Which plants grow best on balconies in Tenerife?

[Happy Days]

OK, so I just saw the tread identifying plants, and I think this could be useful - and not only directed at Primrose...

We have quite a big balcony, that gets plenty of afternoon sun. Being just a balcony, all the plants are in pot's. This makes a difference as my last place had a garden, and most plants thrived in a garden.

Any suggestion on strong growers for potted plants?

We have a hibiscus that's going great, a feacus (spelling wrong there I think), a money plant, a fern that's mostly in the shade...that's doing fantastic.

Any other suggestions, doesn't have to flower - just green and bushy.

Also vegetables. Again, had success in the garden, but we tried tomatoes - and only got 3. Again has anyone out there had success?

Thank you in advance.

[primrose]

Bougainvillea ,agaves, cordylines , ornamental grasses of all kinds, any cacti or succulents; geraniums/pelargoniums, erigeron, white or purple alyssum, daisies, rosemary, lavender, calendula, petunia, gazania, tomatoes?, marigolds ,nasturtiums and I have even grown potato's in a plasterers bucket and they were delicious.Just don't let chifleta anywhere near your bougainvillea.:hedge:

[kingbaker]

Bougainvillea ,agaves, cordylines , ornamental grasses of all kinds, any cacti or succulents; geraniums/pelargoniums, erigeron, white or purple alyssum, daisies, rosemary, lavender, calendula, petunia, gazania, tomatoes?, marigolds ,nasturtiums and I have even grown potato's in a plasterers bucket and they were delicious.Just don't let chifleta anywhere near your bougainvillea.:hedge:


Or Malteser Monkey as she'll try and smoke them, when you're not looking!!!!!!:D

[canarybird]

I had both tomatoes and green peppers growing by accident in a large patio pot when I rinsed out my kitchen compost collecting bowl and dumped the water in a west facing patio pot. There were seeds from my salad making compost in the water and they grew and produced fruit. Buy some Italian flat leaf parsley with roots and it should make a fine bunch of greenery that you can cut and use in the kitchen. Basil is another as well as chives (cebollina), garlic and rosemary. Ginger root from the supermarket will also grow.

If you want some spectacular greenery in a hanging basket buy the long fern common here in Canaries "helecho de metro" with fronds of even more than a meter long. Put up high in a shady corner,well watered and fed with a liquid fertilizer high in nitrogen. The local women have a way to fertilise this plant which I can pass on if you are interested. :p

[kingbaker]

I had both tomatoes and green peppers growing by accident in a large patio pot when I rinsed out my kitchen compost collecting bowl and dumped the water in a west facing patio pot. There were seeds from my salad making compost in the water and they grew and produced fruit. Buy some Italian flat leaf parsley with roots and it should make a fine bunch of greenery that you can cut and use in the kitchen. Basil is another as well as chives (cebollina), garlic and rosemary. Ginger root from the supermarket will also grow.

If you want some spectacular greenery in a hanging basket buy the long fern common here in Canaries "helecho de metro" with fronds of even more than a meter long. Put up high in a shady corner,well watered and fed with a liquid fertilizer high in nitrogen. The local women have a way to fertilise this plant which I can pass on if you are interested. :p

Don't leave us in suspense CB !!!!!!!!!:whistle:

[canarybird]

Don't leave us in suspense CB !!!!!!!!!:whistle:

Okay here goes.....add a little....ummm....human urine to a bucket of water to fertilize this or any green fern. It's high in nitrogen.
Just be sure it's well diluted or you'll burn the plant. Canary Island custom that works. :D

Here is the type of fern I'm referring to: the botanical name is goniophlebium subauriculatum:

http://canarybird.smugmug.com/Photography/The-Home-of-JB-1/i-ZmVK5pd/0/L/PA200085-L.jpg

You can see in this photo that anthuriums also grow well here in pots, semi shaded. Those are the plants with large shiny leaves and the red heart-shaped flower spike.

Photo I took in lower Orotava.

