Not all of us have the comfort of having a home garden. However, if you have a balcony, you can arrange a substitute of a garden on it. It’s easy to get lost in the maze of balcony plants. We’ve made a selection of plants especially for you.
If you plan to plant flowers on your balcony or buy ready-made plants, you need to take into account their requirements, i.e. resistance to surrounding conditions, especially high and low temperatures and shade. Assess the degree of sunlight on your balcony and then take a look at our suggested options.
If your balcony is located on a sunny side, choose plants that tolerate strong sunlight and drought well.
If you’re looking for a beautiful plant that blooms all summer long, be sure to include pelargoniums, or geraniums, in your balcony arrangements. Pelargoniums love the sun, so a well-lit balcony is the perfect position for them. Under strong sunlight, geraniums bloom even more beautifully. Of the various varieties of geraniums, the ivy-leaved geranium grows best in a sunny spot.
This plant does not require frequent watering and can tolerate the scorching sun well. The thick leaves of purslane retain moisture, so the plant stays in shape for a long time. Portulaca blooms from June to August.
Cynia is a fairly heat tolerant annual plant. In case of prolonged drought, water regularly and carefully so as not to wet the leaves. Its large, full flowers with vibrant colors and velvety petals are a joy to behold until the first frosts.
If your balcony faces north, you’ll want to limit your choices to plants that do well in the shade.
Impatiens like shady places and grow best under trees in the garden, so on a north-facing balcony this plant feels like a fish in water. It needs regular watering, but don’t over-water it as too much water causes the flowers to rot.
A balcony wrapped in ivy always stands out. The plant is also easy to care for: it doesn’t need to be watered often, but it does need to be sprayed regularly.
You will certainly be familiar with the cyclamen with its heart-shaped patterned leaves. This plant needs to be watered in moderation as both excess and lack of moisture can harm it. Cyclamen also needs to be protected from full sun and high temperatures, so a northern balcony will be a good place for it.
An undoubted decoration of your balcony in the spring will be calceoralia, or slipper plant. This plant amazes with its clog-like flowers and brightens up your surroundings with vivid colors ranging from bright yellow to speckled red. Calceoralia is another plant made for the northern balcony: it prefers partial shade and low temperatures (14-16℃). The plant should be watered as the soil in the pot dries out.
Balconies facing east or west are suitable for most room plants due to moderate light.
Verbena, also known as vitula, sacred herb and Juno’s tears, among others, is valued not only for its decorative qualities but also for its medicinal properties. Verbena is popular as a garden plant and is grown in flower beds, but it is equally at home outdoors on balconies. It blooms for quite a long time – from June to November.
Velvet is native to Mexico, and in some countries the plant is used as a spice in the kitchen. It has long been popular in gardens and on balconies because of its long and abundant blooms. The plant tolerates well both heat and wind. In fact, it does well in all conditions.
In the middle latitudes, daisies bloom in May and are a delight to the eye until cold weather arrives. Daisies are undemanding plants and thrive in shady areas, so low-light balconies are a good place to grow them.
A beautifully blooming balcony is hard to imagine without at least one climbing plant. Delightful stems wrapping around the balcony railing or specially mounted trellis look really impressive.
Wriggling bougainvillea stems covered with deep purple flowers can decorate a balcony or patio in a striking way. Bougainvillea prefers a sunny location with normal humidity. The optimal temperature for the plant – from 23℃ to 27℃.
An orchid with beautiful, brightly colored flowers covering balcony railings with a dense curtain will delight passersby on the street and your neighbors. Think about installing netting or supports to allow the stems to climb up. Keep the wilt protected from full sun.
This perennial plant in the clematis family is familiar to many gardeners. But why not use it as a balcony liana? It is easy to look after and bears modest but beautiful pale pink flowers in the shape of bells or dense pompoms.
A balcony facing south or east is perfect for growing clematis. If you decide to grow clematis, choose a frost-resistant variety. And bear in mind that on dark balconies with a northern exposure, the plant is at risk of frost. So if you have such a balcony, you’d better choose some other plant
So, if you already have cuttings or seeds, switch on your imagination and get to work arranging your balcony with the most beautiful flowers!
Main Photo: annanahabed/Adobe Stock
