You face the same direction as I do. How big is the balcony? You can grow just about anything, including shrubs, trees, & perennials that are cold-hardy in the area. A good rule of thumb is to go for plants (assuming you would want to try non-annuals) from 1 - 2 zones colder, meaning plants listed for Zones 5/6 or colder. I have 40ft worth of these types of plants myself out on my balcony (currently buried in snow...lol).

What you describe should do okay provided you don't have buildings or too many trees around to shade the balcony as those plants that you describe like more sun. However NE or E-facing is liked by many plants because the morning sun tends to be gentler than hot afternoon sun.

I was thinking more along the lines of edibles, like herbs, veggies and fruits. There is nothing like growing your own salad!! I will have 2 planters which hang off the side of the balcony with things like petunias and other cute flowers. My balcony is 15'long and 6' wide. We are on the top floor and have 2 building close by but do not block that much sun. An no trees close by at all.

Sorry for the delay in getting back. Got tied up with the stupid snow here which thankfully, has almost all melted away!

You can grow lots of edibles. You should be able to get a nice amount of sun in summer for growing.

I agree that there's nothing like fresh from the vine! I usually grow tomatoes and habanero peppers every year (I overwinter the habs each year and currently have 3 plants that are going on 5 years old). I often rotate in different veggies in addition like lettuce, bell peppers, cukes, squash, peas, tomatillos, etc.

For fruit, I have grown strawberries and figs and I currently have 5 blueberry bushes that I've had for about 6 - 11 years now. They have produced a couple quarts or so during productive seasons. A couple days ago was the "first anniversary" for my Methley plum tree, which I hope will give me a few blooms this year. It was a young bareroot when I planted it back February 15, 2005 and I have watched it go through some unbelievable growth this past year.

I've also grown various herbs like basil (including the purple leaf kind), thyme, bay, sage, dill, parsley, & cilantro. I also grew some saffron crocuses last year (to harvest the stamens for the saffron), although it didn't look like mine made it this past fall (one of my sisters still has hers that came up from the ground). I currently have a coffee bush/tree (it's gradually getting to tree size) and have had a tea camellia in the past (want to get a new one as the other got hit with spider mites). Also have baby citrus (key lime and meyer lemon) and had passifloras (P. belotti & 2 P. edulis before mealies took them out this past winter.... sigh).

Don't be afraid to go beyond the windowbox type planters. If you hang around here long enough, we'll fill up your space! I know my 40ft balcony is loaded down. LOL

Here's a hint hint:

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Thank you for getting back to me! The snow is virtually gone which is fabulous!!! I got more seeds the other day, butterhead lettuce, cukes (the compact ones which are labeled great for containers), and zukes (which im all about the blossoms so I dont care about the veggie. I also have a packet of grape tomato seeds, but would much rather do a roma for some fresh tomato sauce. Would that be ok? And another thing which confuses me is the soil mixture. I was thinking just regular potting soil...but evidently thats a no go. What do you use???

Have I mentioned I am a newbie? I just moved down here from NYC.....our gardens consisted of poured concrete :)

My balcony garden is just a bit smaller then yours 16' x 4'. But my neighbors have been cool about slowly allowing me to take over theirs; especially since they get the full use of all my herbs out of the deal.
If your doing tomatoes, marigolds and basil make great companions in the same pot, both are edible and will help you keep pest from your tomatoes. (Marigolds taste great in salads and can be used like saffron in cooking.)

Rosemary is virtually fool proof, beginner proof, and will deter pests from plants nearby (As will coriander) . But it will get quite large if you let and it won't bloom for a year or too, and depending on your winters it might be wise to bring it inside.

Lavender can get quite big too. But it smells great, and is very hardy and if you dry the flowers and keep sachets of them in your closet it deters moths almost as well as mothballs.

But most herbs, tomatoes and zukes like a lot of sun. Just something to consider.

Cherry, grape or other small fruit tomatoes can be done in hanging baskets.

And if you hang your window boxes on the outside of your balcony rail they don't take up space patios-side.

Oh and with zukes you'll get both the fruit and the flower. The female flowers are attached to the fruit and the male flower (the one you fry) grows alone, both types of flowers occur on the same plant.

You've got a great space, and if something fails just chalk it up as a learning experience., and try again.