[chifleta]

4597

this was what my bouganvilia looked like last year... the other week it was even bigger :( until I lost the plot and gave it 5 ltrs of water.... 3 days in a row .... eek2::crying2: so i'm now leaving it for a couple of weeks with no water ... the cactii are very grateful too. My OH and son just about killed it when I was away a year or so ago, by not watering it for two weeks.. and there's me goes and drowns it LOL

I've got a purple one at the other end of my skinny balcony, and a hibiscus, also have mint and basil, and a wierd spider leaf type plant that is a bit too tall now and i've had to prop it with a stick.... i'm not green fingered, could you tell :)

[primrose]

4597

this was what my bouganvilia looked like last year... the other week it was even bigger :( until I lost the plot and gave it 5 ltrs of water.... 3 days in a row .... eek2::crying2: so i'm now leaving it for a couple of weeks with no water ... the cactii are very grateful too. My OH and son just about killed it when I was away a year or so ago, by not watering it for two weeks.. and there's me goes and drowns it LOL

I've got a purple one at the other end of my skinny balcony, and a hibiscus, also have mint and basil, and a wierd spider leaf type plant that is a bit too tall now and i've had to prop it with a stick.... i'm not green fingered, could you tell :)

Can we not have a before and after photo.:wink:

[Happy Days]

WOW.

Thank you. We have a very poorly borganvilla that a friend says not to water too often...off to give it a good soak now!

Primrose thank you for your suggestions...off to google them as most I have never heard of.

How often would you recommend watering. We are in San Eugenio Alto so it gets hot. At the moment we'll water every three days, two in the summer...is that enough?

[primrose]

WOW.

Thank you. We have a very poorly borganvilla that a friend says not to water too often...off to give it a good soak now!

Primrose thank you for your suggestions...off to google them as most I have never heard of.

How often would you recommend watering. We are in San Eugenio Alto so it gets hot. At the moment we'll water every three days, two in the summer...is that enough?

Yes every two days unless it's really hot, and I always water after the sun has gone down so the water doesn't evaporate with the heat.

[chifleta]

Can we not have a before and after photo.:wink:

just imagine it BLACK with no leaves rolleyes2::bootyshake::crylaughing: ... initially I thought it had cochinilla, then I realised it was white mildew hahahaha.....

- - - - - - - - - - merged double post - - - - - - - - - -


WOW.

Thank you. We have a very poorly borganvilla that a friend says not to water too often...off to give it a good soak now!

Primrose thank you for your suggestions...off to google them as most I have never heard of.

How often would you recommend watering. We are in San Eugenio Alto so it gets hot. At the moment we'll water every three days, two in the summer...is that enough?

Mine are in big plant pots... I normally give it 5 litres of water once a week (twice a week in summer) and abono (feed) once every couple of weeks, and I also give it a good spray once a week, I try and spray all the leaves and braches, normally in the evening else it burns because mine is in direct sunlight all day - bouganvilia don't like it too windy, but apart from that, they are normally fairly sturdy, mine have survived for about 10 years now - I did scrape out as much soil as poss from the pots last year so that I could put new soil in.

[primrose]

just imagine it BLACK with no leaves rolleyes2::bootyshake::crylaughing: ... initially I thought it had cochinilla, then I realised it was white mildew hahahaha.....

- - - - - - - - - - merged double post - - - - - - - - - -



Mine are in big plant pots... I normally give it 5 litres of water once a week (twice a week in summer) and abono (feed) once every couple of weeks, and I also give it a good spray once a week, I try and spray all the leaves and braches, normally in the evening else it burns because mine is in direct sunlight all day - bouganvilia don't like it too windy, but apart from that, they are normally fairly sturdy, mine have survived for about 10 years now - I did scrape out as much soil as poss from the pots last year so that I could put new soil in.

And then it died.:eyebrows:

[chifleta]

And then it died.:eyebrows:

yeah, that had something to do with the 15 litres I gave it over 3 days ... and didn't realise because it didn't flow out the bottom.... just puddled on the top... when I finally tilted the pot I realised my error ..... hahahahaha

[primrose]

yeah, that had something to do with the 15 litres I gave it over 3 days ... and didn't realise because it didn't flow out the bottom.... just puddled on the top... when I finally tilted the pot I realised my error ..... hahahahaha

Killed by kindness.:doh:

[marbro8]

OK, so I just saw the tread identifying plants, and I think this could be useful - and not only directed at Primrose...

We have quite a big balcony, that gets plenty of afternoon sun. Being just a balcony, all the plants are in pot's. This makes a difference as my last place had a garden, and most plants thrived in a garden.

Any suggestion on strong growers for potted plants?

We have a hibiscus that's going great, a feacus (spelling wrong there I think), a money plant, a fern that's mostly in the shade...that's doing fantastic.

Any other suggestions, doesn't have to flower - just green and bushy.

Also vegetables. Again, had success in the garden, but we tried tomatoes - and only got 3. Again has anyone out there had success?

Thank you in advance.my mates next door neighbor grows cannabis on his balcony:laugh:

[chifleta]

my mates next door neighbor grows cannabis on his balcony:laugh:

my neighbour downstairs just smokes the stuff... jeeez it stinks ughhh... nearly as bad as josticks LOL