How to care for flowers on the family balcony

Which flowers are suitable

At present, there are three main types of balconies in residential buildings in my country, namely: convex balconies, concave balconies and corridor balconies, but convex balconies are the most common. This article only briefly introduces which flowers are suitable for this type of balcony.

South-facing convex balcony

There is plenty of sunlight and the lighting time is long. It is advisable to choose flowers that like light, such as Milan, jasmine, white orchid, rose, hibiscus, chrysanthemum, sunflower, daidai, pomegranate, kumquat, grape, cactus, cactus and heat-resistant and drought-resistant succulents.

North-facing balcony

It is suitable to grow shade-loving or shade-tolerant foliage flowers, such as ornamental ferns, green ivy, philodendron, evergreens, monstera, asparagus fern, bamboo palm, hosta, rubber tree, etc.

East-facing balcony

Generally, the plant can receive 3-4 hours of sunlight a day and can only receive some scattered light in the afternoon. Therefore, it is suitable for growing short-day flowers and flowers that like semi-shade, such as Christmas cactus, camellia, azalea, Clivia, etc.

West-facing balcony

It is relatively shady in the morning, and the light intensity is higher after noon. Therefore, it is suitable to grow semi-shade and heat-tolerant vines, such as ivy, creeping plants, trumpet creeper, and clematis, to form a "green barrier" which can also play a sunscreen role in summer.

How to layout

Balcony decoration

A well-planned balcony greening decoration, when looking out from indoors, the whole balcony is like a small framed view in nature, and when looking in from the outside, it looks like a small display window for flower exhibition. There is no fixed pattern for the specific layout of balcony greening, which is determined by the location, size and personal preferences of the balcony.

Generally speaking, we should pay attention to neatness and beauty to avoid clutter, and also pay attention to order, staggered and clear levels. We should also pay attention to leaving sufficient space to avoid making people feel congested.

Balcony decoration case

For example, when a sunny balcony with a width of 1m to 1.2m and a length of 3m is decorated with greenery, 2 to 3 pots of neutral light-loving potted flowers can be placed on the wider cement railings on the outside of the balcony. On the east side of the balcony, a 3-5-layer small trapezoidal board made of wood or metal can be set up, and several medium and small seasonal potted flowers can be placed from bottom to top according to the habits of the flowers; a small planting trough can be set on the ground on the west side of the balcony to plant climbing or spreading flowers and trees such as creeping plants, osmanthus, sweet peas, and small gourds. In order to make full use of the space, you can embed hooks on the balcony platform or eaves to hang hanging pots of flowers.

What flowers to plant in the hanging pot depends on the location of the hook. In places with plenty of sunlight, it is suitable to plant light-loving flowers; in places with more shade, it is suitable to plant shade-tolerant flowers. It is best to plant flowers with drooping branches and leaves, light green, swaying in the wind, and graceful and unrestrained in hanging pots, which give people a unique charm when watching them. When growing flowers on the balcony, you must pay attention to safety and prevent flower pots from falling and injuring people.

Maintenance management

Improve the environment

Since the balcony environment is relatively dry, watering is generally slightly more than that in the open field. Due to different climatic conditions in different places, the frequency of watering should be flexibly controlled according to the actual dryness and wetness of the potting soil and the principle of "watering when dry and watering when wet".

Since most balcony flowers have difficulty getting natural rain and dew, artificial spraying is very important. During the dry season and hot summer, spray the branches and leaves several times a day to increase the air humidity, which is very beneficial for most flowers. Some flower growers often lay bricks and sprinkle water on the balcony floor. This is because bricks can absorb more water, which evaporates when heated, thereby increasing the air humidity. This is a simple and effective humidification measure.

Careful care

In order to make the balcony flowers grow healthily, with luxuriant flowers and leaves, it is also necessary to pay attention to regularly replenishing the necessary nutrients. According to the types of fertilizers required by different flowers, apply more decomposed organic fertilizers in the culture soil, and apply compound flower fertilizers several times during the growing season.

To maintain the beautiful shape of the plant, attention should be paid to pinching, removing buds, pruning, etc., and dead flowers and branches should be removed in time to reduce nutrient consumption. Flowers that are phototropic need to be rotated every few days.

The weather in northern China is very hot in midsummer, so reed or straw curtains should be hung around noon to provide shade to prevent exposure to the scorching sun. In addition, it is best to use sterilized culture soil for potted plants to reduce the occurrence of diseases and pests. If aphids, red spiders, scale insects, leaf spot, powdery mildew, chlorosis, etc. occur.