I don’t know about your balcony, but mine was getting blown around like crazy today, with a cool spring wind. In case you have a breezy balcony, here is some great advice on dealing with wind:

• How to Edibles on a Windy Balcony - Wind poses several problems to vegetable container gardens. First, it can damage the plant by ripping off leaves, or breaking branches. It can also tear off flowers before they can be pollinated. No pollination, no fruit/vegetables. Wind can also be cold, a bad thing if you’re trying to grow warm season vegetables like tomatoes or eggplant. Finally, wind dries plants and soil out.
• Strategies for Dealing With Wind on a Balcony - Don’t be dissuaded from gardening in the sky! While not every plant is suitable to being batted around by the wind, there are things you can do to help your plants cope.
• Plants for Full-Sun, High Wind Balconies - Check out the plants below that are tough enough to stand up to the wind and the sun.
• Roses for Windy Balconies – Three container recipes that feature roses and wind-tolerant plants.
• Plants for Part-Sun, High Wind Balconies -

If you live in a downtown area, or on a high floor, your balcony may be pretty windy. In urban areas, wind is funneled in between buildings and can really rip through balconies and the plants growing there. Wind poses several problems to vegetable container gardens. First, it can damage the plant by ripping off leaves, or breaking branches. It can also tear off flowers before they can be pollinated. No pollination, no fruit/vegetables. Wind can also be cold, a bad thing if you’re trying to grow warm season vegetables like tomatoes or eggplant. Finally, wind dries plants and soil out.

Rest assured, there are things you can do to counteract the effects of wind on your container vegetable garden…

Protecting from Wind Damage

There are a couple of options for protecting plants from being whipped around in the wind. You can try one or the other, or use them in conjunction with each other for the best results. The first thing to try is to create a windbreak. Anything solid that you can put in between your vegetable garden and the direction the wind comes from will help. For example, you can purchase pieces of clear plexiglass and drill holes in the corners so that you can use zip ties to affix the plexiglass to your balcony railings. Of course this will only block the wind that comes through the railings. You can also use plants as windbreaks. Use a planter box to plant a dense hedge along the edge of your balcony.

The second thing to try will help protect young seedlings. Wrap clear plastic around the outside of a sturdy tomato cage. Poke a few small holes in the plastic to allow for air flow. Allowing some air to get through will help prevent diseases from taking hold and will also help strengthen the stems of the plant without breaking them.

Keeping Soil Moist

If you have lots of wind blowing through your container garden, it is really important that you go the extra mile to keep your potting soil from drying out. Wind will dry out the leaves of your plant, causing it to try and draw up more water from the soil. If you leave the soil uncovered, wind will also dry out the soil, compounding the problem.

If you need something super cheap, copy what EarthBox does and use a piece of black plastic (try cutting up a trash bag) to cover the surface of your pot. Use white plastic if you live in the desert. Fill the pot all the way to the rim with soil, and mix in slow release fertilizer. Secure the plastic over the soil with a large rubberband so that the plastic is taut. Use a sharp knife to cut an ‘X’ in the middle of the plastic that is just large enough to dig a hole and plant your seedling.

If the plastic mulch look doesn’t suit your tastes, use an inch of gravel, marbles, or tumbled glass to cover the soil after you’ve planted the seedling. If this is the route you choose, be sure to only fill the pot with soil to two inches below the lip of the pot so that you’ll have room for the gravel. Don’t use wood chips, they’ll just blow away and make a mess.

Beating the Cold

If your area gets chilly winds, wait to put out your warm season vegetables for as long as possible. For example, tomato plants will not grow very well (or at all) in temperatures below 60 degrees. Eggplants can be even more sensitive to cold weather. You can also look for varieties of vegetables bred for their cold hardiness. For tomatoes, that often means a tomato with the word “early” in it’s name, or a name that connotes cold temperature, like “polar” or “arctic.” These varieties produce fruit in a relatively short period of time, allowing you to put them out when things have warmed up, and still have time to produce fruit before fall.

Earlier I posted about plants that can stand up to the wind and don’t mind getting only partial sun. In the comments section of that post, Yeye asked about full sun plants that are also wind tolerant. Ask, and ye shall receive! Check out the plants below that are tough enough to stand up to the wind and the sun.

