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I am hoping for some wonderful ideas on how to gow about filling my balcony with foliage! I moved to a 2nd floor apt in Raleigh NC last year from Massachusetts where I had a full sun garden and this is my first spring here. I am surrounded by trees, mostly oak and pine. It is hard to judge just how much sun I get out there at the moment, as winter is almost gone, but the trees are still bare and will soon be full again. Any ideas on what sort of part shade/shade plants to recommend that are long lasting, colorful and hardy? I would love to find a few tropicals (if possible) and anything that climbs...thanks!
I am in the same situation you are. My balcony is pretty much shade from sun up to sun down.
You will love impatiens! They are constant bloomers that love the shade and come in a wide array of colors including white, salmon, pink and red. The only maintenance involved is keeping them well watered. They don't require any deadheading. The double impatiens almost look like roses in full bloom. The only drawback is they are annuals because they are rainforest flowers. But they definitely give you a lot of bang for your buck for the shade!
Another easy and beautiful shade plant is coleus. They are grown for their foliage and are also popular houseplants. Their leaves come in a variety of colors like lime green and yellow to burgundy and purple. They are just as easy to grow as impatiens and just as colorful. You might want to cut them back a bit so they don't get so leggy and snip off the stalks when they begin to flower to encourage more foliage.
Begonias are another great flower for the shade and don't forget about ferns and ivy of all varieties.
I have planters that hang over the balcony railing and then have a number of hanging plants. Between the two heights, I have a lot of privacy and beauty outside by balcony doors.
Be sure to post a picture when your balcony is in full bloom!
Wonderful suggestions - impatiens completely slipped my mind - I think I have a great chance at success out there this year...I will definitely post pics once in full bloom. Thank you so much.:)
You can grow a lot of things in the shady conditions you describe. I'm on the 6th floor and I have a 5 x 26 foot balcony facing northeast. I do get about an hour to an hour and a half worth of morning sun and about two to three hours in late afternoon because I'm on the corner of my building. I grow clematis, hostas, Jacob's Ladder, columbine, tulips, daffodils, lilies, morning glories, weigela, asters, heuchera, astilbe, impatiens, lobelia, Million Bells, snapdragons, pansies, violas. I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them right now. I take advantage of any sun I get by putting the sun-lovers on the west end where they get 3-5 hours at the beginning and end of the day. Here's a pic of the east end of the balcony from last summer (June 21).
