I live on the 7th floor with a NW balcony in the Vancouver area. My native ferns are doing great, but my Athyrium fillip-femina (Victoria Lady Fern) and Polystichum tsus-simense (Korean Rock Fern) are showing some brown tips. I'm trying to keep the soil evenly damp without it getting too wet. Could this be caused by the wind? I'm in the process of building a wind screen. Also, I've been given a Hosta 'Sum and Substance', which I've read can become one of the largest clumping hostas. I would like to keep it in an 12-18" wide and deep pot, and trim the roots when needed. Will this work, or should I just return or give the plant to a friend who can plant it in the ground? Thanks for any advice.
Hosta 'Sum and Substance' gets too big to keep potted up, find a new home for it and look for a hosta that stays much smaller, you might want to have a look at something like Hosta 'June', it'll stay much smaller.
i was speaking to my "terra firma" (no balcony) gardener friend about this topic - as I like to grow plants in pots at ground level - and move them to a balcony property sometimes - and there are definitely hostas that work well and grow to a certain diameter (max 2 feet) and then done. i personally have experienced some that need dividing / restricting often - and they are not my favourites, for sure, in ground or in pots. while I realize you were looking for specific names of hostas etc - my experience is to ask your ground-based friends and garden club members for a little piece of one that does not need big space - I have one - and I have no idea what it is - it just is. Old time - the leaves stand up well hot, rain, etc - obviously de-foliate in winter - etc. Very nicely behaved hosta. Slugs? that's a diff story - not many slugs this year in my coast garden. ps - EDIT - I meant to say that my neighbour grows a hosta called Guacamole - in a pot - now I don't know its long-term habit, however it looks great and goes well in design terms with ferns and other colors. Topic 2 - One of my friends uses a perennial type plants in a pot for the immediate season, then it goes off for adoption to a non-planter setting. So maybe you can team up with a garden friend who has earth-level soil - ie not a 7th floor balcony. Good luck and I hope you post some photos one day. I think your garden sounds very nice. - not to mention your view in a fantastic city. sword ferns (native to the Vancouver area) do well in pots - they need food and water and some basic hair cutting - I have had one for years in a pot (approx 10 gallon Cdn size) and I have moved it to new garden - give it more low-key food - water - it does well. I think I have an old Stella Del Oro (a daylily that was popular du jour way back) that never flowers but I like the foliage with the sword fern) - keep it in the shade - we have wind - some lilies might be your summer highlight on the balcony - make sure that you read the label next spring and choose between short/tall - AND - scented or not. I would think shorter will do you a favour - and the scent part is up to you and your allergies : ) .... this will be a pot that lasts for many years - no glamour in winter but you can put some salal cuttings / huckleberry cuttings etc on the surface of the pot - do not disturb the lilies - and it will look great.
Hi Georgia Straight, Thanks for your email. I guess I will have to reluctantly give up my Sum and Substance for a smaller hosta. Thanks for your suggestions, and I will post some pictures once the smoke clears out. I got some fescue and miscanthus for the windy side of the balcony, and really enjoying them. Maybe they'll get too big as well, hopefully not. All the ferns are doing great. I have sword, liquorice, ostrich, maidenhair, and a few others.
hello - my experience with fescue, which I like, is that it is a 1 or 2 year patio container plant - then off it goes to someone's country estate ; ) I think many of us buy the plant - enjoy it on the patio - off it goes next year to a "forever home" out in the country hopefully. i will say that one I have had success with recently in a container is a boxwood - Buxus "Green Velvet". predictable (it's a boxwood) and wonderful at the same time. ---- I have one plant per container - then I just fill in with seasonal. At the coast, it has done well all seasons, I would buy again.
ps - I should back-up a bit and say that the important thing is to make sure your balcony can support the weight of various planters, esp when watered. ---- and make sure your planters are lifted (so air can circulate under and not rot the building). Thank you and I hope we see some photos of your efforts soon. (yes, very smokey again everywhere in BC)
