- some died. Ditto for lisianthus- about 1/3 died (my first attempt at growing these heat tolerant plants.)

Furthermore, I bought a pentas plant from HD as well (my first attempt at growing this species.) That one died too. Arggg. I need to save my receipts because it can get expensive...

Laura, Selina, sorry for mixing you two up. Anyhow, Selina, I hope you feel encouraged by all the comments. I've lost so many plants, I now refer to purchases as 'renting'. ;o)

Thank you so much for all of your replies. I read all replies a little too late though. I bought replacement vincas in the early AM. We will see how things go after planting them.

Vincas have worked very well for me in the past. Ive had some die and began to sprout again just a few weeks later. I was just worried about rot or diseases. I am always worried about my plants. They always seem to die. And because of that I can never get my window boxes to how I envision them. :-(

My neighbor told me about rocks on bottom. How does it make things worse? My neighbors plants always seem to thrive.

tomato freak you think 9 is too much? They are the smaller vincas that come in an eight pack. I bought one pink and one purple and divided them. Four pink and four purple went with alongside the one big white one. How do people get these huge nice overflowing boxes then? I want one so bad! I need to stop killing my plants. haha

"They are the smaller vincas that come in an eight pack."

Yes, and then they become 2' tall! If you are successful with most plants that you buy in 6- or 8-packs, they will grow several times that size. I've had vincas in the past at another house. They were very hardy and came back from freezes and lack of water. However, they were planted in ground. Good luck with your new ones!

How do people get these huge nice overflowing boxes then?

Here? In Phx? ernie is right about the coca-lined planter, that baby will dry out in a NY minute. You may want to line the coca-liner with plastic to try and hold in some moisture, you should not have a water rot problem this time of year but I cannot tell the size of that planter.

richsd may mean the rocks in the bottom will add to the heat and you don't need them for drainage in that particular planter because there is so much air-flow. A layer of gravel/small rocks is good in a glazed ceramic pot for example because those pots don't drain well. The coca-lined wire basket allows lots of evaporation.

Maybe you could place a layer of pebbles in a 'saucer' and snug the wire basket down into the saucer a half inch or so - if you can find something the right size. Then keep the pebbles wet.

HTH.

Wow Mary thank you so much for all of your information! I'm so glad I joined this forum.

My boxes were already filled with rocks before planting. I never thought about the rocks warming up. Good point! So since I already have rocks does this just mean i'll have to water more frequently due to water evaporation? This coco planter had a bag at the bottom but I took it out because my suspicion of root rot with the other plants! I thought it was holding too much water therefore took it out. haha ugh Wish I had all your info sooner. (can you tell im a new "gardener?) But like I said im glad I joined this forum and better late than never. right?!

p.s I love my window box! I have noticed I do have to water them everyday but I don't mind. I enjoy checking up on them. ;-)

Thank you all again!

Those first plants that died may have been doomed from the get go, you never know. I have Vincas in the ground and in pots. The only thing that seems to kill them is lack of water and dog urine. Can you get an auotomatic drip to that window box? That will help will a nice fluffy window box as well.