Forcing tuberous begonia

Already present on the balconies of our grandmothers, tuberous begonias are a sure value. To speed up the recovery process and obtain flowers early, it is necessary to give them a little treatment.

Precautions and preparation: the keys to success.

The tuberous begonia, as its name indicates it, have a tuber which constitutes the reserves of the plant. This one enters in dormancy during the cold season.

This begonia, native of South and Central America, is a cold one which does not support the too fresh temperatures for him under our latitudes. It is thus advisable to take some precautions and not to rush it to ensure the success of its culture.

The bulb must be wintered with the shelter of the frost and the dry one in order to preserve it in a perfect health. A soft restart will have to be implemented in spring, before being able to install it definitively in a pot in the shade and with the shelter of the great winds.

Afterwards, this easy plant will only require a limited maintenance and will bloom profusely for many months.

When and how to proceed?

It is a question of "waking up" the tuber in dormancy a little prematurely to obtain an early bloom.

• At the end of March/beginning of April, take a box and fill it with a very light mixture composed of half sand and half peat or potting soil. Add charcoal powder to limit the appearance of any cryptogamic diseases.
• Tamp the surface to smooth it out.
• Water the mixture so that it is moist but not completely soggy.
• Place the tuber, rounded side down, with the concave part from which the shoots should emerge facing the light.
• Bury only the rounded part so that only the upper side of the bulb emerges.
• Place the box in full light and warm.
• Water the substrate from time to time so that it never dries out completely.
• As soon as the first shoots appear, move the box to a cooler but still very bright place. The temperature should be around 15°C.
• When all risk of frost is eliminated, around mid-May, gently remove the tuber with its root ball and install it in its final pot filled with good compost.

Next steps

Once well installed in its container, place your begonia in half-shade, or in the shade in the warmest regions, and water it regularly but without excess. Cut off the faded flowers as you go along and add some liquid organic fertilizer once every ten days to the watering water to see it bloom for a long time.

As soon as the first frosts arrive, bring your pot in a frost-free place and wait for the leaves to wither completely to winterize the tuber in a dry place.

Flowering a balcony

A balcony in the city can easily be transformed into a little plant paradise: from the abundant jungle to the refined Zen style, you must take into account a few major parameters in order to obtain an optimal result with a minimum of worries and maintenance.

Exposure

The exposure of your balcony is a major factor to take into account. The choice of plants will depend on it. Indeed, a balcony facing south that will receive full sunlight throughout the day will benefit from conditions particularly suited to heat-loving plants such as Mediterranean plants and cacti. A shaded, north-facing balcony will welcome plants that like coolness.

Space

The lack of space should not scare you: by exploiting the verticality with trellises and suspensions, you will gain space.

Maintenance

In the city, time is often limited and even a small garden on a balcony can require long hours of maintenance. If your time is limited, choose resistant plants that require little maintenance.

Choosing plants and structuring the space

Start by dressing the walls to set the scene: with its foot in the shade, a clematis will illuminate a wall with its starry, multi-colored bloom.

Honeysuckles like sun or half-shade depending on the species. They will quickly colonize the trellises and perfume the balcony with their sweet scent. Similarly, on well-exposed balconies receiving a few hours of sunlight a day, a star jasmine will be perfect and will spread its powerful fragrance to the interior of the apartment. Fans of foliage will install a Virginia creeper that will blaze with flamboyant colors in the fall or a variegated ivy that will cover the wall all year long.

English baskets and other hanging baskets also allow you to exploit the smallest vertical corner of the balcony. Install Violas which, from October onwards, will develop cascades of small, brightly colored flowers until the first hot days of summer. Once they have finished flowering, replace them with Surfinias associated with white Lobelias or Ivy-leaved Geraniums in the sun, and with drooping Begonias and other Fuschias for shady areas. These plants will also work well in window boxes and planters properly attached to the balcony railing.

Make the most of corners by installing tall rectangular planters: black bamboo will do wonders there. Another possibility is to combine dwarf roses in the foreground with gladioli in the background, although the colors should match!

On a small table, recreate a small country corner in an old pewter basin. Daffodil and muscari bulbs can be placed next to perennials or grasses. If your balcony is in full sun, create a collection of cacti: installed individually in zinc planters, they will give a graphic touch to an already modern terrace.

Flowers for hanging baskets

Very popular with our English friends, hanging baskets and other hanging pots frame entrances or decorate the corners of balconies with brio. This 'So British' trend has crossed the Channel to enhance our exteriors. Here is a selection of some ideal hanging plants.

Which plants for my hanging baskets?

The plants chosen to create hanging baskets must have particular characteristics.

