I’ve recently moved into an apartment where I can finally give into my gardening desires. I’ve started with some very basic greens to brighten up the place. Potted palms, money plants, asparagus…that sort of easy thing.
Now I’m looking for something a tad more ambitious. Only, I’m not entirely sure what I ought to go in for. I love bushy, green plants the most, but would like to have some colour splashed in via a few flowers. What should I try out?
Whatever it is, it has to be able to survive in pots, and mustn’t die if I can’t water it two days in a row (because I’m out of town frequently). And no herbs or vegetables, either, unless they’re really pretty.
Climate around here: Warm and humid most of the time. Temperatures usually between 25-32C (i.e. 75-90F).
Hmm…I’ve been looking up some gardening sites on the web, and apparently the plant I called “money plant” may not actually be a money plant. What I have looks like this (random pic pulled from a GIS).
As for your balcony, impatiens have dark green foilage and pretty flowers of various colors, I mention them because they’re pretty hardy and would take some neglect well.
Nice suggestions! Just the kind of plants I like. Will hunt for them the next time I go down to the nursery.
And twickster, I think belladonna is right about the mystery plant being a pothos. The thick thing in the middle is a moss-stick…good for supporting plants with aerial roots.
These are all pretty easy to grow, but none of them flower. The main flowering houseplant, aside from begonias and African violets (both of which I consider harder to grow, but maybe I just lack the knack on them), is the peace lily. You’ll see these in malls a lot. If it likes its spot, it’ll do fine, but I’ve killed a couple of these.
For flowers, you might want to consider buying some annuals (petunias, marigolds, cosmos, etc.) and growing them on your balcony through next fall. Lots of color, but not a permanent solution.
The nice thing about impatiens is that they’re very forgiving – if you forget to water them, they go all wilty and “we’re dying!” on you – but then they come back immediately when you water them.
On dieffenbachias – easy to grow, but they get leggy. I’ve got one that I’ve had about 20 years – every five years or so I cut off the tops of the plants and reroot them, to keep it at a manageable size. Otherwise you end up with, literally, 10- or 15-foot long stalks with a couple of leaves at the end.
True about the dieffenbachias (we call them ‘dumb canes’). They do grow like weeds. My mother’s plant doesn’t seem to care that it hasn’t been fertilised in 10 years or had it’s soil changed ever. Just grows on and on like the world’s best trooper.
The impatiens sound quite hardy…I’ll give them a try. My green thumb is only a pastel shade.
I don’t have any experience with the spider lily, but I have had good luck with hardy varieties of hibiscus, and stephanotis in pots. Have had bad luck with mini orange trees but I think it is too drafty in my little sun room–that would not be a problem for you.
The stephanotis and orange trees have fragrant flowers, hibiscus has showy but (AFAIK) scent-less blossoms.
Geraniums* are extremely easy to grow and quite hardy. They’ll bounce back easily if you forget to water for a few days. You can get them cheap at any home/garden store and they add huge color to your container garden. Hanging geraniums are particularly beautiful, and you can also find various varieties whose real allure is in the scented leaves rather than the flowers themselves.
*What most people refer to as “geraniums” are actually plants of the genus pelargonium. This is the flower I am referring to. You know, the geraniums your second-grade teacher kept in the window. Pelargoniums are annuals and are often called “zonal geraniums” in the store. I believe true geraniums are perennials. They are nowhere near as easy to find in a garden center, at least here in the Northeast.
Impatiens are also very easy to grow in pots and are good for balconies that are partially or fully shaded. Impatiens don’t like sun all that much. Marigolds are usually easy to grow but need full sun. They don’t grow very well in partial shade. Morning Glory is very easy to grow from seeds (much cheaper than buying potted) - you can practically watch them grow - 2" a day or more. They are really pretty growing up a railing (you do need to provide something for them to climb).
Sattua beat me to “coleus,” and missbunny beat me to geraniums. And ivylass is right about the doubles – they’re very pretty. (I use them for bedding plants in the shade, so I just buy a couple of flats of the normal kind at the cheaparama.)
All three of these will all grow as houseplants over the winter, and may even continue blooming in a limited fashion. I keep four or five big pots (with three to five plants per pot) of geraniums going from year to year – each winter a couple of plants die, but I just buy the cheapies at the grocery store to replace them. It’s almost time for these guys to return to their summer perches on my front steps/porch.
Miniature roses are really nice, too. I had a balcony one that lasted for years, until it got fried when we moved to a western-facing condo and I didn’t go out on the balcony there much to putter as there were six lanes of traffic and the constant noise was so grating and…
Topic. Begonias come in so many different colours; they’re really pretty to have.
Oh, we also had a lemon plant that I grew from seed. Nice dark green foliage, and when a leaf withered, I’d pluck it and crush it, and get a lovely citrus smell. That also didn’t survive the balcony from hell, but it was a really nice plant indoors in a sunny location and outdoors on the balcony as well.