Boltonia (False Aster)

A left coast native. Is actually benefitted by wind, as it helps prevent powdery mildew. Forms airy mounds that are covered in white, pink, or purple daisy-like flowers. Boltonia can get pretty large (3-4 feet tall and wide) so either plant it by istself, or with something that is pretty assertive in its own right.

Threadleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)

Beautiful summer flowers and finely cut foliage make the threadleaf coreopsis are just two of Threadleaf Coreopsis’s best features. It’s also drought tolerant, so you won’t have to water it constantly during heat waves (althoh don’t neglect it entirely!). Plants will only get to be about 12-18 inches tall, so they’d make a great “filler” in a multi-plant pot.

Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)

Beautiful spires of purple flowers sit atop gray-green leaves. It gets pretty big, so it’s probably best to give this 3-5 footer it’s own pot (Or check out dwarf varieties, like ‘Little Spire’). They look very pretty near roses. If you want to grow herbs, you could use large pots of russian sage as a wind barrier. As a bonus, most herbs look great against russian sage.

Coneflower (Echinacea)

There are tons of different varieties of echinacea, and it comes of pink, white, orange, and yellow. The flowers look a little like daisies with much more prominent centers. The plants are pretty drought tolerant, which is great for hot windy areas where pots tend to dry out quickly.

Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima)

A Texas native, the leaves are bright green and flowers in the summer. The flowers are somewhat taller than the foliage and are very fine in texture, looking very reminiscent to feathers. As the plant goes dormant in the summer the foliage becomes straw colored. Mexican Feather Grass can get up to 36 inches tall and grows in clumps. It’s also drought tolerant.

Great Combo to Try

Choose three large pots in successive sizes (for example, a 16 inch, 20 inch and 24 inch pot). Plant the largest with white boltonia, the medium sized pot with russian sage, and smallest with mexican feather grass. Easy peasy!

Two things many balcony gardeners must deal with are wind and shade. In my last apartment and my current one, I’ve noticed that the close proximity of nearby buildings often creates a shady wind tunnel. These are some plants that will flourish in such conditions.

Lady’s Mantle: Hardy to zone 3, the billowy flowers of Lady’s Mantle belie it’s toughness. It forms 12-18 inch mounds, and looks great as the only plant in the pot or in combination with other plants. In the summer, it will be covered in billowy yellow flower heads. Even when Lady’s Mantle is not flowering, its soft, light green, fuzzy leaves that hold droplets of dew will not disappoint. It will be happy in full sun or light shade.

Look for ‘Thriller,’ which is easy to grow from seed.

Photo by Kingsbrae Garden

Rose ‘Marie Bugnet:’ Another plant hardy to zone 3. This rose has the whitest, white flowers, bar none. It also has a great scent, that will be easy to appreciate on a balcony garden. Marie Bugnet keeps a compact shape, only getting 3 feet tall and wide, which is perfect for small spaces and container gardening. It would look great with Lobelia ‘Cascade of Color’ growing beneath it.

Photo by Arnold Pittao

Gaillardia: Is a total show off. It produces large flowers with orange-red centers ringed with gold. Several varieties are more compact and well suited for container growing. The varieties I have in mind are also hardy to zone 3. While technically a full-sun plant, I have been able to get them to bloom (although less profusely) with bright shade/part-sun. Gaillardia are heat and drought tolerant, the later of which makes them great for windy balconies where soil tends to dry out more quickly.

Look for ‘Fanfare’ (the varitety shown at left) and ‘Arizona Sun,’ which will only grow to be 10 inches tall and wide.

Photo by Phillip Bouchard

Catmint (Nepeta): Catmint looks a bit like Russian Sage, but will tolerate less sunshine than its doppelganger. It is very easy to grow, with few pests or problems. The foliage is topped with billowy spikes of flowers that bloom repeatedly all throughout the summer. It’s a traditional companion to roses. Catmint is hardy to zone 4 and likes sun to partial shade. As the photo indicates, some of the varieties are very attractive to cats. So if you have a feline friend, you could make him or her a little bouquet.

