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Balcony Gardening

What can I grow on a north-facing balcony?

7 years ago

We have a narrow, north-facing balcony in Italy (zone 8/9 equivalent). It gets some early evening sun depending on the time of year, but not much. The balcony is at the front of the house and is mainly used in summer when the shade is appreciated. We have a south-facing terrace which we use the rest of the time.

What could I plant on the balcony that would a) make the front of the house look pretty and b) enjoy the shady conditions?

So far my ideas are raspberries (as I've been told they do better in shade here) and perhaps a small, shade tolerant climbing rose. What else could I plant?

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Comments (5)

andy99mich
7 years ago
Hi Mina, I'm not familiar with Italy plants, but here's a list of beautiful flowers or plants that grow well with shade in the US in Zone 8 or 9 (like I said I'm not sure that these will be adequate for Italy):

Hydrangea- these are absolutely beautiful and most species can grow well in shade and Zone 8/9. Fuchsia- gorgeous flowers that come in many colors and most varieties are hardy for your area. Viola- these are very attractive plants that have tiny, colorful flowers. Impatiens- these have beautiful bright flowers and love the shade.

Herbs can be very attractive as well. Do some research for some good shade loving herbs that grow great by you.

Hopefully this little list helps. If you don't find anything you like, I'd recommend going to a local nursery and asking the same question. :)
MinaLoy thanked andy99mich
MinaLoy
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions! I think your US suggestions would be just firne for Italy ;-)

I didn't realise hydrangeas could do well in shade. They grow very well here - in fact with roses, olive and lemon trees they're pretty much the mainstay of gardens here. I guess I must have seen them growing in the shade without noticing!

I like violas very much too. Our kitchen opens onto a south-facing terrace so we have lots of herbs there to hand and I hadn't thought of growing any at the front, but I'll have a look into ones that might do better in the shade.
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Hi Jules! I live in Houston and have a north-facing balcony chock full of shade-loving plants: hydrangea, red bird, plume ginger, 4 different varieties of ipomea (sweet potato vine), 2 dracenaes, chinese evergreen, airplane plant, 6 varieties of coleus, impatiens, daylilies, all kinds of ivy, ferns, a 12-foot ficus tree, and on and on! Quite honestly, you can grow more things on a north-facing balcony in Houston than any other direction. You still get plenty of bright light but not so much that everything burns up. Good luck! Kaye
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Thank you for the tips. Stupidly, I hadn't considered that shade here would be different from shade in the UK, where I grew up hearing my mum complain endlessly about a north-facing strip in our garden where nothing would grow. So maybe I have more choice than I thought. Marlorena your roses are fabulous! I hadn't thought about Austins as we already have a few which seem very happy in containers on our sunny, south-facing terrace. I didn't know they would/could bloom so well in shade. What size are your pots? Comtesse thanks for the suggestions. I very much like Felicia which I believe is a hyrid musk, could this be trained as a climber? All measurements are estimates as it's raining, but I have 2 options (or perhaps 2 roses knowing how enabling gardenweb is!): a) a container in the centre of the balcony with a trellis 4-5ft wide to grow up until about 8ft where the windows finish - if the rose grew beyond this it could fan out or grow horizontally. The container would have to be pretty narrow (10-12inches) but I was hoping I could compensate with extra depth and length. I guess not too thorny in this position would be good. b) a wider container at the end (nobody needs to pass so could theoretically be pretty big here) with a narrow 3ft trellis. If the rose reached the top of the windows (8ft from the ground) it could be trained horizontally above the window.
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You'll need to provide more info before anyone will be able to provide useful advice. WHERE are you? What zone? How much light does your balcony receive? North balconies generally don't receive much light but some folks are fortunate enough to receive a good deal of reflected light from a lightly colored neighboring building. If you have tall trees shading the balcony, a large overhang or another balcony above yours, then you would likely have very low light which would greatly limit your options. Btw, tulips are full sun plants in the north. Even if you could keep them through a winter, you would not likely receive enough sun to "charge them up" for the following season. You might, depending upon your zone, be able to use them as disposable plants though.
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I can’t say enough good stuff about my Bolero and show profusely it bloomed in shade... yet it also performs just as well in full sun. This rose blows my mind in every way. I don’t have one bad thing to say about it. It’s Romantica Meilland Bolero. It grows in a perfectly round bushy shape... stays a very nice manageable size (3x3 is considered full grown for most plants)... and spends almost all of it’s energy making gorgeous blooms. And as if that’s not enough... it as an awesome cut rose to bring into the house or give as gifts... and smells like sweet tropical fruit... to me it smells like lychee fruit. It’s also very disease resistant... I never spray... and makes for a great landscaping rose... and rose to grow in a planter as it doesn’t tend to get too big. I don’t live in your zone, but I’ve heard from others across the country in different zones that grow it... and it seems to be one of those roses for people all across the country. There’s a good thread on here about it if your just google Bolero Rose and Houzz. I posted a bunch of pics and info on the thread about my love for this rose. It gives me so much, with such little fuss. I honestly don’t really do anything other than water it. I don’t even really prune it... ever. I might if I have time, dead head it... but honestly you don’t even have to do that to it. It seems to self deadhead, if you don’t have time or forget.
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andy99mich
7 years ago
You're welcome! I agree, I didn't realize that until I was looking into hydrangea plants for myself... Apparently they do better with shade. And I found cilantro, chives, parsley, and lemon balm all do amazing in the shade. I'm glad I could give some suggestions! :)
MinaLoy thanked andy99mich
MinaLoy
Original Author
7 years ago
Great, thank you. Lemon balm would be great. I love cilantro (though we call it coriander here ;-) ) but it's always bolted super fast here so I'd given up, growing it in the shade is a great suggestion, thanks!
User
7 years ago
Yes, I think mint, chives and cilantro will do quite well. Maybe a few shrubs?

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