Many of us grow indoor flowers in apartments. And many have balconies, although the greatest luxury for a flower grower is a sun loggia that can be turned into a flowering garden. But balcony floriculture is somewhat different from the usual indoor cultivation and flower care.
First of all, on the balcony and behind the balcony, you can grow ordinary garden flowers, annuals and perennials. The range of balcony colors depends on the illumination on it (south side or, for example, east) and on the design of the balcony (closed, open). There are a number of summers growing on the balcony of almost any orientation, even on the shadow side, only the flowering will not be too abundant. But we will talk about garden plants on the balcony in another article.
Features of growing indoor flowers on the balcony
Almost all indoor flowers can be exposed to the open air in the spring-summer period, but you should always remember about the species temperature requirements of plants. Daily temperature fluctuations even at 15-20 ° C are not terrible for many tropical flowers if the plant gets used to them gradually. But the lower boundaries of the temperature corridor, for most of them are + 10-12 ° C, so you can take indoor flowers to the open balcony only when the summer weather is warm, from about May 20. Until June at night, it is better to bring them into the apartment, because weather forecasts are not always accurate, and spring winds are always cold.
If the balcony or loggia is glazed, then you can display indoor flowers much earlier - in late April - early March (in central Russia), but still focus on the readings of the thermometer installed on the balcony. The simplest options for glazing the balcony (wooden frames, without insulation) allow you to maintain a temperature 4-5 ° C higher than outdoors, and protect plants from wind and rain .
But we must remember that it is especially dangerous to lower the temperature of watered plants in which the root system is in a damp state. At the same time, the temperature in the pot is 2-3 ° C lower than the ambient air, so be sure to make a discount on this if you doubt whether to bring flowers into the apartment at night or not.
The other extreme: a critical rise in temperatures on sunny days on a closed balcony. Sometimes in spring on warm days, the temperature outside rises to 20-26 ° C, but on a sunny balcony with closed windows and a door to a room, it can rise to 40 ° C and above. This temperature is already too high for all leafy indoor flowers (meaning all but many cacti and some succulents). And if the plants remained on the closed balcony-greenhouse not watered, then by the evening many of them will inevitably die.
Here are Hindi's notes on the reaction of various houseplants on the summer balcony:
"Poplar fluff, heat, June...
Hibiscuses not only survive for me, but bloom at a temperature of + 50 ° C and a humidity of 20%, when engine units of air conditioners work on the loggia. At this temperature and humidity, abundant watering of hibiscuses is required, primarily those in small pots. In this situation, the recommendation does not apply to carry out the next watering only after the topsoil dries.
Bougainvillea can withstand this temperature - for it it is its native temperature, it keeps well without abundant watering.
The dracena holds, but the leaves darken from exposure to high temperatures.
Ivy can hardly hold on if young shoots start to wither more than + 40 ° С.
Room rose and fuchsia do not hold more than + 35 ° C, begin to wilt, but very quickly move away if you remove them from the heat."
If such a high temperature rises on the balcony, special attention is paid to flower pots. Pots of dark (brown and black) plastic are categorically unacceptable - it heats up a lot, causing overheating and overheating of the root system - which is almost certain death for flowers. Medium to high volume white glossy heavy ceramics work best. Although pots are difficult to find in pure white, in this case, pots of the lightest shades are needed. In the most extreme case, if it is not possible to transplant plants (for example, if it is in a large wooden tub or bucket), then you can wrap the pot in foil, or foil isolon (sold in hardware stores).
If you have a glazed balcony on the south side and a rich assortment of indoor plants, do not skimp and install air conditioning - this is the only way to adjust the microclimate, not only for plants, but also for your own pleasure. After all, no fan or humidifier will save you from the heat. But you can slightly reduce the temperature on the balcony on sunny days using shading. To do this, use curtains made of veil, blinds, in extreme cases, on especially hot days, you can fix the sun reflector for the car on the glass (made of the same foil isolon).
Watering balcony flowers also has its own characteristics. They are connected with the fact that in addition to the temperature, the air humidity on the balcony is very different from that in the apartment. So, in rainy weather, the humidity outside is 90-100%, on a glazed balcony about 60-70%, and in an apartment 40-50% (checked by a hygrometer). Accordingly, the soil in the pots of flowers in the apartment will dry out much faster. If in the apartment you will water flowers in such weather every 3-4 days, then on the balcony once a week - one and a half (approximately, because it also depends on the volume of the pot, the structure of the earth and temperature). If your flowers are displayed on an unglazed balcony, then the most unpleasant thing for them can be a night cooling after heavy rain or watering - waterlogged roots in a cold pot quickly rot.
Another feature of keeping plants on the balcony is that, like plants exposed to the garden, balcony flowers (especially on an unlocked balcony) have a higher risk of being attacked by pests and pathogens than indoor flowers if the balcony is located below 3-4 floors. If you walk down the street in summer and take a good look at the shrubs and trees growing in the yard, you can find a lot of diseases and pests. Whiteflies and powdery mildew are very common. Whiteflies are dangerous because adults fly and breed very easily. True, it is not so difficult to fight it as with a tick. But powdery mildew, the pathogen of which is a pathogenic fungus of the genus Oidium, Sphaerotheca, etc. leads to serious losses, and is treated only with the use of fungicides.
Pest and disease prevention measures are rather ambiguous, there are practically none. The fact is that the conditions under which fungal and bacterial infections multiply are increased humidity, rainy weather. But if the plants are not sprayed and in no way increase the humidity of the air, in warm conditions the spider tick very easily attacks. Sometimes pests and signs of diseases are found on plants. Garden pests: whiteflies, thrips, caterpillars, etc. sucking and gnawing, are treated for 1-2 watering with systemic insecticides (actara). But it's harder to fight the tick. If rose or rosehip bushes grow under your windows, yes, in general, any flowers, it is better to carry out preventive spraying with acaricide.
On this occasion, there is a humorous tip for combating the tick: You need to have a small rose. In a week, all your, and neighboring ticks from all plants will crawl over this rose, and then you can just throw it out the window. And it would be funny if it weren't so sad...