Green balconies are a treat for the eye and a pleasure for the soul. Colorful splashes of color can be set with flowering plants, which can even be coordinated with the color of the building facade, so that the sight of the house is beautified thanks to a successful balcony design. Most balcony plants are suitable for enlivening the balcony in the summer months. A few plant species can even green the balcony in winter. Even shady balconies, which, for example, were intended to expand the pantries and kitchens in Art Nouveau houses and were used to dry kitchen herbs and tobacco products, can be beautifully designed with balcony plants that thrive in the shade.
Table of Contents
The most popular balcony plants
Balcony plants differ according to their preferred locations, their flowering time, their growth habit and their purpose. For the plant lover it is good to know which balcony plants thrive in the sun and which in the shade. In addition to the flowering time and the color of the flowers, the growth forms of the plant are also important for the design of the balcony. This is how climbing plants can be used optimally for trellises that serve as privacy screens. Hanging and traffic light plants, on the other hand, are ideal for designing the outside and inside of the balcony railing, which you can cover with flowers and leaves.
Balcony plants for sunny locations
Since balconies are mostly used in summer, balcony plants that love sunny locations are in great demand. Some of the most well-known balcony flowers come from the tropics, but they are so common in Europe that they are often mistaken for native plants. They feel most comfortable in sunny weather and show this with colorful and lush inflorescences.
Some of the plants most commonly used to design sunny balconies include:
Geranie
Geraniums are the absolute classics among balcony plants. They come from South Africa and belong to the Pelargonium genus. The geranium was already known in Europe in the 18th century. Its flowers, arranged in umbels, are particularly popular in signal red. Due to the large variety of varieties, geraniums are also available in many other colors. Fewer flowers are to be expected in shady places and in periods of bad weather. In heavy rain, hail and storms, geraniums can lose their flowers.
- Flower color: red, crimson, pink, white, lilac and many others
- Flowering time: May to October
- Growth: 30 to 40 cm high
- Ideal location: sunny, warm, sheltered from the wind
- Overwintering: Root overwinters and buds again in spring
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: plenty
Heide
Heide is characterized by a large variety of species. Winter heather is the ideal balcony plant for the cold season. When the other plants have long since faded, the winter heath shows its strengths. Heather plants are not only available in pink, but also in white and purple. In this way, the balcony can be colorfully designed even in winter. Winter heather is native to the colder areas of northern Europe and even blooms in the snow.
- Flower color: pink, purple, white
- Flowering time: from December to May
- Growth: 30 cm high
- Ideal location: sun and semi-shade
- Overwintering: yes
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: every two weeks
lavender
The lavender, which is characterized by its special fragrance, is suitable as an ornamental plant as well as a useful plant. Teas can be brewed or scented sachets filled from the lilac-blue flowers arranged in grapes. In balcony boxes, the plants, originally from the Mediterranean region, not only exude an aromatic scent, they also keep aphids and other pests away from neighboring plants. It is therefore advisable to group lavender with other balcony flowers. Lavender can overwinter in the flower box and can easily be propagated by cuttings.
- Flower Color: Purple
- Flowering period: from July to September
- Growth: 50 to 80 cm high
- Ideal location: sun
- Hibernation: Possible in the flower box outdoors
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: low
- Fertilize: little
Passionsblume
Passion flowers originally come from Latin America. They are ideal as climbing plants and can be used on the balcony on trellises as a privacy screen. Its large, exotic flowers are very decorative.
- Flower Color: Red, Blue, Purple
- Flowering time: from June to October
- Growth: Tendrils up to six meters
- Ideal location: sun and semi-shade
- Hibernation: at 10 to 15 °C
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: high
- Fertilize: frequently
Petunie
The easy-care petunias are among the most decorative balcony flowers because of their numerous large bell-shaped flowers. The hanging plants can grow in Bakon boxes or in hanging baskets. The petunia is available in many breeds. One of them is the magic bell. This is a mini petunia, which also grows hanging and is densely covered with small flower bells.
- Flower Color: All colors of the rainbow, often purple and white
- Flowering time: May – October
- Growth: 20 to 80 cm long
- Ideal location: sunny to semi-shady and warm
- Overwintering: not possible
- Perennial: none
- Water requirement: high
- Fertilize: plenty
Primel
The primrose brings color to the balcony very early in the year. It can be placed in balcony boxes and is one of the first heralds of spring. These balcony plants thrive in both sunny and shady locations.
- Flower Color: Blue, Orange, Yellow, Pink, White, Red
- Flowering time: from January to April
- Growth: up to 25 cm high
- Ideal location: Sun, semi-shade and shade
- Overwintering: yes
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: every two weeks
pansies
The pansies, which belong to the violet family (Violen), have only had their own biological name since 2007. His name is Viola wittrockiana Gams ex Nauenburg and Buttler. With their large velvety petals, pansies conjure up a colorful splendor on the balcony from spring to autumn. Especially on cloudy spring days, when you wait in vain for the first rays of sunshine, pansies with their strong sunny yellow and other colors can make you forget about winter.
