Balcony boxes and pots are a great way to add an individual touch to your own balcony or terrace. They can easily be planted yourself and offer the perfect opportunity to enjoy your favourite flowers where you want them. But which flowers are suitable for a balcony box or pot in the first place? What are the advantages of planting in pots and what do you have to look out for when choosing the right bulbs and tubers?
Which flowers are suitable for balcony boxes?
Balcony boxes offer the possibility to plant many different types of flowers and to design them individually. For example, you can choose classic flowers such as dahlias, begonias, tulips, daffodils or hyacinths. Or you can opt for something more exotic like montbretias or calla.
The choice of the right flower depends entirely on your personal preferences. The only important thing is that you choose a variety that is well suited to being planted in pots. Some species need more water than others or more sun. So it's best to find out in advance exactly what the needs of each type of flower are, so that you don't have to worry about the flowers thriving properly afterwards. On our website we have compiled a list of all the bulbs that can be planted in pots. To view all bulbs suited for planting in pot, you must activate the filter 'suitable for in pots and planters'.
Examples of summer flowering balcony flowers are:
- Low-growing Dahlias
- Calla
- Begonias
- Montbretia
- Crested lilies
Examples of spring flowering balcony flowers:
- Some types of tulips
- Hyacinths
- Anemones
- Daffodils
- Crocuses
- Muscari
What are the advantages of balcony boxes?
Balcony boxes offer many advantages. For one thing, they are easy to design yourself and you don't have to rely on the supply of pre-pulled plants from garden centres. Secondly, it offers the perfect opportunity to plant your favourite flowers in places where you would like to see them. Flowers in balcony boxes are also relatively easy to care for and can easily be resized to fit any balcony. They don't require a lot of effort and can easily be arranged by yourself according to your mood. Furthermore, you can brighten up your balcony with changing colour spectacles every single season.
How to choose the right bulb or tuber
Choosing the right flower bulb or tuber is crucial for the flowering success of a flower in a pot. There are many different types of bulbs and tubers and not every one is suitable for every balcony box.
Some points to consider when choosing the right bulb are, for example:
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The size of the bulb: the larger the bulb, the larger the plant will usually be. Make sure that the bulb is not too big for your planter. The recommended planting distance per bulb is given in our webshop and on each product package.
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The flower colour: The colour of the bulb should of course match your desired planting plan. For a coherent colour concept, you can, for example, use our ready-made bulb mixes for balcony or terrace.
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Flowering time and height: When buying balcony flowers, you should combine different flowering times and height groups. Then you can plant using the lasagna planting technique and enjoy a flowering balcony box for a long time. For example, combine crocuses, snowdrops, daffodils and tulips in one pot and enjoy a long flowering period.
When is the best time to plant balcony boxes?
Depending on the flower variety, the planting time is either spring or autumn. Spring blooming flowers such as tulips, daffodils or hyacinths, are planted in autumn before the first night frost. Summer bloomers such as dahlias or calla are planted outdoors in spring, after the last frost. However, you can also start growing many summer-flowering plants indoors so that you can decorate your balcony with flowers even earlier and for longer.
How do you plant flower pots correctly?
Flower bulbs and tubers do not like waterlogging. Therefore, the bottom of the planters should be equipped with drainage holes so that excess water can run off unhindered. The bottom layer in the planter should be lined with clay shards or hydrospheres so that the drainage holes are not blocked and no soil is washed out. On top of this, the planting soil can be applied into which the bulbs or tubers are inserted. The respective planting depth of the bulbs and tubers is indicated on our product packaging and on our website. If you have several pots of bulbs, put them together in a sheltered spot in winter for extra protection. To prevent the bulbs from freezing in the pot, place them close to the house or shed in winter.
The right pot
The material of the pots is not a criterion for planting flower bulbs. A pot only needs to be deep enough to allow the bulbs or tubers to be planted deep enough. This is because you need to allow for the bottom drainage layer and about 3 cm of potting soil below the bulbs so that the bulbs can root unhindered.
