8 Years Old Blooming Before The Snow. Home Care. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

In the fall, on open balconies, where the basis of the compositions is made up of summer houses, as a rule, only empty pots remain in October. The temperate climate does not pamper us with prolonged warmth, but we so want to prolong the contemplation of flowering plants and believe that summer is still going on! If you plant cold-resistant, long-flowering annuals on the balcony, you can enjoy their beauty until the arrival of real winter. I will tell you about the most persistent summer men on my balcony in this article.

When I just started gardening the loggia, I introduced a rule for myself - "summer - until the last petunia", and tried to keep the fading bushes as long as possible. But, everyone knows, with the arrival of autumn, petunias, although rare single flowers continue to bloom, in general, already look completely unpresentable.

However, the assortment of annuals is wide. Over time, I was able to find plants that remain elegant literally until the snow. Now I include these flowers in balcony compositions every year. And, thanks to this, my non-glazed loggia in October-November looks almost the same as in June.

1. Begonia ever-flowering

The name of this flower speaks for itself; in indoor conditions, this kind of begonias can indeed demonstrate continuous flowering. But even on open balconies or in flower beds, the plant remains worthy of its name, pleasing the eye with constantly blooming buds.

Small flowers of begonias are distinguished by a rich palette of colors of shades of pink and red, there are also varieties of pure white. In shape, in addition to the classic four-petal, more and more unusual double hybrids with numerous flowers that look like tiny roses began to appear (hybrid series Queen, Fiona).

Many varieties and hybrids of ever-flowering begonias are valued not only for the abundance of flowers, but also attractive due to the dark color of the glossy chocolate-colored leaves.

Although by origin this begonia is a thermophilic African, the plant retains an attractive appearance for a long time, and in the fall it tolerates cold weather well to zero degrees.

Begonia is a plant with a very long growing season, therefore, in order to get full-fledged bushes by the time of planting in the ground, it is recommended to sow seeds as early as possible - in January-February.

Most varieties of ever-flowering begonias are rather short and compact, making them suitable for balconies and carpet beds. It is better to plant compositions with begonia in sunny places or in light partial shade. Fading flowers usually fall off themselves, and for the continuous flowering of begonias, as a rule, special efforts are not required.

2. Snapdragon (antirrinum)

Multi-colored "funny dogs" or "dragons" have always had many fans among flower growers. The rich variety of varieties allows snapdragons to be used in a variety of roles. Tall varieties will become an expressive center of the composition, while small bushy ones will serve as a frame for a flower garden, and ampelous varieties will decorate hanging baskets on the balcony.

These unpretentious flowers can even be grown in a seedless way by sowing seeds directly into the ground. But still, when sowing seeds in March, snapdragons will become a real record holder for the duration of flowering. Dissolving the first buds in June, the "dogs" continue to bloom until late autumn. After all, plants not only firmly endure a drop in temperatures to zero, but also withstand a small minus (-3 … -4 degrees).

In the years with lingering warm weather on my balcony, the snapdragon continued to bloom flowers literally until the New Year's holidays, and only the arrival of real winter was able to stop this restless flower.

But, unfortunately, not every variety of snapdragons remains abundant with the arrival of autumn. The hybrid series of antirrinum "Twinny" turned out to be the most luxuriantly blooming. This hybrid is distinguished not only by the amazing flower shape with flight petals, like azaleas, but also incredibly convenient for growing on the balcony and in small flower beds, due to its low growth (up to 25 cm) and strong branching.

During flowering, the bushes are voluminous pillows, densely covered with flowers. To maintain a blooming appearance and prolong flowering until late autumn, it is necessary to regularly remove the fading inflorescences.

3. Celosia

Rooster's combs are not the most popular annual in flower gardens and are rarely used in balcony containers, but I think the flower deserves more distribution.

Firstly, celosia can be called one of the most original flower beds, because its inflorescences more resemble an exotic cereal than an ordinary flower. Different types of celosia differ in the appearance of inflorescences. So, in the crested cellosia, they, in fact, resemble a wavy cockscomb, the pinnate cellosia has panicle inflorescences, and in the spikelet celosia they really look more like spikelets.