First of all, most of them must have a drooping habit, especially if your hanging baskets are hung very high.

This type of arrangement occupies the space by using the verticality, it is necessary to take advantage of it, especially if you install only short plants you will have difficulty seeing them.

A suspension can contain one or more species of plants. Always make sure that their cultural needs are very close to ensure a beautiful success.

In your compositions, play with the foliage to give volume, texture and color. Plectranthus, mints or variegated ivy will add a certain charm to your hanging baskets.

Hanging baskets in all seasons

It is possible to stagger the blooms and vary the decorations from spring to late fall in your hanging baskets.

At the very beginning of spring, you can without worry consider planting pansies and violas in your pots, they resist well to the cold, as well as primroses or daisies that you will reserve for the middle of the compositions, the falling plants being planted on the sides to obtain a 'cascade' effect.

The small forget-me-nots bring a soft bluish tint which marries wonderfully with the pastel tones of the English carnations, you can also consider some narcissus in the center to create a contrast of colors and height.

If your hanging baskets are not too high up, a few hyacinth bulbs will distill their bewitching perfume! You can associate them with low wall bellflowers or saxifrage.

In summer, the hanging baskets are more likely to be adorned with purple scaevolas, which blend perfectly with the bright yellow of bidens or the pure white of lobelias. While we're on the subject of lobelias, the deep blue varieties will serve as the perfect backdrop for orange carnations planted in the center of the arrangement to give it height and color.

How can we talk about summer hanging baskets without mentioning ivy pelargoniums or surfinias! Very greedy in nutrients and taking a lot of space in the pot, it is preferable to plant them alone.

Waterfall verbenas with their shimmering colors are also part of the summer must-haves, you will find them in a wide range of colors that will satisfy the most jaded of gardeners.

For shade, there's nothing like the timeless drooping fuchsias, with their large bells of incredible beauty. Begonias pendula or cascade will also do the trick, as well as double impatiens with drooping habit.

To keep your hanging baskets looking beautiful in the fall, remember to remove wilted flowers throughout the season and fertilize regularly. You can also drastically prune the surfinias in August so that they start to grow again.

Replace the plants at the end of their blooming period with heathers or small varieties of chrysanthemums with a drooping habit and rely on evergreen, hardy and variegated foliage such as that of certain ivy to prolong the decor.

Herbs on the balcony

You don't have to have a vegetable garden to grow herbs! A well-exposed balcony is just as suitable. Instructions for use...

Some important notions

Aromatic plants that are delicious with cooked dishes or prepared as herbal teas are perfectly suited to growing in pots or planters on a balcony. However, it is necessary to respect some simple parameters:

For an assured success choose your plants in cups, already well developed. The roots should not protrude too much from the pot and should not form a bun in the pot, a sign of suffering that would make it difficult to recover.

Check the foliage carefully: it should be healthy, vigorous, without suspicious spots or traces of mold.

The plants you choose should be suited to the exposure of your balcony. Thus, for a balcony exposed to the shade or half-shade, prefer to plant the various varieties of mint, parsley or coriander that will withstand these growing conditions.

In the sun, oregano, rosemary, sage, basil, lemon balm but also thyme of various varieties will grow without worry.

Most of these plants appreciate a sunny exposure and a well-drained substrate.

How do I plant herbs on my balcony?

The choice of container is important. Always choose a large and deep enough container so that the roots can develop well and so that you can add a bed of gravel or clay balls at the bottom to ensure good drainage, which is essential for growing herbs.

The pot should have a hole in the bottom to allow for proper drainage of watering, this will prevent the plants from rotting by asphyxiation.

Aromatic plants require a light substrate ideally composed of a part of good potting soil, a part of compost and a part of river sand.

In individual pots or window boxes, play with colors, textures and mix foliage to create an enchanting decor. Dare to be original by planting unusual cultivars such as variegated thyme, purple basil or unusual mints!

Finally, if you choose to install several plants in a common planter, they should have the same sun and watering needs.

Easy maintenance

Place your plants according to their needs, in semi-shade or sun. Keep in mind that water evaporates faster in a pot than in the ground and water your plants often in summer and in hot, windy and dry weather. However, allow the mixture to dry to 2/3 between waterings and empty the cups.

Pruning the flowers will keep the plants healthy and prevent them from 'tiring' to produce seeds. To keep the plant compact and bushy, don't hesitate to prune the foliage if possible above a leaf bud. Your aromatics will take off again!

Flowering shrubs on the balcony

Adopt flowering shrubs on your balcony, some of which are perfectly at home there and will delight you with their blooms.

