RESISTANT BALCONY PLANTS: INTRODUCTION
What are the right hardy plants to keep outside on our balcony? Cascades of colorful flowers and green foliage make inviting city patios and windowsills. A glimpse of beauty that is good for the mood and is within everyone’s reach: just choose the right species for our balcony.
With warm weather just around the corner, let’s think big even in small spaces, even if we don’t have a green thumb:hardybalcony plants make it easy for us. Let’s get rid of the too-small pots and make the most of the surface area for large containers to be filled with rustic and voluminous plants; in planters on windowsills and railings, let’s focus everything on a single botanical species. Better few and well selected for our gardening.
In the sun, we place the round Abelia grandiflora, or the red Loropetalum, and geraniums galore because they are strong and together become more beautiful, and finally bamboo if we want to create natural backdrops. In the shade, we focus on viburnums, thinned at the base of the stem to give a harmonious and more slender shape, as well as pittosporum, privet, dracaena.
ECHINACEA
Very beautiful is alsoEchinacea, a herbaceous plant that produces many colored and scented flowers, it doesn’t need many cares, it will be enough to water it once every three weeks.
PINO MUGO
Mountain pine in the “Gnom” variety is an evergreen plant that is part of the so-called dwarf conifers: plants that are easy to grow, hardy and quite adaptable. This special variety of pine, in addition to being very decorative thanks to the thick dark needles and the small pine cones that remain on the branches until 2 years, it is also a officinal plant, perfect to treat colds and winter sore throats and muscle aches, thanks to its anti-inflammatory and emollient properties.
GERANIUM
It is the quintessential balcony and terrace plant. With its many colorful flowers, which form real fragrant bushes, the geranium takes first place among the favorite plant species for balconies and terraces. There are numerous varieties and colors. Geraniums bloom in the summer and early part of the fall. But how to treat them? They don’t need special attention, but you need to know your way around to get good blooms. Geraniums should be placed in an area with plenty of sunlight and, especially during the hot months, it is necessary to water them regularly keeping the soil moist, but avoiding dangerous water stagnation. It is one of the balcony plants that can be placed in full sun, during spring, summer and fall.
FICUS
Some indoor species do well outdoors if the temperature is mild and there is light. Kenzia, small palms, Ficus alii or benjamina, pothos grown as a drooping. A Ficus elastica outdoor version can grow very large, like a tree. Do not grow them in full sun. On shady balconies or small terraces we can grow them in very large pots and decorated at the base with drooping, carex or rosemary. They fear waterlogging.
VIBURNUM THINUS
Viburnum thinus, an evergreen plant that endures and remains beautiful even in the winter months. This shrub does not require any particular pruning: in winter and spring it presents white and pink flowers, in autumn it turns a very deep dark blue.
HEATHER
Here is heather, the most colorful of the fall evergreen balcony plants. In addition to having persistent leaves throughout the year, Erica has a beautiful fall bloom, with small, light pink and lilac flowers that remain on the plant throughout the winter, even after they wilt. There are also some varieties of Erica that have red or white flowers, these are special species, cultivars or hybrids of heather that are easily found in any plant and flower store. Heather branches are also widely used to make dried flowers, a nice idea for decorating our fall centerpieces.
CYCLAMIN
With delicate flowers and heart-shaped leaves and numerous varieties, the cyclamen is perfect for coloring balconies and terraces and is one of the few winter flowers to withstand low temperatures. Among cold-hardy plants, cyclamen produce flowers and leaves throughout the year. To be placed in bright areas but not directly exposed to the sun, the cyclamen blooms in autumn and winter, especially in areas where the temperature does not exceed 15 degrees. It is right during the flowering period that it needs more cares, water – to be applied directly in the pot – but without exaggerating; in summer, instead, it should be watered only occasionally. A word of advice: remove wilted leaves and flowers promptly to prevent them from infecting the rest of the plant.
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