Avoid these four mistakes - and your balcony plants will thrive

Created: 04/11/2022Updated: 04/11/2022 15:54

By: Franziska Kaindl

You want it to bloom beautifully on the balcony in spring and summer?

Then you should follow a few tips.

© Ines Nerlich/Imago

From spring onwards, balcony plants give hobby gardeners great pleasure.

In order for the sea of ​​flowers to flourish properly, you should avoid common mistakes.

Sitting on the balcony in the sunshine and enjoying the soft green – this is how many imagine a beautiful, relaxed spring day.

When planting a balcony*, quite apart from the individual care that a plant needs, there are still a few basic rules to be observed.

Careless mistakes can mean that the flowers do not last long.

Put balcony plants outside?

When should you wait?

As soon as the temperatures rise above 15 to 20 degrees for the first time in spring, many hobby gardeners would like to put their balcony plants outside.

until the ice saints on May 15th

- and the flowers will simply freeze to death.

You should therefore only give your balcony plants a place outside after this deadline.

Do not rush to buy a balcony box – what you need to pay attention to

Once the flowers have been bought, a beautiful balcony box is needed quickly.

However, you shouldn't choose it based on its beauty, but based on what is most suitable for your plants.

So you should make sure that it is big enough to give

.

Also, avoid buying a black container when the sun is strong on your balcony -

.

Also make sure that the containers have holes on the bottom.

This is where the irrigation water runs off so that waterlogging does not occur.

Do not fill balcony boxes too much

The more, the better does not necessarily apply to balcony plants - especially if they have to share a box.

The roots need enough space, and the flowers should all have a similar growth height.

Otherwise, a smaller plant will be overshadowed and displaced.

The rule of

is: Four to five plants have space in an 80 centimeter long container, you can plant six to eight plants in a 100 centimeter long box.

Do not use dirty balcony boxes

You may be surprised that balcony boxes should be cleaned of dirt and soil when new substrate is put in anyway.

However, if your plants were attacked by

in the previous year , the new flowers can become infected.

So clean the boxes with hot water or put it in a water bath that has a bit of vinegar in it.

Chose the wrong flowers?

A lull threatens

Not every balcony plant is suitable for every location.

Flowers that flourish on a south-facing balcony could have a problem with a north-facing balcony – and vice versa.

It is therefore important that you

.

Colored nettles, geraniums or dahlias, for example, love the sun, while begonias, hostas or fuchsias prefer the shade.