Some varieties of catmint can be quite large, inappropriate for a container garden, especially a windy one. Look for ‘Felix,’ which will stay around 12 inches tall.

Photo by jessiecat_techie

Columbine: Columbines prefer partial-sun, preferably morning sun and afternoon shade. Hardy to zone 4, columbines like rich, moist soil, amended with lots of compost.  In late spring or early summer, you should see their unusual blooms opening up. Be sure to chose a dwarf variety as some of the larger sized plants can be unmanageable in a container garden.

Look for ‘Red Hobbit’ (White and Red) or ‘Little Treasure’ (yellow)

Photo by Shotaku

Pine ‘Cesarini Blue:’ If you’re looking for a tree and are going for a woodland look, check out this tree. It has beautiful blue-grey needles. After 10 years, it will only be 6-8 feet tall, and will be perfectly happy in a large container. It’s a pine tree, so it’s not surprising that it’s hardy to zone 3. Cesarini Blue doesn’t need great quality soil or even that much water. While tall plants are often at risk for tipping over on a windy balcony, this tree and its pot and soil should be heavy enough to stand up to most winds.

This week I have been racking my brain and furiously researching container gardening ideas for windy balconies. Specifically, high-rise, part-sun, cold-winter balconies. Below are some specific ideas for growing roses on such balconies. I hope you like them!

Super Simple Rose Container Idea

Plant white or cream colored rose in center of a pot that is 18 inches deep and wide. Spread an even layer of Lobelia Cascade of Color seeds over the surface of the dirt. When the lobelia has grown in, they’ll cover the dirt and cascade over the sides of the pot with blooms in jewel tones of blue, purple, pink and white.

Miniature Rose Container Recipe

Start with a pot that is at least 18 inches tall and wide. Place a Bronze New Zealand Flax or other bronze colored grass in the back of the pot, all the way against the back rim. [UPDATE: In the comments, Gen suggests these dwarf varieties of flax: ‘Tom Thumb’, ‘Platt’s Black’, ‘Jack Spratt’] Plant a ‘Sequoia Gold’ miniature rose in front of the flax and to the right. It will eventually trail over the side of the pot. To the left of the rose, in front of the flax, plant a dwarf shasta daisy.

Other Easy Rose Container Ideas

Photo by Stacy Lynn Baum

• Plant a red rose in the middle back of the pot. In front of the rose, plant baby’s breath, and in front of that, plant blue and yellow pansies.
• In the back, right corner, plant a purple rose. In the back left corner, plant sage. In the front, center of the pot, plant a yellow calibrachoa (million bells).
• Plant a pink or apricot colored rose in the center of the pot and sow blue love-in-a-mist in the dirt around the base of the rose.

Caring for Container Grown Roses

To prepare soil for use in a rose container, mix 2 parts good quality, fast draining potting soil with 1 part well composted steer manure, and 1 cup rose fertilizer that contains bone meal (I use a brand called EB Stone, but have also used Espoma fertilizers in the past).

Roses are heavy feeders, they need fertile conditions to produce lots of flowers. Continue to fertilize your roses regularly, according to the fertilizer package instructions. You can also sprinkle epsom salts  on the soil from time to time to give your roses the magnesium they need. They also like plenty of water. Water your rose whenever the soil feels dry to the touch.

This is a good resource on pruning roses. Don’t neglect your pruning duties! Your rose bush really needs it for optimum health and to maintain a nice shape. Know that it is almost impossible to kill your rose by pruning it, so there’s no need to procrastinate!

Repot roses every two years or so. Even if you only trim their roots and repot them in the same container, they’ll benefit from the fresh soil.

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This week we’re talking about gardening on high rise balconies, thanks to Shawn, who brought the topic to my attention and graciously agreed to be “exhibit A.”

While high rise balconies and rooftop gardens often offer beautiful city views, they also have challenges unique to their location, such as exposure to harsh winds. Wind can dry your pots out faster than normal. It can knock them over. It can shred the leaves of your plants and break their stems. Most of the time, it’s not a container gardeners friend. However, there are some upsides. Constant air movement will help plants that are often susceptible to mildew, and wind will make it too difficult for some pests to get to your plants.

