Vgtar...are we ever ALL done?? Seems there's always just one more cutting or plant that we just have to have. Sweet joy!

My postage stamp patio is inset...apartment walls on three sides with a hedge of pittosporum on the fourth...and faces due south. A lot of shade in the summer when the sun is high, and blasting unrelieved sun during the cooler months. Difficult gardening situation but wonderful on the utility bills!

I got off to a slow start ... new to Florida gardening and simply dragged my feet to later in the season than I should have. My nasturtiums...second round... have been blooming all fall/winter and they won't last much longer. I've torenia and black-eyed susan vine (Spanish Eyes) growing in cell packs and have just started apricot profusion zinnias. Have just hung a pair of Georgia Red sweet potatoes. I've set up my first tipsy pots (great space saver!) but only have two of the base pots filled...my caladium nursery comprised of last year's purchased container...and the very top...dark leafed red way begonia...so far.

I've potted up an absolute mass of mostly unbelievably patterned coleus cuttings that purpleinopp was kind enough to send, have my first dozen caladiums potted up and in full, glorious leaf. Ordered a second set and the grower goofed. I received TWO dozen more! On my teeny patio. Its going to be a veritable jungle of them. (Yes, he happily made good on the mistake).

Now to figure out how much more I can put in and still have room to walk!

Does this count as a bacony garden. I have no usable yard but for grapes and kiwis to grow 10-30 ft up the south wall.

Click link for pics I am in question about Click on each individual pic to enlarge, then use key board arrow keys to navigate. Mouse over top right corner to enable full screen with mouse click

Here is a link that might be useful: https://plus.google.com/photos/111099372377958308731/albums/5864651368775846321?banner=pwa&authkey=CI763rvAj8eLAg

To my way of thinking, its no different than a balcony...the only thing lacking is height. There is no dirt except the roughly 6" between the concrete and the trunks of the pittosporum...and that dirt is under the hedge. This necessitates containers only, either on the concrete pad or suspended from the overhead. I don't know about colder areas but in the warmer zones patios/balconies are frequently set into the face of the building rather than extending outwards. The concrete pad is 11' x 5", length limited by two doors that swing onto the pad. Seems like a balcony to me as it encompasses the same problems as the two above me.

Poncirus, you could have a TV show about that garden. It's incredible, even if it was on the GROUND! It counts for anything you want to call it. I call it amazing!

Aunt Barbie: I hope that I WILL be done at some point... All this moving pots in and out is beginning to feel a bit old.

Purple: Perhaps it's not a balcony, you have around that tree, but it's still potting galore!

Poncirusguy: That is some roof-gardening you have going there! I'm amazed! (and slightly envious) I really love green roofs! :-D -I'm not sure I would have the nerves to undergo a project like that myself, I would be too nervous about whether the roof would be able to carry the soil+water, or if any water could leak under the proofing.

Still low temps at night, and even a freeze in sight again next week, so I'll have to wait to get everything into the right pots. -I was too late to get the plants in tonight, and it seems I might have a bit more damage, but still I don't think anything has been killed. I'm getting a feeling, that our new windows and isolation under them, has lowered the micro climate on my balcony a bit.

My mum came with a cutting of the family's Clivia last week, and I decided to try and plant it in cat litter, and so far it seems to be thriving (three new roots are forming already). So, I think I might try to use cat litter for a couple of other plants on the balcony as an experiment. Call it my simplified version of Al's mixes if you want ;-)

EDIT: PS, by cat litter, I mean UNUSED cat litter of course ;o)

This post was edited by vgtar on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 6:36

purpleinopp, vgtar

Thanks for looking and for the compliments. I just got back. Most of those pics are from last 2 years, with only a couple from fall to spring under glass for this year. I'll have more pics soon. I like the tree with the flowers and I would say it counts. Below link shows my seedling citrus out for summer. Check out the photograph of the front of my house. LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: https://plus.google.com/photos/111099372377958308731/albums/5869826671114565057?banner=pwa

Heres my balcony setup:

meyer lemon tree
schefflera amate solei
tahiti lime bush
hardy chicago fig

curled parsley
sweet corn (at far bottom left. not yet germinated)
snap peas (sugar daddy variety)
lima bean plant
swiss chard
celery

spearamint, big container for room to grow
more snap peas

Everyone's things look so great! And an observatory? PERFECT!