Sorry for the little delay - one of my sisters just had a baby this weekend and I've been tied up checking out my new little niece! :-D

You can grow any type of tomato you want. The sky (container size and amount of support to give the plants) is the limit! In the past, I have container grown:

1.) Burpee Early Girls
2.) Burpee Beefsteaks
3.) Roma
4.) San Marzano (a Roma paste type)
5.) Cherokee Purple
6.) Patio Tomatoes (a determinant or bush type)
7.) Burpee Big Girl
8.) Brandywine (Sudduth)
9.) Pear tomatoes

In addition, I have also grown from seed for my sisters to ground-plant Aunt Gertie's Green, Green Zebra, Big Beef, Black Cherry, & Snow White Cherry and if I had room, I'd grow any of them in a container.

As for soil mixes - I have tried many different ones over the years, whether straight out of the bag (eg., Frank's container mix, although Frank's is now gone) or just mixing up my own using any type of container mix along with some drainage material like perlite, old soil from previous plantings (as long as the plant wasn't diseased), etc. Everyone seems to have their own formula and you may experiement over time. If you buy any pre-packaged soil, read the label as many come with fertilizer already mixed in (eg., Miracle Gro), so you would generally need to wait a bit before fertilizing any plants growing in it.

I currently use Promix straight out of the bag (now available at many Home Depots, etc) and had tried the popular recommendation to use Rubbermaid totes as a container. I use 14 gallon ones but many use 18 gallon size. Punch plenty of holes at the bottom, fill with soil, and plant. I have 6ft plastic bamboo stakes and also cage them with some cool 4ft tri-fold interlocking tomato/veggie panels.The minimum recommendation for many types outside any of the dwarf cherries or grape tomatoes that can be grown in a hanging basket, etc., is 5 gallon. Bigger is better and will give you a larger plant, but you often don't need that big from my experience as the plant can get a pretty decent yield. Many grow them in those Home Depot white plastic 5-gallon paint buckets that come with a handle.

Unless you have imposed a self-limitation on how much space you want to devote to your veggies, don't feel that you *must* grow small plants because you are using containers on a balcony. There is no need and it's a myth that you have to only look for "small" plants because you are container-growing! The plants may not reach the size of ground-planted, but they are just as satisfying!

This was one of my ripe San Marzanos last year:

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These were my Cherokee Purple and Brandywine plants in 2004:

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Congrats on the little one arriving!

Thank you so much for the advice! I am going to start my seedlings this weekend (I already have my moonflowers germinating). I will post pics and other questions I may have along the way. Thanks again!

OOOOOO i just thought of something else.
Can I plant peonies? Would those work in a (large) container on a balcony?

Got peonies myself! :-D The below is my Sarah Berhardt last year:

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It was originally a 1 gallon plant with a single flowering stem. It now has about 5 stems, with a couple that began to form side shoots. I bought it in 2003. I tried a moderate height peony hoop to support the stems a little better last year, but they still flopped (par for the course with the herbaceous peonies). LOL I want to try a peony stake and just tie up the stems a little better this year. I planted it in a 14" wide (but somewhat shallow) container and placed the rhizomes at the same depth as the 1 gallon container - basically right at the soil line with some of the top of the rhizome exposed. I don't mulch or protect it at all and it sits right at the rail. I fertilize in early spring just a bit with some triple superphosphate sprinkled around the very edges of the container (away from the center where the rhizome is).

I'm also trying a tree peony that I bought last year as a small bareroot. It'll probably be awhile before that one blooms.

The one thing to look out for is powdery mildew as I've noticed the past couple summers have been very humid and mine contracted some PM by mid - late summer. Siting them where they can get some good cross breezes on the balcony may help, along with spraying the foliage with a fungicide recommended for PM. I have also seen recipes for natural fungicides like baking soda and water and/or regular milk sprayed on the foliage. There is a Peony Forum that you can check out too!

Jenny, how much sun do you get?? Tomatoes facing northeast?? I'd love to try, but I don't get a lot of sun, and I face the same direction. I'm on the corner, so I do get some late afternoon western sun. But I never thought I could grow tomatoes!! I did try a peony last year and it was great -- two flowers. We'll see if it weathered the deep freeze and wind up here.

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Paul Wild, I just love the color!

Oooo! I like that peony's color too!!! :-D I've been debating getting a Karl Rosenfeld, which is a double dark hot pink.

