The balcony is an area of the house that can be used to fill it with plants; well, maybe not to fill it completely, but it’s very interesting to put pots in it. But when we go to a crèche, it is normal for our eyes to focus on those that seem to us the prettiest, which is completely normal, but it is not always the best.
It must be taken into account that plants are a trade, and as such the sellers bring rare species which, yes, are magnificent, but if we left them outside during the winter they could suffer very serious damage, or worse, not surviving. For it, We want you to know which are the best balcony plants for the whole year.
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5 plants for sunny balconies
If the sun shines on your balcony throughout the day, you will need to choose plants that need to be exposed to the royal star. So that there are no problems, if you are going to buy them in a nursery, you must buy those outside the greenhouses and also in the sunbecause in this way you make sure to bring home some specimens already adapted to exposure to the sun and, therefore, will not burn.
In case you buy them online, do not hesitate to ask the seller if he had them in the sun or sheltered indoorsWell, if they’ve sheltered them and you take them out into the sun without them getting used to it first, they’ll burn. To avoid this, they must be taken outside early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and left for an hour; then you put them in the house or put them in partial shade if you have the possibility. Do this for a week.
The next day, let them spend an hour and a half, or two at the most, in the sun every day for another seven days. The following week, they can be between 2 and 2.5 hours; the next, between three and three and a half hours. In short, as time passes, they must be left for another half hour in the sun each week.
And now yes, Let’s talk about what are the best plants for sunny balconies:
Agapanthus (African agapanthus)
Agapanthus is a rhizomatous perennial with ribbon-like green leaves, the center of which grows an inflorescence with small flowers of blue color, or more rarely white, throughout the summer. It reaches an approximate height of 50 centimeters and can measure the same width because it tends to come out of the suckers. The best thing is that it can withstand down to -4°C without being damaged.
Ash (Leucophyllum frutescens)
Image – Wikimedia/0pen$0urce
The plant known as ash It is an evergreen shrub that reaches a height of about 2-3 meters.. It has green leaves, which are covered with a kind of very short hairs. The flowers are purple and grow in clusters. In addition to withstanding direct sun, it is also resistant to frosts down to -12°C.
Cotoneaster horizontalis
Image – Wikimedia/peganum
The Cotoneaster horizontalis It is a small evergreen shrub that generally does not exceed one meter in height. In a pot, of course, it stays even lower, because the available space is much less. The leaves are small and the flowers, which bloom in spring, are white or pink. Frost resistant down to -18ºC.
Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
Image – Flickr/Cyril Nelson
Star jasmine, also called false jasmine, is an evergreen vine that, although it can grow up to 10 meters tall, can be cut back to keep it low. It is a plant whose flowers, which bloom in spring, are very similar to those of true jasmine. (Jasminum), indeed they also smell good, but their resistance to cold is much higher: they can withstand temperatures down to -12°C (the most resistant jasmine only lasts down to -7°C, and it is not uncommon for it to lose all or part of its foliage).
lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
Any lavender can be kept in pots and on the balcony, but this species is one of the easiest to find for sale. It reaches a height of about 1 meter, but when planted in a container it stays smaller. You can still prune it at the end of winter if you see that it is growing a lot. Its flowers bloom in the spring, and it also blooms almost without giving it any care, except for a few waterings so that the soil is not too dry. It resists down to -10ºC.
5 plants for shaded balconies
You might think you can’t put anything on a shaded balcony, but you would be wrong. Many plants should be protected from direct sunlight. For this reason, we want you to also take advantage of this space to create, if you wish, a beautiful potted garden, for example with these plants that we recommend:
Aspidistra (Aspidistra elatior)
Image – Wikimedia/Nino Barbieri
Aspidistra is a herbaceous and rhizomatous plant which has leaves with green or variegated (green and yellow) petioles up to 1 meter long. Its flowers are lilac and very small, and often go unnoticed because they stay near the base of the plant. It resists very well to cold and frosts down to -12ºC.
Azalea (Rhododendron simsii)
Image – Wikimedia/Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz
The azalea is an evergreen shrub that can reach a maximum height of 2 meters when grown in the ground, and rarely exceeds 50 centimeters when kept in pots. The leaves are small, dark green above and hairy below. It blooms in the spring, and it does so by producing white, red or pink flowers. It resists down to -4ºC.
common fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
Image – Wikimedia/Björn S…
The common fern is an evergreen plant whose leaves -which are technically fronds despite coming from ferns- They can measure up to 2 meters long.. It does not produce flowers, since it is a gymnosperm, but in the same way it is a species of very high ornamental value. Of course, in addition to shade, the air humidity must be high. If in doubt, look it up online or get a home weather station. In case you see that it is less than 50%, you will have to sprinkle it with water daily. For the rest, it supports up to -18ºC.
ivy (hedera propeller)
Ivy is an evergreen plant that you can use as a climbing plant or as a pendant. Its leaves are green or variegated, and measure about 2-3 centimeters, depending on the variety and/or cultivar. The flowers it produces are grouped in inflorescences and are small, yellowish-green in color. Resists down to -12ºC.
Sempervivum (Sempervivum sp.)
If you like succulents, or non-cactus succulents, especially if you fear frost, we recommend the Sempervivum. These are plants that they grow forming a rosette of almost triangular leaves, the maximum height of which is 5 centimeters. There are about thirty different species: some are lilac, others are covered with hairs that look like cobwebs (as is the case with Sempervivum arachnoideum), and others are bluish-green. Put them a substrate for succulents and water them little. And besides, they resist up to -18ºC.
And now the million dollar question, which of these year-round balcony plants do you love the most?