Hi all
My pics for 2013 are in.
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New Zealand spinach in gallon food tins
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eggplants in skyscraper gallon food tins
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sky scraper pepper plants on the rail. they are scewed down
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butternut squash, sweet potato, jubilee watermelon left to right on kitchen roof
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sugar snap peas on lower roof
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Row of sugar snap peas an row of watermelon in gallon tins
{{gwi:1146}}hardy chicago fig behind sweet pepper on top roof.
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Broccoli on top roof
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Spinach field with brussel sprouts on left
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The climb down. top roof, kitchen roof, future greenhouse
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strawberries top roof, Be picking soon

These are this years pics. Some plants are in the ground and other are still in container waiting to get planted. The peppers and eggplants will stay in their skyscraper pots
The link below provides pics of my kumquat tree in a 6 second / pic slideshow

Here is a link that might be useful: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/wreristhechimney/slideshow/Seed%20grown%20Meiwa%20kumquat%20tree

Hi poncirusguy, your strawberries are making me jealous. I tried to get some plants from a delicious strawberry I got at a farmer's market. Tried twice actually after cold stratifying the seeds. They come up, but dont grow become whitish and then die. :( Guess they aren't suited to the growing conditions I provide. Btw, your pics might look more super and green color would pop more without the flash. Give it a try sometime.

Poncirusguy - Loving your garden! Would love to eat those strawberries. We started our balcony garden around May 1st. It's been a mild, warm Spring in Toronto.

archoo16, schnookable

Thanks for looking. the strawberries will come in about the 3rd week of may and should continue up through june. Straw berries are very hard to start from seed. They spread by runners Ten plants in the first year can runner up to 100 plants at years end.

My latest project, A rroting chamber
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The bottom cup is a yogurt container the top is a peanut butter jar that snaps in to the yogurt cup. The sand used to root the meiwa kumquat tree was swept out of my street gutter. I heated the sand and I used rooting hormone on the twig. The dollar bill in the picture is what I did not spend

I chose Mara des Bois strawberries because of my lack of sun and their production throughout the whole season. Small berries, but worth it :) Most alpines don't runner and start from seed. If seed starting is a necessity, consider alpines if the climate suits them.

poncirusguy, what do you mean when you say that the strawberries are spread by runners? I'm quite familiar with strawberry picking at local farms but unsure what you mean.

I did all herbs and vegetables last year on my balcony. I decided this year is going to be different. A) I only get AM sun. B) All my veggies gave me tons of fruit but started dying back in early August.

I picked flowers, vines and plants that will last until Fall. I coined the garden as a "Save The Bees". Showy purple and white flowers. Really fun foliage. If you have any suggestions for plants, I am all ears!

(I took this opportunity to show off my Wisteria - which I'm really surprised is doing well in a 50+ gallon pot)

strawberry lovers;

The picture of the strawberry plant is circled in yellow while the plants circled in red are the mother plant's babies. look closely and you can see a vine connecting the two. That is called a runner and most strawberry plants produce runners. The baby circled i red with a red circle in side is a runner coming off a baby plant.. once the runner is sent it will produce a baby and keep going to produce baby after baby until frost. I have seen as many as five babies on one runner.

My plants are called day neutral. They produce more though out the year than ever bearings. My mistake is that I failed to note that the variety I chose was drought sensitive and my roof top soil dries to easily in the summer so they only june bear. I live to far south to do alpine. I tried them once and found them to be very tasty and more desirable than the regular berries. Then they died of heat stroke.

Temperature exceeded 110 F last year several times. I think you would do fine with alpine, but they don't have runners. I think that It may be possible to divide the crowns into twins or more at the end of each year.

corrections for above. Temperature on my rooftop garden exceeded 110F several times last year and may have exceeded 120F. the temperature on the roof runs at least 10 degrees hotter than ground level and it took a beating last year as we set record highs repeatedly. I am looking at containerizing plants with open bottom gallon food tins to better control water loss at the plant base.

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Watermelon jubilee in gallon riser

Here is a link that might be useful: https://plus.google.com/photos/111099372377958308731/albums/5869826671114565057/5869826670301892162?banner=pwa&pid=5869826670301892162&oid=111099372377958308731

"like" - thanks for this poncirusguy. I'm growing some sweet pea which im sure will succumb to heat stroke in July. We'll see.