I get direct sun on the balcony from sunrise (~5:00 am in summer) until about noon or 1pm, where it gets reduced to a strip that cuts diagonally across the balcony rail as the sun goes up and over the building near the eastern corner. Anything hanging over the rail in that spot can often get sun until almost 1:30 pm. In the afternoon, the western corner picks up additional sun as it is setting, from about 3 - 4pm until sunset (~8pm). This mainly because I'm the end apartment and it's all open there. And that's where I stick the 'maters and peppers and sun-loving veggies so they can get a double dose. Problem is, that's my windy corner too so I've been trying for years to reduce the wind without blocking the afternoon sun. One of my sisters recommended trying some clear plexiglass but I haven't had chance to get some cut to fit at HD.

On average, I can count on at least 5 - 6 hours across the entire length of the balcony, which is enough to get most of my sun-loving bloomers blooming, but often requires me to block some sun for the shade-lovers like my hostas and fern and leucothoe. In winter, I get little or no sun at all on the balcony (it's just bright).

Ok....i think i have bad news. I have been in the apartment since thursday and have not noticed any direst sun at all, except for about an hour in the early morning.

Booo....what does this mean? Can I still plant? Will I have to change "crops"? Also, there is a rule that i cant hang anything facing outward on my balcony...double boo!! There goes my rail planter idea. Im so bummed.

Please dont tell me the only thing I can grow are mushrooms under my sink!!

Just wait until spring/summer/fall! This time of year I get no sun on the balcony either as it is way over by the ESE and shines almost parallel to the balcony from the opposite end of my building. In summer, the sun moves to an almost direct-on position. The shift of the sun's position at sunrise and sunset is pretty significant during the year as you'll discover. Here's an August pic of the early morning sun against my hummingbird feeder surrounded by morning glories (the view is looking due east and the bag on the hook is my "beacon" to hummers that there is FOOD! nearby...lol):

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Over the years, I have taken pics of the sunrise/sunset at each solstice and it's pretty amazing how the sun moves!

You can definitely still plant what you want, as much of it will probably be doing most of its growing during the time of year when you get the sun anyway. During winter, not having that sun there is often helpful by reducing potential winter damage from bright reflections and freeze/thaw.

Regarding the rail - I have windowboxes, but hanging on the inside where I can see the plants and not going the other way. Here were 2 of my 3 last spring (I had some pansies and sweet alyssum in there and later changed to wax begonias with the alyssum):

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I also have rail planters for plants, but positioned and secured on a plant shelf or on the balcony floor - like the one my Mandarin honeysuckle is in (the planter with the trellis on the shelf against the glass partition):

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You have alot of choices of plants you can try!

Jenny, if I may ask, how have you been able to keep the trees and shrubs contained and growing well on your balcony? I would think that they'd grow to huge sizes and get out of hand quickly.

Lovely pictures, by the way!

Hi radagast! I have some shrubs that are going on 11 years on my balcony. Because they are in containers, the root restriction keeps them smaller in size than what they might attain if planted in the ground, not unlike what happens with bonsai. Judicious pruning keeps them shaped and growing, and tying them up keeps them out of the way - something that one might do for in-ground plants. I also have been using slow-release fertilizers like Osmocote or Hollytone, a couple times during the growing season. As long as I make sure they get watered and get a nice layer of mulch, and as long as the sun shines on them, they do pretty well.

My oldest is a "Red Prince" weigela:

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This shrub eventually attracted what became my first hummingbird in August 2004 - a female who returned last spring and who I believe had 2 babies (both male) who also hung out at my place during mid-late summer. Hoping they will return this spring!

This is my "Wine and Roses" weigela when it bloomed last year (the same shrub shown in the windowbox picture in an earlier post, which I have had for 4 years):

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And my "James McFarlane" lilac last year (my 2nd oldest shrub):

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I have many others, which is scary! LOL

Thanks for the info - wonderful pictures, too! It looks like a jungle!

Do you root-prune the shrubs at any time to keep them vigorous?

Also, any thoughts on what types of shrubs/trees/bushes/etc would work in a pot on a balcony?

I've had both of these growing on my roof for several years. I regularly prune them back hard and stuff the cuttings into sachets. It keeps them within a managable size. I have not had to repot or root-prune yet (5 and 2 years, respectively.)

You can cut them in the fall, or in spring after they bloom, as drastically as you want, so long as there's still some green stuff left. (if you cut past that, they will die.)

Hmm, something called snow... I cannot imagine! :)

Theoretically, it's been recommended that one root prune but in reality, I haven't done much manual root-pruning outside of those early stages of progressively increasing pot sizes for some of the shrubs until they reach their "final" container. From what I've observed, it appears that older roots will eventually deactivate to become anchor roots and after a time, will die and gradually decompose. But as long as the plant is healthy, it will continually replace those old roots with new ones.