Garden hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus)

Driven on stems, the hibiscus syriacus with its natural clumpy habit becomes a very original miniature tree perfectly adapted to life on a terrace or a balcony. You can buy it already formed or clear a trunk yourself by repeated pruning (it can withstand severe pruning without flinching!). The large single or double satin flowers are renewed all summer long.

Keys to success: in the sun, rose-type substrate lightened with a little coarse sand. Regular watering in summer, fertilizer every 5-6 times. Short pruning at the end of winter. Re-pot every year if possible. Very hardy.

Indian lilac (Lagerstroemia indica)

Driven on stems, the Indian lilac becomes a superb small tree. A breathtaking summer bloom with shimmering colors. A deciduous foliage taking beautiful colors in autumn (ochre, copper and purple....). A very decorative cinnamon-colored bark which peels off nicely in adult subjects... The Indian lilac is one of the rising stars of the garden. Many varieties are much more resistant to the cold than you might think!

Keys to success: deep pot (vigorous roots), well-drained substrate, sun, warmth but high humidity, pruning at the end of winter, copious and frequent watering in summer, repotting every 2-3 years. Moderate hardiness (winter protection).

The panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)

This unusual panicled hydrangea offers an impressive summer bloom with its huge panicles of creamy white flowers that fade to very decorative "old rose" colors. Mostly bushy, this hydrangea can also form a real small tree when pruned on a single stem.

Keys to success: well-drained, fertile and fresh substrate. Pruning possible at the end of winter (flowers on the wood of the year). Monthly fertilization from May to August. Re-potting every 3 years.

Other possible choices: flowering apple trees (Malus) and ornamental prunus (Prunus). 

Staging idea

Host a charming duo of an Indian lilac and a Hibiscus syriacus, both trained on stems. Choose the double versions of the latter, its crumpled and silky flowers are a perfect match for those of the Lagerstroemia. Dare to be colorful by offering them glazed pots with sparkling colors. The sun allows for all kinds of daring!

Aerate the whole in a "bouquet spirit" with light flowers and foliage (mugwort, 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia, gaura, grasses.). A star jasmine will bring a touch of green and perfume essential to the beautiful season.

Trees for my south-facing balcony

It looks like the South...

Oleander (Nerium oleander)

The oleander blooms throughout the summer season in a wide range of colors from pure white to dark red, through a whole range of pinks, yellows and oranges. The flowers are single, semi-double or double depending on the variety chosen. There are cultivars with small development, appreciable in cold climate during the wintering out of frost.

Keys to success: fertile substrate (rose soil or half soil and garden soil), annual resurfacing and repotting every 3 years. Pruning at the end of winter. Regular, copious watering (2 to 3 times a week). Bring in before the first frost.

The olive tree (Olea europea)

The good behavior of the olive tree in a pot justifies the craze of city dwellers for this beautiful Mediterranean tree. In the trade, it can be found trained on a more or less high stem (quarter, half). Choose varieties that are resistant to cold and disease, such as 'Anglandau'. The latter is self-fertile: you can even have olives if the winter is mild!

Keys to success: pot almost as wide as the tree's branch, well-drained substrate (Mediterranean type plants). Water weekly in summer. In winter, avoid waterlogging the soil, especially if it freezes. In cold climates, overwinter out of the freezer (in a lighted, unheated room, not in the house!). Re-pot every 3-4 years.

The hemp palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)

This Chinese palm does well in a container. It keeps modest proportions compatible with balcony life while maintaining a majestic silhouette. Its large, pleated, evergreen fans are topped by a thin, cylindrical trunk.

Keys to success: container twice the size of the root ball, fertile and well-drained substrate. Spare it from cold drafts, mulch generously in autumn and wrap the pot with a winter veil if it freezes for a long time. Re-pot every 3-4 years.

Eucalyptus gunnii

The young foliage of Eucalyptus gunnii is evergreen and particularly decorative, making it a perfect backdrop for all the flowers on the balcony. The round leaves are a beautiful bluish-green with silver reflections and become longer as they age.

Keys to success: a large pot (50 cm minimum), a substrate such as rose soil + 1/3 coarse sand, copious watering in summer to keep the root ball fresh. Protect from cold drafts and winter frosts (winter cover). Re-pot every 3-4 years.

Staging ideas

Around an olive tree that is already well formed in a beautiful terra cotta pot, create a decor with southern accents by welcoming other warm weather enthusiasts. Agave, cordyline or purple phormium can bring a graphic and exotic note. The generous and sparkling bloom of an oleander or a lantana will bring color to the scene all summer long. You may also prefer a softer Provencal version with two or three pots of lavender and a Mauritania bindweed.