Phew! FINALLY!
OK, weather has actually been all right for a few weeks now (spring weather), but I have been a bit under the weather myself, and whenever I was feeling fine, it was pouring down. So everything has been put on hold out on the balcony.
TODAY, however, temps have reached 25 C = 77 F, so off to the garden centrer, I went!
I found replacement planters for the brittle plastic ones on my railings, that I'm afraid to touch :-D YEAH!
A HUGE bag of dirt! And just as big a bag of pine bark, where I just found out, that the pieces are too big... Never mind that, I'll put it to good use!
Got a replacement chilli, for the ones, that never sprouted. Even better, I also got a new Rose Zephirine Drouhin as replacement for the one, I killed a couple of years back. It was the last one they had... VERY healthy looking and under half price of it's predecessor (22USD/ 17Euros vs. 52USD/ 40Euros)!
I also got some organic NPK 9-2-5 that I have NO understanding of, how to use... It says on the side, that it's suitable for containers, but the only directions are for garden use. Do I take I spoonful? Do I use a cup? I have no idea! I guess I'll just have to wing it (OK, I'm quite certain I should avoid using a whole CUP in any container... but still, I'm a bit nervous about it)!

NOW, I "just" have to get it all planted... I'll post some pictures once I'm done (I may even take some embarrassing "before" pictures).

VG

Vgtar- -sounds awesome! Well, you can never go wrong with just weakly fertilizing, so i would do 1/2-1/4 the garden strength recommendation and then go from there.

I went away for 10 days and came home and my balcony seems to have doubled in foliage growth lol.

Julianna: double foilage in 10 days sounds brilliant!
I saw a thread on the container forum, about Osmocote slow release fertilizer, and asked them what ratio I should use for the one I have (NPK 9-2-5), and they said 2 tablespoons for 1 gallon (with actual Osmocote, it would have been 1 spoon).
Before getting an answer, I had winged it on the rose, and I think I'm above that amount, but I also think it will be fine, as it is a heavy feeder of course. Besides, it is in a self watering container, so I'm hoping it will use take what is underneath it in the beginning, and that I can then water the fertilizer in the topsoil down in a month or so. I deliberately added extra to some tomatoes as well.
About the rose.... I don't know how I could have missed it, but apparently all the top shoots have been nipped off (except one). -This annoys me so much, as it interferes with the way I want to grow it (a few canes spread out). EVENTUALLY (over some years) they would have been nipped of at about where they have been now to get canes of different length, but not all of them, and not all at once. Now I will have canes going everywhere and in all directions. -I wanted it to use it's first year on my balcony to produce a few long canes, rather than a spheric mound of flowers! -Well, perhaps some canes will be long enough next year, for pegging them into another pot, to produce new plants.

VG

Yes, I am sure it may just set you back a year. I wouldn't worry about it too much. maybe this will give you time to rearrange things too if it looks like stuff isn't working. :)

FINALLY! I'm done potting everything up! -All the potting I have to do now, is if (or WHEN) I buy more!

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Rose Zephirine Drouhin, a moon flower that took some cold damage. I will be lucky if I get flowers from that this year, but if the summer is long and sunny then who knows? ;o)
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This year's eyesore! Normally I'm not into gladiolus, as I think they are too 'Dame Edna' for me, but I fell in love with the picture of the flowers, and the fact that it is scented. Sadly, I had put it in front line on the balcony, and one night we had strong winds from the only direction, that can truly do much damage to my plants. Hoping that this plant would turn into some kind of Maria Callas, I now think it looks more like Joe Cocker! Besides, I don't know what I was thinking putting the Oxalis around it, instead of just on one side. The Oxalis has the unflattering name 'Iron Cross', which I think is very undeserving! I simply love the size and colour of those leaves!
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Besides the sempervivums this window-box has nothing but cat-litter and organic slow release fertilizer under that pine bark mulch. The tomato is just to see how far I can go with the cat litter. I'm not expecting anything from it, and will probably have to pull it at some point. -I'm sure the sempervivums will love it though!
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Iceplants, sempervivums and some sedum, that I had planned to put in all my pots. Then I found out, it was full of weeds, so I decided just to take a couple of small tufts, and let them multiply the next couple of years.
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Four kinds of basil, that is a bit shy over their new bigger housing, and some chive, that will be very happy now that it is getting fertilized and watered again ;o)
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Too many Nasturtiums for this planter... I will nip some off, once I find out which colour each plant has.
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It's funny.... I used to hate this planter, but now that it has weathered a bit, and the chains have gone rusty, I really like it!

