A green balcony in winter? No problem - we'll show you eleven hardy balcony plants that are not only robust, but real eye-catchers.
A balcony becomes really cozy when beautiful plants come into play. But what was painstakingly sown and planted in spring often does not bring much joy in winter. The reason: Many balcony plants are not winter-proof and will die if they are not laboriously overwintered indoors. Fortunately, there are also balcony plants that shine with their winter hardiness. This not only saves you the annual replanting and the annoying overwintering of the plants, but also ensures that the balcony is beautified by the green roommates even in winter. Here you can find out which hardy balcony plants made it into our top 11.
If you don't enjoy the luxury of having a garden of your own at home, you can also set very nice accents with balcony plants and at the same time use plants that can survive our winters. Below you will find a selection of hardy balcony plants that are sure to enhance any balcony box.
Tip: Winter hardiness also depends on the right planting and care. A lower nitrogen and higher potassium content ensures improved winter hardiness. We recommend the peat-free Plantura organic potting soil and organic flower fertilizer for strong plants.
1. Scarlet Fuchsia
Fuchsias (Fuchsia) are known for many properties - unfortunately, frost hardiness is not one of them. This is changing now: The scarlet fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica), also known as the outdoor fuchsia, not only impresses with its two-tone flowers, but is also conditionally hardy. Temperatures down to -5 °C are no problem for the balcony plant. If you give her additional protection from straw, fir branches or leaves, she can spend the entire winter outdoors. But not only the scarlet fuchsia, which is a wild form of the fuchsia, can survive the winter outside. There are now some hardy fuchsia varieties that are suitable for overwintering outdoors. are particularly popularfor example the variegated 'Tom West', the red and white 'Alice Hoffmann' or the bright red 'Calcedonia'.
With its small, double flowers, the double chamomile 'Plenum' (Chamaemelum nobile 'Plenum') is a true beauty. Because of its carpet-like, dense growth, the plant is often used as a ground cover, but it is also slowly becoming more popular as a balcony plant. This is not least due to the heavenly, pleasant scent that the double-flowered false chamomile exudes. In addition, it is particularly hardy because it can withstand temperatures down to -35 °C.
3. Hardy Geraniums
Geranium is not just geranium - in fact, two genera share the same name in common parlance: Both the pelargonium (Pelargonium) and the stork's beak ( Geranium) often trivially referred to as geraniums. The bad news first: the popular geraniums, also known as "balcony geraniums", are unfortunately not hardy. The beautiful flowers are already clearly affected by the first negative straight line in autumn. If you still want to give the flowers a home, you should leave geraniums in the house over the winter. Cranesbills, on the other hand, are robust and consistently defy the winter. Cranesbills are becoming more and more common in gardens in particular - no wonder, after all, the plants have beautiful pink to purple flowers. But it's not just here that the plants shine: some weak-growing cranesbill varieties are even well suited as long-term balcony plants.
Tired of prying eyes? Then Irish ivy (Hedera hibernica) is just what you need. The hardy climbing plant can serve optimally as a plant for privacy protection if you let it grow on the balcony railing. But the ivy is also a great eye-catcher as a hanging plant for a hanging basket. Bees and other beneficial insects are also enthusiastic about the ivy and are magically attracted to it. In addition, it impresses with its easy-care nature and robustness - temperatures below freezing usually do not bother the plant.
5. Evergreen Candytuft
The name says it all: The evergreen candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) provides great foliage all year round. From April to May, the clumpy plant also gives us beautiful, snow-white flowers that are almost reminiscent of snow, which is why it is also known as a snow cushion. The evergreen candytuft is particularly suitable as a hardy balcony plant, because it is not only beautiful, but also offers good winter hardiness.
The cushion phlox (Phlox subulata) is best known as a plant for rock gardens or for greening walls, but it also makes a great impression as a container plant on the balcony. In spring, the plant turns into a veritable sea of white, pink or blue-violet flowers. But their easy-care and robust nature also make the cushion phlox so popular. The plant hardly needs any attention and is hardy even at temperatures down to -20 °C.
7. Garden Silverbells
Beautiful bell-shaped flowers and impressive foliage - the garden silverbell (Heuchera micrantha) is a real eye-catcher. The strong dark red to green colored leaves in particular are a great eye-catcher. Fortunately, the garden silverbell delights us with its splendor all year round - the balcony plant is not only evergreen, but is also considered to be very hardy.
8. Shinberry
The checkerberry (Gaultheria procumbens) promises red berries that shine bright red even in the coldest of winters. The ornamental tree is a real eye-catcher on the balcony, because it keeps its berries from autumn until late winter. But the cloudberry is also a feast for the eyes during the rest of the year: its green leaves, some of which turn bronze-red in winter, and the white-pink flowers quickly attract everyone's attention. Fortunately, the cloudberry can stay on the balcony all year round because it is considered to be very frost hardy.
9. Hardy balcony herbs
If you like to cook, you will really enjoy herbal springs on your own balcony. In general, many herbs are suitable for a long stay over a few winters - also for the balcony. However, it should be noted that some herbs wither in the winter and only sprout again in the spring and provide harvest material. Other herbs that grow woody and as a subshrub are even perfect for harvesting during the cold season. The hardy herbs that should not be missing on any balcony include many types of thyme (Thymus), peppermint (Mentha xpiperita) or woodruff (Galium odoratum).
10. snow heather
Anyone who doesn't want to do without color in winter should definitely offer a spot on their balcony with a snow heather (Erica carnea). Depending on the variety and the weather, the dwarf shrub flowers in white, pink or even bright pink from December to April. But even when the heather is not in bloom, it is by no means unattractive with its green, needle-like leaves. And of course the snow heather is hardy too: temperatures down to -25 °C do not bother the plant.
11. Ornamental Cabbage
If you are looking for cabbage, you will probably go to the vegetable patch and not to the balcony. The ornamental cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) definitely deserves special treatment: With its two-colored leaves, it is a real eye-catcher in the window box. Closely related to the kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica), the ornamental kale is also wonderful to prepare and eat - with its bright green, white or even purple leaves, the plant is actually much too good for the cooking pot. Like almost all types of cabbage, ornamental cabbage is a typical winter vegetable and can easily tolerate temperatures down to -10 °C.
See our review article here for more hardy plants.