Additionally, as I see often posted in other forums, plants will aim to "balance" roots and tops, so if the roots run out of room, top growth will either slow or will actually die off (in lieu of pruning), to keep that balance. I've seen that happen most significantly with my blueberries where branches on the oldest canes will start to die off... And after cutting those thickest canes down to the base, nice brand new healthy shoots will emerge from the same area at the base, to eventually become new fruiting canes.

Honestly though - you can plant anything you want in a container. The limitations being how big a container you are willing to use as your "permanent" container (keeping in mind what the weight limitations might be for your balcony - mine is about 4" thick poured concrete), the balcony microclimate and ability to support the plant (amount of sun, wind, etc), the plant's hardiness (best to aim for 1 to 2 zones lower or more), and amount of time you spend watering, fertilizing, pruning, and just talking to them (LOL). I like buying young already-containered plants and gradually pot them up over several years so that they adapt to container life.

Some of my challenges revolve around having a covered balcony (no overhead sun so I often rotate the shrubs around from year to year), too much wind at one spot or a complete lack of air circulation at another (have to carefully place plants after observing what happens with them), water (overhead cover means more watering, although plants by the rail seem to get a decent amount), and late frosts (where containered plants will often bud out a bit too soon, leaving them vunerable to a late frost or freeze).

Jennie,

Your pictures, and your skill, never ceases to amaze me! I'm just getting my first blooms of the season, starting with my nearly bulletproof hamamelis vernalis 'Sandra':

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This one got knocked over and squashed during a storm, baked by the sun, water-starved, frozen, and still manages to put out these cute little fragrant spidery flowers. 5ft. high.

Here's the west side of my 7 x 15' balcony:

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None of my plants are more than 3 years old, and I've definitely killed a bunch of what I've planted, but trial and error (emphasis on the error, in my case!) is part of the experience.

Will post a pic of my winter honeysuckle in a day or two, which is also putting out quite a fragrant display.

Given Jennie's observations about bonsai-style root and branch pruning and training, there's not much you can't grow if you pick plants that can survive in your conditions.

Here's to Spring!

Jim

Wait, Jenny - you grow plants on a COVERED balcony?! Wow - I salute you for that! I have a balcony, but it is on the top floor, and thus gets plenty of sun and rainwater.

Thanks for the info!

Nice photos to all of you (I like those wooden planters, Jim)

Jim - great shrub/tree pics! One of my sister's and her hubby have the same witch hazel, which has been blooming for about a month now. They have another which has bicolored blooms (red/yellow) that had started blooming back in January during the warm spells. They are really cool plants - especially when they are blooming while surrounded with snow! Definitely post some pics when everything is leafed out!!!

radagast - yep, my balcony is covered, which helps in terms of moisture control to a certain extent where I can pull things back from the rail... Although when we get Nor'easters, whether wet ones in fall or snowy ones in winter, the whole balcony is soaked since I face NE. I do miss that overhead sun though. Most of my plants that sit by the rail will attempt to throw stems or branches outwards to capture the sun as it goes up over the building and it's wild to watch them do that.

But even with the cover (there is only 1 floor above me as the top floor), snow can still manage to bury everything in sight. Below is a pic of one of my red twig dogwoods before and after the February 2006 Nor'easter that gave my area ~16" of snow... LOL:

Before
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After
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Oh, yes - that snowstorm was no fun! I was without power for 12 hours - argh! Nice photos, though.

As spring approaches, I'll have to think more about what new plants should join the rest on the balcony, and a shrub, bush, or some sort of tree would be interesting.

OK...I'm another newbie here...are you telling me that you don't pull the plants inside during the colder months?? I thought that if you wanted plants to live through the winter you HAD to pull them in..that's why I've been focusing on plants that aren't expected to live several years LOL!! I just don't have the space inside, nor would I trust that the plants would survive, with 2 young children and an old cat in the apartment ...so it's possible to just let the plants weather the winter outside?? How do you prep them for the colder months??

I've just put in a big order to Park Seed, and I can't wait to get it so that I can play in the dirt LOL!!

Hi jessiect and welcome!

Earlier in this thread, I mentioned the popular recommendation of looking for plants that are hardy to 1 - 2 zones less than your zone - in your case, you could easily try growing plants hardy to USDA Zone 3 or 4.