- Flower Color: Yellow, Blue, White, Purple, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Violet
- Flowering time: from April to October
- Growth: 20 cm high
- Ideal location: sun, semi-shade
- Overwintering: yes
- Perennial: Biennial
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: every two weeks
Balcony plants for shady and semi-shady locations
There are also wonderful design options for shady balconies with flowering and green plants.
Proven shade plants for the balcony are:
Asparagus
Asparagus, known as a green plant, is an ornamental asparagus closely related to real asparagus. The asparagus has delicate, needle-shaped leaves that quickly turn yellow and fall out in direct sunlight. Asparagus is a houseplant that is also suitable for outside in summer. When taking it outside, the plant can remain in the pot or be moved to the balcony box at the end of May. It looks very decorative between other green plants and next to flowering plants and decorates the balcony in shady places all summer long. During this time, the asparagus grows new shoots and becomes stronger. However, it can easily be cut to the desired length. The plant feels particularly comfortable in light rain and high humidity. However, the asparagus cannot tolerate waterlogging and frost. He has to be brought back into the house to hibernate.
- Flower color: White (the flowers are inconspicuous and only appear on older plants)
- Flowering time: early summer
- Growth: shoots about one meter long
- Ideal location: shade, high humidity
- Hibernation: In the room, if possible above 14 °C
- Perennial: Yes
- Water requirements: Keep evenly moist in summer, water less in winter
- Fertilize: Every eight weeks during the summer
Begonie
Native to the tropics and subtropics, the Begonia is an attractive shady balcony plant. Begonias are particularly widespread in South America. Its brightly colored flowers are in the form of small florets. Removing faded flowers encourages the formation of new flowers.
- Flower color: white, pink, purple, yellow
- Flowering time: from April to September
- Growth: 30 to 40 cm high
- Ideal location: partial shade and shade
- Overwintering: Tubers can overwinter indoors and sprout again in spring
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium, avoid waterlogging
- Fertilizer: In the growth phase every one to two weeks with liquid fertilizer
Edellieschen
Because of their beautiful colors, Edellieschen have been popular balcony plants for more than two centuries. They are also among the easy-care balcony flowers that thrive in the shade. They can be grown in pots or flower boxes. A shapely and dense growth can be achieved by pruning.
- Flower color: including white, pink, violet
- Flowering time: from May to October
- Growth: 30 to 40 cm high
- Ideal location: shade and semi-shade
- Hibernation: at room temperature
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilizer: small amounts every two weeks in the summer months
ivy
The hardy ivy is an ideal privacy screen for the balcony. The root climber can be placed in a planter or in a balcony box on the ground and climb up the trellis on the sides of the balcony. The meter-long tendrils also grow horizontally over the trellis. In this way, an effective natural privacy screen is created. In winter, the ivy can stay on the balcony and be watered a little on frost-free days. To protect the roots, which are sensitive to the cold, it is advisable to cover the planter with frost protection film.
- Flower color: Yellow-green, flowers only appear on older plants
- Flowering time: September and October
- Growth: tendrils up to 20 m long
- Ideal location: partial shade and shade
- Overwintering: possible outdoors without any problems
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: little
Bleeding Heart and Fuchsia
The bleeding heart and the fuchsia are also popular ornamental plants for the shady balcony. They can be planted in flower pots or window boxes. The plants, originally from Asia and South America, enchant with their two-tone, hanging flowers. While the bleeding heart can grow up to 90 cm high, the fuchsia even reaches a height of up to 1.30 meters.
- Flower color: red white and red violet
- Flowering time: spring and summer
- Growth: up to a meter
- Ideal location: shade and semi-shade
- Hibernation: frost-free indoors
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: every two weeks
Vergissmeinnicht
The forget-me-not grows in many regions of the world. It attracts attention in forests and river valleys with its pretty, bright, light blue flowers. Some of the approximately 50 known forget-me-not varieties are used as ornamental plants and can decorate the balcony in tubs or flower boxes.
- Flower color: bright blue
- Flowering time: March to June
- Growth: up to almost 50 cm high
- Ideal location: shade and semi-shade
- Overwintering: yes
- Perennial: yes
- Water requirement: medium
- Fertilize: little
Conclusion
Thanks to the large selection of plants suitable for flower boxes, colorful blossoms and strong greens need not be missing on any balcony. The many different types of balcony flowers and green plants allow a decorative design of the balcony all year round. Beautiful flowering plants are available for both sunny and shady balconies. Lushly growing climbing plants with their flowers and leaves can turn trellises into impermeable privacy screens. Since the flowering times of most balcony flowers extend over many months, a balcony planted with them offers a colorful sight for a long time.