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Another tomato in cat litter, that is just holding the spot for a Lemon Verbena, until I get one!
A yellow Squash.
Moroccan mint, that I'm trying to multiply.... I'll do a post on that!
Lemon thyme.
Two small pots with basil, that I'm giving to a friend.
The container on the right of those, have one Greek Oregano and one Oswego tea (Monarda didyma). just a few plants sprouted of these, and only one of each survived, so I'm trying to multiply them, the same way as with the Moroccan mint.
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This daylily is an old variety, that is one of two, that you often see in country gardens here in Denmark. It's from my mum's garden. It never gives many flowers, but I like the leaves... looks like grass, without me getting an allergic reaction ;o)
I tried to get it out of the pot to divide it, but it was so root-bound, that the pot cracked, so now I'm just leaving it there, and will begin looking around for another variety.... preferably one with a good scent!
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I ordered seeds for Heavenly Blue morning glories, but received these instead. I've forgotten the name, but if anyone wants to know, I still have the package and can find it to inform you. It's a common variety anyway.

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Tomatoes: Green Sausage and Yellow Tumbling Tom:
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If I close the door behind me, there is just enough room for me to unfold that chair, so that I can also sit out there!

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Again, the Oswego Tea (bergamot tea-mint) and the Greek Oregano:
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Sempervivum and Orpine:
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My cayenne never sprouted, so I bought this handsome Jalapeño instead. Behind it some Cypress Vine that I'm planning to trail in front of the window box.
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I just discovered this volunteer Oxalis, that I thought had disappeared from the balcony.... YAY!
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I nearly threw out this fern, that has volunteered in a planter. I've never had one of those before, so it will be interesting to see, what it grows up to look like:
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That little Oxalis again.... I'm VERY happy it is there!
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That's it! Now I just have to move some succulents out for a summer vacation, and sow some seeds that I have NO idea what are plus some sweet alyssum, that HAD disappeared from my pots, but I have some old seeds, that I have collected a long time ago... if just one of them sprouts and creates new seeds, I will be happy as a camper!

VG

Nice! You certainly have a lot going on there! I like your mix of succulents and non-succulents. That is my strategy as well :) You also look like you have a really nice view. My view was pretty crap, and at the moment it has become both better in a way and worse. I overlooked the playground before, but they just decided to build and exercise building in that spot. So yay, no more playground mess and noise. Of course at the moment it is a muddy construction site. But soon it will be a building and I am hoping for some landscaping. Now too we are hidden more from other balcony views-- so it feels more private.