So as an example, the redtwig dogwood in my above snow picture is hardy to Zone 2. A heuchera (coral bells) that Is behind and to the left of the dogwood against the rail in the white square container, is hardy to Zone 3. I have a dicentra (bleeding heart) that is popping up right now and that is hardy to Zone 3 and my peonies are hardy to Zone 3 (herbaceous) and Zone 4 (tree). All of these you could try.

In addition, the larger the container, the more stable the temps of the soil in it. But often, it's not cold but overly wet that can kill hardy plants, so knowing something about that plant can help you determine whether to perhaps slide it under a table in winter to keep excess moisture out. Also, grouping the containers and mulching or using insulation type materials can help keep the soil temps more stable as another killer is the freeze/thaw cycle that can often happen, where warm spells thaw the soil and subsequent cold spells can freeze it again - ad infinitum, and that can burst the roots.

My prepping is generally minimal where I am outside of moving my marginals and an evergreen (a beautyberry and leucothoe) back against the balcony wall and moving my bulbs back a bit to get less moisture in some cases. You just have to experiment and you may be very surprised!

Hi Jenny, this will be my second year growing plants/tomatoes on my 2nd floor balcony deck, only wish mine was as big as yours but I will make do. I'm already seeing lots of leaves on my Blue Bird Clematis, can't wait to see it flower this year, should be soon now.

Anyway, I see that you have grown Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes on your balcony, can you tell me how they did as far as yeild? Did you get a decent amount of tomatoes? I'm seriously thinking of trying them this year, if it grows too tall, I may move it down to sit on my driveway. I also have Cherokee Green, Marianna's Peace and Mortgage Lifter amoung a few of the large ones, which I may sow and give to my dad for his garden.

I do plan on growing Silvery Fir Tree and Black Cherry in containers on my deck and this coming weekend, I'll be sowing some new petunias for my window boxes on the railing, I just purchased a true blue petunia and also yellow, isn't that a pretty combination? I don't see that around much at all. I am also waiting on some very pretty pictoee morning glorys, which I believe I first saw on your balcony. My Grandpa Otts and Heavenly Blue MGs did so good last year, along with my Moonflowers, that I just have to grow more this year.

Well please let me know how the Cherokee Purple did for you. Sorry I sort of got carried away, I am so excited, won't be long now!

Linda

Hi Linda - glad you are excited!

I've been growing CP since 2003. In general, I've been able to get about 12 - 15 tomatoes off of a plant, which isn't too bad. I don't have a good pic of CP last year but here is another view of my CP and Brandywine Sudduth in 2003 (earlier post here had them in 2004):

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Here was a ripening CP:

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The plant has generally topped out at about 5ft - 6ft (in its container) on average (as compared to something like Burpee's Beefsteak that I've had grow to 7ft or more in a container). The first year I grew a CP, thanks to the Tomato Forum, I finally got to savor the below. YUM!

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The good thing about Cherokee Purple that it is not fussy, is more resistant to disease than other tomatoes (considering it's an heirloom type), and it is a good consistent producer. Here's a pic of a typical cluster:

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In 2004, I tried Marianna's Peace but the seeds did not appear to be the more "famous" $5 a piece seeds (the taste wasn't as was touted). I also tried Black Cherry seeds then and had one of my sisters grow them (turned out nice). I am currently starting some Snow White Cherry & some San Marzano for one of my sisters and a San Marzano and Big Beef for me (trying to rotate and probably will order some new CP seeds for next year). I am also going to try some tomatillos again.

With respect to MGs - I have grown Heavenly Blue, Grandpa Otts, and Scarlet O'Hara. Because those latter 2 reseed so, I haven't had to plant MGs for the past 2 years (and I expect that will be the case this year). LOL I started some Hyacinth Bean vine seeds and Scarlet Runner bean vine seeds last weekend. The HBs actually sprouted in 2 days!

Jenny your CP look delicious, there's no doubt now, I will definetely grow them this year. What size containers do you use for your tomatoes?

Last year I grew Buck's County Hybrids in a 5 gallon and they were yummy, I also grew Fourth of July and although the yeild was very good, I was not at all crazy about the taste.

I'm leaving work now and on my way home I'll be stopping by Home Depot to see if they have any larger containers. I would like a couple of 10 gallons but not sure that I'll find them.

I have recently started using Rubbermaid 14-gallon totes with holes poked all around the bottom. In the past I have used Rubbermaid's "vegetable containers" (no longer being sold) that are something like 15" x 15" x 9" squares with a matching square saucer used with a wick for self-watering. I grew my San Marzano last year in a 5 gallon nursery container.