How should I place my hostas on my balcony?
I hope to complete the move down south in another couple of months. I will have a 12 x 7' covered balcony to house my hostas & heuchies in their fabric grow bags. There is a floor-to-ceiling brick privacy wall on the western narrow end of my balcony. As you can see from the compass rose and red line, it's pretty much a SW exposure on the balcony.
I intend to put the largest (10 gallon fabric grow bags) on a 4 shelf utility shelving unit and cozy that unit right up against the brick wall to ensure stability against winds or other things which could topple it. I was originally thinking to put the smaller grow bags of hostas and heuchies on the eastern narrow side of the balcony on tiered shelves. But, it looks as though the lower 2 shelves would not get much light. Therefore, I'm considering 3 shelf utility straight up and down shelving units even with the top of the railing for that area.
I have 2 concerns:
1. Do you think the larger hostas on the taller utility shelf will get enough sun positioned against the brick wall?
2. Will the smaller hostas on the eastern side get enough sun in straight up and down shelving vs. tiered?
Thanks for your input, guys!
Comments (7)
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Comments (18)TheRealEsther sez, I can see my hostas and heuchies (sorry for the stupid spell correcter changing hostas into "hostages" and stuff) growing BY THE HOUR. Of the 38 plants on my balcony, only 3 are not showing pips as of today, and at least 10 are starting to unfurl! With the coronavirus crisis going on like this, I have a feeling real estate transactions are pretty much not happening now. My former downstairs realtor neighbor in Queens, who rents apartments, seems to be working from home, whereas normally he's out from cain't see to cain't see. And I haven't seen any of the little houses I'm interested in coming up for sale here. So who knows when the right little house for me will pop up on the market here in Baltimore? Meanwhile, I'm doing absolutely the best I can do for my hostas and heuchies under the present balcony circumstances. Right now, I'm watering when I stick my finger into the soil of a couple of pots and it's dry. It's a windy city, is Baltimore, so the wind acting on the fabric grow bags is very likely bringing about some drying out. I may answer that challenge by wrapping saran wrap around the sides, but NOT the bottoms of the fabric grow bags. When the sun is shining and I'm out on the balcony, I can feel the sun beating down on me, even though my balcony is under my upstairs neighbor's balcony. I get that SW angle sun. So I may put a thin layer of mulch in the bags as well to cut down on water evaporation--I'm paying for the water in this apartment. Boy, I wish I could tap into the gutter pipe going down the building and direct it to empty over my plants. Meanwhile, with the plants starting to peep up beyond the rims of their fabric grow bags, I'm starting to get compliments from my neighbors! My next door neighbor in the next building told me, "Your garden is the best garden I see on any balcony." Honey, you ain't seen nothing yet of what I have planned. I will add pots of annuals on the balcony floor and hang pots from the railing, for a riot of color and green, ably "assisted" by my 2 cats. Zizu, the little rescue pistol, comes out with me every time I go out on the balcony. Bijou, the older Maine Coon, is not used to being outside, so she usually sits at the screen door/living room interface watching us. She's starting to get with the program and venture out for short periods. The potting soil is new as of last summer. Do you think I need to put my customary Osmo--Cote Plus in the pots soon?...See MoreHow should I arrange my furniture in my off-centered living room?
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4 years agoKATHY: No, there is no sunscreen around the balcony. It is open. I think what you're seeing is just shadow.
KEN: The shelving units are quite sturdy. Each shelf holds like 75 lbs. each. They are by Origami, and fold up to mere inches thick in about 30 seconds. I figure that will be handy when I am able to find my little tiny dream house and move out of the apartment.
I also had the wind in mind, and that's why I intend to put the heaviest (the 10 gallon) fabric grow pots placed on the tall 4-shelf unit in the lee of the floor-to-ceiling brick privacy wall on the western side. The brick wall should cut a lot of the wind, and the 10 gallon pots should add stability. I still have to decide whether I want to put the 1, 2, 5, and 7 gallon fabric grow pots on tiered shelves or a straight up-and-down shelving unit, on the narrow eastern end of the balcony. Since the picture shows that the sun doesn't penetrate very far into the balcony, I wonder if the plants on the lower two tiered shelves would receive any more light than if they were on the straight shelving.
(not my balcony, just illustrative of a tiered plant shelf on A balcony!)
VS.
Esther-B, Zone 7a
4 years agoEsther-B, Zone 7a
4 years ago
zkathy z7a NC