Thank you, Julianna! The mix of succulents and non-succulents just HAPPENED, because I'm a lazy gardener! In the beginning, I wasn't really into the succulents. The first year I tried the "usual" annuals (such as petunias) right in the beginning when I got this flat (year 2000). Most of these, were simply too finicky for me, regarding water. -Water them too much, and it's a constant battle with aphids. Water them too little, and they dry out. -Especially with the cheapo-bag-o'potting-soil I used back then! -They would probably do better for me, now that I have learned more, but I can't be bothered with them anymore. Not most of the commonly grown ones anyway.
I had just turned 24 at the time when I moved in. I wasn't a blank sheet as such, when it came to gardening. I had helped in the garden since I was a kid, and started having my own plants in my room at a young age as well. However, it was one thing keeping a jade alive in a pot inside, or digging a trench for potatoes outside, while having my mother to show me how to do things, and a totally different thing growing things in pots on my balcony, that has a microclimate, which as a rule is a lot hotter in the summer, than what you usually experience in these parts!
Normally I'm too lazy to worry about stuff, like the watering of containers several times a day... I HAVE tried it, and it was not fun at all. Once in a while, I would neglect the balcony, and go out with my friends, instead of running home to water stuff, which was a sure plant killing scheme. -Then I could cross that plant out off my list of stuff to grow, and move on to the next one!
My mother had a book about organic gardening, that gave me some inspiration (and really made me want a garden the size of a small town). -There was chapter on container gardening, and from that I found out, I could also do perennials, as long as I gave them the right circumstances. Searching for inspiration on perennials in containers, Google landed me on Gardenweb, and then Gardenweb became a good source of knowledge for me in (I think) 2003 or 2004.
There was a thread once, about reusing and amending old potting soil, and I took a recipe and (with a bit of testing) I simplified it to my economy/ ease of attainment. What I ended up with was simply bagged potting soil with one third pine bark mulch mixed in. For me, this works very well, for the types of perennials you mostly see in gardens around here, and my guess is, it would work everywhere.... especially with mulch on top. With this, I don't have to change all the soil every year, and it doesn't compact so easily. Usually I have used a smaller size mulch, but this year, my wallet made me go for a big bag, of bigger chunks.... So far it seems to work really well! -Time will tell how well it breaks down, compared to the finer stuff, I normally use (not actual "fines" though), but my guess is, that it will work great, and perhaps even better.
The one window box at the end of the railing will take just about anything and keep it safe for me, as it is self watering, but the other two, has a tendency to dry out, if I'm not careful. These, I've learned, are best for things that prefer drying out a bit. -And while I didn't lift a finger out there the previous two years, the things in those window boxes, and a couple of containers near the railing did alright with whatever water, came down from above -Not much surprise there, though, as they were all drought tolerant plants! . -However, I think it would be great if I could get them to do even better, without too much fuss! Perhaps, I might even get the Sempervivum Montanum to show some bloom for once. -Again, inspired by Gardenweb with Al's ever-popular gritty mixes, I've turned my attention to pure cat litter.... first I used it inside, and my test plant was a clivia.... it loved it so much, that within five days, it had begun showing 5 new roots having grown 5-10 mm! -The part of the roots that are above the soil are really moist on the outside, and very green as well.... Then I tried it on some succulent cuttings, and also with good result. I can't overwater them, and the cat litter will absorb 60% of it's volume in water... I think already by now, it looks like a success.... The two tomatoes (and one tiny squash) plants, I've got growing in the mix outside, are just some surplus plants from my seedlings, to see how well they do, in this (for them) alien environment. These are both water loving plants, and my guess is, they would be doing a lot better, if they had a bit of common bagged potting soil near the center of their root system (their roots have been cleaned before going into the cat litter). This is what I've done with the (more drought hardy) lemon thyme and the sempervivum in the shallow "frying pot" (not that I think it was needed for the SemperV, it was just easier). I simply planted them with the more or less "bound-to-roots" soil, that they came with. Once I get my Lemon Verbena, I'll use this method as well.... and make cuttings of stuff for pure cat litter next year, but I doubt these cuttings will be as successful! -To ease the watering, I have foam in the bottom of the pots (most of my pots actually) as a kind of "self watering system".... -again, I'm so very very lazy ;o)
Normally, I wouldn't have done this much testing on stuff like the cat litter (especially, since I mostly believe in it for succulents), but I have been on sick leave since early December, due to a small range of things, and I need SOMETHING to keep me going.
Laziness is also what has learned me to check what climate and conditions plants come from, and by now, I know a lot of it by heart, and if not, I mostly know where to look. Somehow, it has made me the "go-to" guy amongst colleagues, friends and family for plants in- and off ground, which I think feels kind of weird, as I have gotten to this point by sheer laziness (and lot's of accumulated googling/ gardenwebbing of course). But it has been a really nice feeling, when people came and told me, that their plants in gardens and on balconies, had survived the harsh winter, and the long cycle of freeze-thaw spring, that we have just experienced! -And I have more plans for other things in the future, that I think will work out.... Like a method, I think will make the rose, more happy with a root pruning in some years!

Oh my, that was a whole novel I wrote there, just to tell you, why I have both succulents and none succulents on my balcony! Did I answer it? - I tend to get carried away at present time (the old saying of "All work and no play..." seems to have an opposite) lol. -I would like more succulents for the windowboxes though. Especially some VERY red sempervivums, if only I could get my hands on them, but they must be out there, even around here! ;o)
I feel for you with the building site. For years, they were expanding our neighbourhood, just behind my building, and one can only take so much piling!

I should have taken pictures of the view in spring... It is so lovely with all the spring bulbs and the magnolia in bloom. Hopefully I will remember next year!