The stable decorative effect of this flower, first of all, is achieved due to the fact that celosia is a dried-flower plant and retains its shape and color even with partial and complete flowering. Due to the fact that the flowers at different stages of blooming are combined into one ear and have different shades, the inflorescences of cellosia look multi-colored and very unusual.

Beautiful foliage with bright veins (in dark colored varieties) makes this plant even more colorful. In height, you can find both tall varieties, just over one meter in size, and very tiny ones, which are ideal for balcony compositions. In this respect, it is worth especially noting the genetically dwarf series of the Kosmo spikelet celosia, which does not exceed 20 centimeters.

Celosia is a thermophilic plant and will not tolerate even small frosts, but at temperatures close to zero, the flower retains a bright and attractive appearance for a long time. In addition, do not forget that the inflorescences can be left in a pot or flower garden even after the celosia dies from frost, since the dried flower retains the structure and pleasant color of the original panicles for a very long time.

4. Salvia

The most widespread in flower beds and on balconies is sparkling salvia. This plant is very easy to recognize by its striking bright red flowers, collected in long, spike-shaped inflorescences. The long-term decorative effect of the plant is due to the fact that flowers in the form of long tongues bloom inside bright bell-shaped bracts, which retain their shape for a long time.

Due to the fact that salvia remains very decorative even after flowering, it serves as an excellent decoration for autumn flower beds. After the leaves of the heat-loving salvia are damaged by frost, they can be removed, and the inflorescences will continue to decorate the flowerbed or balcony.

The classic salvia of the characteristic scarlet red color, as a rule, has a fairly decent height from 40 to 70 centimeters. To decorate the balcony more suitable compact hybrid series, for example, "Reddy" (Reddy). Its height will not exceed 20 centimeters, and, in addition to red, it can be purple, orange and white.

Another interesting variety of salvia is mealy salvia, or mealy sage. It does not have persistent bracts, but it is distinguished by continuous flowering, the abundance of which is not affected by the onset of cold weather. After the sage flowers crumble, the bushes are adorned with charming original silver-gray seedlings.

The most interesting varieties of mealy salvia are Rio, Evolution, Victoria Blue. Both types of salvia are unpretentious, but grow rather slowly. Therefore, for early flowering, you need to sow seeds for seedlings as early as possible - in mid-February.

5. Pelargonium

Pelargonium needs no long introduction. This flower has been one of the most popular indoor plants for a record number of years. And with the onset of heat, bowls with "room geraniums" are often taken out to the balcony.

In addition, Pelargonium propagates very easily by cuttings, which quickly gain mass in the open air and turn into compact fluffy bushes that bloom all season.

Thanks to the work of breeders, new varieties of pelargonium have recently become popular, which are easy to grow from seed, like ordinary annuals. Such hybrid series are characterized by uniformity, compact shape and abundant continuous flowering. Varieties Black Velvet Scarlet, BullsEye Salmon, Bulls an Eye Scarlet and some others, in addition to the expressive colors, decorate the balcony and variegated leaves with a dark burgundy center and light green border.

Plants tolerate cold snaps well and are not afraid of even small frosts up to minus 3 degrees. Thanks to this, pelargonium can become one of the best decorations for an autumn balcony, delighting the eye with bright flowers and attractive foliage.

If you want to make the flowering period of pelargonium on the balcony longer, on especially cold nights you can bring the pots of plants into the room, and during the day they take them out to the balcony again.

To get lush bushes of pelargonium by early summer, it is best to sow seeds as early as possible - in late winter or early spring. Cuttings are recommended to be planted in balcony boxes in mid-May, they usually take root quite easily and quickly and begin to bloom.

6. Angelonia

It is one of the most popular plants in the United States. But, thanks to the fact that today its seeds can be found on sale in online stores, the charming flower is beginning to gain popularity here.