Combating Wind

Don’t be dissuaded from gardening in the sky! While not every plant is suitable to being batted around by the wind, there are things you can do to help your plants cope.

Photo by ~Aphrodite

• Create a wind break. Either affix clear plexiglass panels to the balcony railing, or plant hedges in planter boxes on the sides of your balcony where the wind comes through (i.e. if wind normally comes from the east, plant the windbreak hedge on the east side).
• Use a mulch in your pots. It will help prevent the wind from drying out the dirt. Something like pebbles or river rocks will not be blown away. Be sure to fill your pots with soil to two inches below the lip, and add then add an inch of mulch.
• Don’t use unglazed terracotta. Terracotta dries out faster than other pot materials. Wood may be one of the best choices because it can be easily secured to the railings (if need be) by screwing in an eye hook in an inconspicuous spot and feeding a short length of chain through the eye and around the railing.
• Go with a smaller number of larger pots or planters rather than having many small pots. The likelihood that the wind will be able to pick up a pot and carry it overboard is slim, but it is definitely possible to knock over lighter pots and break them, or damage the plants.
• Remember that wind chill effects your plants too. Protect your pots in the winter.

Plants That Are Tough Enough to Stand Up to the Wind

There are actually more plants than you might think that are tough enough to stand up to the wind. These are just a few ideas.

Remember that when plants are tested for hardiness, they are tested growing in the ground, not in a container. The ground is often warmer than the air. On a windy, exposed balcony, you can guarantee that your plants’ roots will be subjected to colder conditions than if they were grown in the ground. With this in mind, if you plan to leave your plants outside during the winter, it is best to pick plants that are hardy to one or two zones colder than your region. For example, if you live in Montreal, you live in zone 5 (right?). Try to find plants that are hardy to at least zone 4. You can help your plants by insulating them in the winter.

Photo by nomad123

• Many varieties of Floribunda roses are hardy to zone 4 or 5, sturdy enough to handle the wind and will flower (although less abundantly) with less than the usual 6 hours of sunshine recommended for roses. Try Fair Bianca ‘Ausca,’ Gruss an Aachen, Iceberg, Carefree Wonder ‘Meipitac,’ and Anthony Meilland ‘Meitalbaz,’ among others.
• Bayberry will tolerate wind, cold, shade and pretty much everything else you can throw at it. The downside is that it isn’t the most interesting plant to look at. It would work well as a wind break shrub, and in the winter it does have nice blueish-white berries.
• As far as vines go, many varieties of honeysuckle vines are cold tolerant and will happily wind themselves around balcony railings. The wind on a balcony might actually help them avoid harboring mildew, which can plague honeysuckles. A vine growing on the railing might help diffuse some of the wind, but remember that if you’re a renter, you’re likely going to have to kill the plant to remove it when you move.
• Threadleaf Coreopsis is hardy to zone 4 and wind-tolerant. It forms lacey clumps of leaves flecked with small yellow flowers. It looks great spilling over the side of a pot. However, it does need full sun.
• Russian Sage is another plant that can tolerate cold temperatures and wind, but that does need full sun.

Two weeks ago, Shawn contacted me about his balcony way up on the 17th floor, in Montreal, Quebec. As he describes it, “I suspect it will get very windy out there at times. Being that I face due east and with the exposure and wind, it probably won’t get too warm for too long up there either.”

Here is a photo of the north side of his balcony:

Shawn was looking for some advice about what to do with a cold, windy balcony 200 feet in the air. Ask and ye shall receive!

Coming up this week, I have several posts designed for my friends who garden in the sky, as Shawn calls it. I have obviously never lived somewhere as cold as Montreal, but I have been busy researching! I have gardened on a high rise balcony before, so I have my own experience to rely on there. Stay tuned for posts on dealing with the wind, weight restrictions, and high rise but cold-tolerant container recipes!

In the meantime, I thought I would see what you guys think about high rise gardening. What are your best tips and tricks? I know Nancy gardens on a balcony in Toronto, are there any other high rise gardeners out there?