Rambling regards
Sleepless-in-Denmark (VG)

Haha! I am, i guess, your American counterpart-- totally lazy about things as well! I do like succulents though on their own. You may or may not notice most of my plants (as well as the ones indoors) are in pots which do not drain. That's because i am a lazy underwaterer and I have better luck correcting that fault with pots that are sealed :)

I, too, did gardening as a kid and had my own plants in my room. i also became in charge of rose pruning and such. Sounds like you're about 2 years older than me-- so we're on a similar timeline of gardening and life as such.

I have never even tried watering multiple times per day. I can barely be bothered to water my window boxes every other day in the summer heat. My plants just have to put up with me.

And lol-- i believe I gave that check which climate your plants come from advice somewhere in this forum a few days ago. I also learned to do that to avoid problems. If it is too picky for my style of indoor or outdoor culture, I just try to forget about that plant or correct for whatever it is I know I will do wrong (not water, not provide enough humidity, lol).

I get to be the go-to person as well. lots of knowledge I acquired from my own interest and looking things up. Most of this looking up and researching has been done at a time when i am really procrastinating real work-- like a job or school work. Go figure.

I will look forward to the spring pictures next year maybe. It is a great view.

Julianna

I do like how the succulents look as well. Perhaps I didn't always (childhood trauma, of sitting stark naked on a cactus TWICE, and my mum having to remove all the (not so) little thorns from my sore butt cheeks), but they have certainly grown on me since then. -I still avoid growing cactuses though.
At the moment I'm looking into trailing sedums with red leaves, and yellow and red sempervivums as well!

A little tip for finding alternatives to something that you like the look of, but know that you will not be able to grow: Google search has this feature on their image search, where you just drag an image into the search field. Let's say, you like the look of a rose, but cannot grow that. Then you drag a picture that you like of this rose into the search field, and it will instantly come up with pictures, that looks somewhat like it. Then you can add new criterions, such as SUCCULENT or SHADE or "ZONE 5" or all of them, and hit enter. and it will come up with pictures, that google also think looks similar, but with those criterias in the result. -Often you end up with something that doesn't look a lot like the same thing at all, but at other times, you get things that are right on the nose!

I love the image search! I do that for various things occasionally.

I grew up in the desert/Nevada and had relatives in Arizona and California. I've always liked the Southern California gardens-- a mix of succulents and other plants-- and I think that has colored the way I want things to look.

I have a deadly agave on the balcony which is still tiny. I will inevitably injure myself on that!

When I saw you mentioning the word agave two things happened. First I came to think of my aunt's Agaves, and then a chill ran down my spine, and I had to run out on the back stairs to check on my Aloe vera.
While cleaning my kitchen windows, MONTHS ago, I put an Aloe vera var. chinensis out there, and forgot all about it! Oh the poor thing, it's really in a bad state, but still alive though... and putting new shoots out EVERYWHERE! I just flushed the dirt of its root ball so that I can repot it this evening, and I saw that it has TEN (or possibly eleven) new shoots emerging at the base, and AT LEAST THREE on the middle of the plant plus a tiny shoot near the rim of the pot, which broke off while I was removing the dirt. Now, this thing will soon look like the plant I was hoping it would become some day.... I just didn't expect it to happen all in one season, and definitely not because of neglect! -But there you go, stress will sometimes make a plant do the most wonderful things.
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But about the Agave. My aunt and uncle had two agaves in pots on their terrace (I think Agave americana). In the beginning I didn't like them, but then my aunt showed me, that you can break off the thorn at the end a leaf tip, and then when you pull it away, there is a string attached to it. She told me that the cowboys on the prairies would use those to mend their clothes, which gave these plants some Lucky Luke points in my book! :-D
They get big though! Or at least the variety, that they had will. After a few years they got too big for the terrace, and they created a stone garden to put the pots in. They overwintered them in their winter garden, until they got too big to get through the rather wide door. Then a friend of theirs, who owned a plant nursery, overwintered them in one of his greenhouses. He had to use a forklift truck to move them. After some years of doing that, my aunt gave them to him. -My guess is that those two (if he still has them), are the biggest Agaves in Denmark, if not in Scandinavia.

VG

PS. Now, don't go pulling that string out of all your leafs, I think it will kill it (well not the Agave, but the actual leaf).

Well, I think that Aloe will be just fine! I haven never heard about the leaf thing with Agave. Mine is too tiny to want to pull anything out of it anyway. it's an infant Agave paryii. Agave americana "medio picta" is my favorite. I love that variegation. I remember seeing them as far out as Jordan, and being excited that my favorite plant was in cultivation there.