This bright annual is distinguished by the similarity of the original flowers with the pretty angelic faces that adorn the plants all season. By its nature, this plant is a perennial shrub, so its flowering is very extended in time and can continue in autumn, and the flower, even in windy and rainy weather, retains a neat and attractive appearance.

Since angelonia is a plant with a long growing season, in order to get flowering already at the beginning of summer, sowing seeds should be carried out as early as possible - in early January or February. Around the beginning of May, buds appear on the plants, which will continue to open until frost, if you do not forget to remove the fading spikelets in a timely manner.

By the way, a pleasant bonus when growing this exotic flower will be a fresh apple aroma that comes from the leaves, but the flowers themselves do not have a noticeable smell.

On sale, most often, you can find Angelonia seeds of two hybrid varieties  Serena (up to 30 cm high) and  Serenita (20 cm high), which combine plants of purple, purple, pink, white and lilac color. In flower beds, these flowers are best planted in large groups of the same color.

Branched bushes of angelonies are quite persistent and do not need a garter. A shrub can handle the winter well in an apartment on the south window. In this case, in the spring, angelonia can be propagated by cuttings.

Read more about growing angelonia in the article "Fabulous sissy angelonia".

7. Alyssum marine

It is an unpretentious ground cover annual with small fragrant flowers in racemose inflorescences. Branched bushes reach a height of 10-20 cm. Depending on the variety, they are bump-shaped or form a dense cascade. During flowering, alyssum is shrouded in a cloud of openwork inflorescences, from under which no leaves are visible.

Most often, the flowers are pure white or represent a range of different shades of lilac: from pale lilac to dark purple. On balconies, this flower is widely used as an ampel decorating the edges of the planter.

Most varieties of allisum have a rich honey aroma that lifts the mood, but among the variety of varieties of this annual, you can find hybrids that are completely odorless. They are suitable for people who cannot tolerate floral scents. For example, Wonderland deep purple with rich, odorless ink flowers.

In terms of winter hardiness, this flower leaves behind most of the annual flower beds, since it can withstand autumn frosts down to -10 ° C, thanks to which it is able to decorate the balcony literally before the first snow.

However, it should be borne in mind that the flowering of alyssum has a wavy character, and after flowering, it is imperative to cut off the faded brushes. In this case, within 1.5-2 weeks, you can expect the appearance of the next flower wave. For early flowering, it is better to sow seeds for seedlings in late March-early April, although the flower has time to bloom when sown directly into the ground in May.

8. Coleus

Coleus is an annual, the main decoration of which is not flowers, but amazing variegated leaves of all kinds of colors and color combinations. Since the attractiveness of the plant is not associated with the presence or absence of flowers and is not at all subject to bad weather, Coleus can be called a real record holder in terms of decorativeness among annuals.

A variety of varieties and hybrids allows you to find both real giants with leaves the size of a palm, and low bushy "bumps" or varieties of ampelous shape.

An additional charm to the "nettles" is given by erect inflorescences of small double-lipped flowers, towering above the carpet of painted leaves. Most varieties and hybrids of Coleus are very easy to grow from seeds that are sown indoors in March. But the greatest variety of colors will be presented by numerous varieties of the so-called "vegetative" coleus.

The hybrids of this group mainly propagate by cuttings, young plants very quickly gain green mass and lend themselves well to shearing for greater bushiness.

Unstable autumn weather does not have a particular effect on the beauty of the painted foliage of decorative "nettles", so he remains the undisputed king of flower gardens and balconies until the very frost. The main thing is to cut cuttings from the plants in advance and plant them in a room where the mother liquors can wait out the winter.

Dear Readers! In this article, I talked about the most persistent summer trees that I grow on my balcony. But in reality there are many more! Among other annual ornamental plants, which can also cheer up for a long time in autumn, one can recall marigolds, annual asters, diastia, spilantes, ageratum, zinnias, annual dahlias "cheerful guys", lobelia, nasturtium, gatsania, cosmea, decorative cabbage and others.

What plants decorate your balconies and loggias? Tell us about them in the comments to the article.