They also had a couple of variegated ones with yellow stripes. These never grew as big though. The ones I was talking about, where blueish. But, don't mess around with them too much. The sap can be quite toxic, as you probably know. I'm wondering, IF the cowboy story is true, how they avoided getting itchy fingers. They did, have that string though, and the spike is so sharp, that you could probably use it as a needle, if not as a harpoon.

I just just decided to remove those ugly lower leafs on the Aloe. I must say, it hurt a bit, but sometimes, you just have to rip that band-aid off. Doing this made it even more wobbly, but once it gets some growth in those pups at the base, I hope that will help stabilise it, and by then, those lower ones would probably just be in the way, as they where all over.
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If it stays floppy you can just bury it further. It won't really hinder the pups.

I don't know that they would have done it-- those spines are so big that it would damage clothing it would seem to me. Also metal needles were pretty plentiful. You run into them all over contemporary sites, even pioneer ones :) The variegated A. americanas will get to the same size. Maybe with the colder temps though and higher latitudes it slowed them down.

You are right, packing a needle, when you go horseback riding, seems like something, not too difficult to fit in. -My aunt probably just discovered it by accident, and came up with a tall story, to make me like them better.
But this talk of spiky plants, made me try to remember the name of a biennial I saw on the internet a couple of years ago. -Digging around on sites with spiky plants, I finally found it: Echium wildpretii/ Tower of Jewels. Click here to see the blog post.
How gorgeous is that? -I would love this plant, even if it is poisonous, and care should be taken when handling. I found a place in UK, that sells the seeds (and cheap too), but overwintering might be a bit hard, not to say a struggle. I doubt my neighbours would like it very much, if I put a big poisonous plant in a window on the staircase (even if that WOULD be the best place for it)! It's hardy to zone 9a, and I'm in 7a. If anyone have had luck overwintering something that is 2 zones ABOVE them, I would love to hear about it.... I've never even dared TRYING! -Could a zone 9a to zone 11 plant overwinter in the living room by the window, do you think? - Without light set-ups, that is. -And would I be crazy to do something like that, with a poisonous plant?

Haha well poisonous never really phased me. I think you could do it-- overwinter it inside. Especially if you have a cool spot or an especially cool window.

My mind is bugging me about this plant... Should I or not? I'm really not sure. I just found out that even though biennial, they often take three years to bloom. I might not have the patience for that, even if it does look amazing. -I'm trying to look into alternatives. -The fact that I now have more big pots than ever, has made me think, that perhaps I should see the plantings on the balcony, more as a flower bed, than as individual pots. And rather create a plan for the whole thing, instead of just getting a bunch of plants that I like, while moving them around as I go. This will definitely be the last year, with as many climbers, as I have now. -I might even pull that stunted moon flower before I have to train that as well.

It turns out, that the "healthy" rose I bought.... has rust, powdery mildew and aphids! -Maybe I should invite some black spot, and call it a party!

A flower bed-- that is how I think of mine. I have 2 beds and then the window boxes. So I plan accordingly.

That is a while to wait on something you may not be sure how to overwinter. What about subbing something at least smaller? Or who knows, if you poke around at inspiration pictures online, maybe you'll see something that will change your direction altogether.

I've been googling flower spikes and silver leaves all evening ;o) -I'm thinking perhaps Verbascum bombyciferum would look nice with Verbena bonariensis and Liatris spicata on one side of the balcony. Maybe some Lamb's Ear on the other side, as an accent plant. With it's grey wolly leaves and purple flowers on wolly stems, I think it might compliment all of these, as well as making a nice contrast to the rose next to it. And they would certainly all be a lot easier for me to grow, than the Tower of Jewels ever would. -No doubt about that!

Those sound like good ideas!

I've been looking around some more, and I think, that instead of the Verbascum bombyciferum, I will sow Thalictrum delavayi (Yunnan meadow rue) and Cephalaria gigantea (Giant Scabious). I've found out that seedaholic in UK sell both of these, as well as Verbascum bombyciferum ‘Arctic Summer’
Mullein (Aka 'Polar Summer' or 'Silver Lining'), which I could not find anywhere on the Danish sites. Hopefully, it will look somewhat as I imagine: with year-round interest from both inside, outside on the balcony, as well as from the street.

This post was edited by vgtar on Sat, Jun 15, 13 at 6:54

Sounds like a plan! I love things that give year-long interest. I chose a few evergreen things just for that reason!

I plant in sev stages: from flats to larger containers as they grow, 1qt being the end. and then group them in big pots, rotating for sun, etc. I am not fully arranged for this season, but some areas are looking pretty good.
I adopted wire bath corner shelves from bath & beyond for my very narrow wall space behind the door by connecting 2 together and stuffing them with smallish pots. the pots are shaded and concealed, most trailing plants make a continuous cover.
for now it's coleus (while still small), creeping jenny, mints, ivies and non-stop begonias. later when it gets hotter I'll put tall coleus on top and more petunias.
this spot gets a few hours of sunrise sun (NE).

this corner gets most sun, so I rotate all kinds of plants thru it. currently pansies and petunias, stargazers are coming up in the background and my 2 seedling calamondins around 5 years old.

and finally the long view. the plants in the back are mostly from indoors on vacation for the summer: jades, sansevieria, crotons. they stay in bright shade. the edge gets may be 1-2 hours of sun.

I overwintered easter lilies on a cold (58?) window, by keeping them dry and plastic covered to maintain the temp/humidity. they grow on the balcony in summer and get 4 hours of NE sun. they finished blooming a couple of weeks ago. one had 4 blooms and others just one, but I am content nevertheless. hope to bloom them next year again.

This post was edited by petrushka on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 9:35

petrushka-- lovely! The lilies may be hardy in a large enough pot to stay outside. I think they are hardy to 6 or 5 iirc.

well, it'll have to be a very large pot! they say to dig them in 8" and then mulch. I actually haven't tried since even hydrangeas do poorly (they do survive, but are very late and weak to come up - not worth it for me). It does not need to freeze for blooms.
the orientals I did overwinter, but not this year and not every year - depends. I have hard time overwintering anything besides Montauk daisy. and then what for? not enough blooms, not enough sun...I keep it for a while though since the green buds cheer me up in winter :).
here's one more: close-up of the back. the easter lily patch is on the left, begonias, coleus, ivies, petunias.

Very nice, Petrushka! -I would love to see that plant stand you did (I can't really make it out under all that lush foliage ;-) I'm running out of space fast, and I'm looking for new ideas as how to maximize the space I've got.... even if just to spur new ideas! (I just bought a lemon verbena and a strawberry mint the other day, and saw several other mints I would love to get my hands on) -As it is now.... if I get anymore, something else has to go: "I'm looking at YOU, puny basils and YOU, Abyssinian Gladiolus!"

I've had luck with overwintering muscadet lilies in the past... It always survived the winters... It was in my biggest container, but I don't think it had to be as large as that. I just placed the bulbs on top of the soil, and then gave them a THICK layer of mulch. SOme winters, the biggest bulbs wouldn't survive, but I think that might have had to do with watering. But the smaller bulbils would always make it, and also give blooms. -Perhaps the big ones actually DID make it, but where just under fertilized... I'm not sure... anyway, the story is, that they kept blooming every year, without protection. Muscadets ARE orientals, but I have no idea whether they are hardier than other orientals or not. I just bought them, while in bloom, because I liked the smell, and they were cheap and showy ;o)

I also did the small pots to larger pots to big pots thing this year... Since I'm at home from work atm, I tried it out... but I don't think I'll be doing that again. I'm not very good with seedlings, unless they are fairly hardy, and can be direct sown. This summer I will sow some hardy perennials, and a biennial, (plus wintersow to make sure some of it makes it), and then in the future, all sowing I'll be doing for the balcony will be tomatoes and a direct sown squash, given they are a success this year. How you guys keep up with it, is beyond me, but I tip my invisible hat for you!

Again, lovely balcony!

VG

vgtar, here's pic of a corner stand, the shelves are mesh. I connected 2 together with wire. zip-tieworks.
in the future I can connect 4 (I bought 4) to use as a table base with maybe a butcher-block top or smth. can use as a single too for my African violets. very light and easy to move.
I never start from seeds, don't have space, don't have light,etc. I just buy flats: little sprouted plants in 2 " packs. and often plants in 4-6" pots to start.

Ah, THOSE, yes I get it now! Brilliant idea!