plants are more addictive than plants vs zombies

August 8, 2015 9:07 AM

What plants could I grow on my Brooklyn balcony that reward lots of attention but won't suffer too badly without it?

I find that I really enjoy messing around with the plants on my balcony, and I'm disappointed when I run out of weeds to pull and seed pods to pluck. But there's also weeks when the weather is unpleasant or I'm out of town or I just don't feel like it. What should I grow next year that would enjoy (perhaps excessive) attention but not die from neglect?

My balcony faces west with part shade from a big tree and 5-6 hours of direct sunlight in the summer. I've enjoyed marigolds and geraniums because they're constantly making more flowers that die and can be plucked off to encourage new growth, but marigolds and geraniums aren't very exciting. I like growing edibles and I have some semi-successful cherry tomatoes and hot peppers this year.

posted by moonmilk to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

You and I are similar in our plant-care-taking ways, and I've had really good luck with geraniums (after killing...so many other plants). They really thrive if you trim dead leaves and buds off, but if you neglect them (no trimming, forget to water for a week) they still do pretty OK. Succulents are also an obvious choice and now that they are so popular there are countless varieties available, even in chain-type places like Home Depot.
posted by lovableiago at 10:04 AM on August 8, 2015

Crap, totally missed the part about geraniums not being exciting :( forget I said that and focus on my succulents suggestion! Look into propagating them.
posted by lovableiago at 10:07 AM on August 8, 2015

Response by poster: I do love succulents, but I've only ever grown them inside. Do you have favorites for outdoors?
posted by moonmilk at 10:08 AM on August 8, 2015

I have a a flower-like succulent on my porch whose leaves turn red in direct sunlight (and I live in California, so the outer leaves are always red); I bought it from a woman who grew them in her perpetually foggy backyard where they stayed green. I think it's called Blossoming Beauty or something like that.

Anyway, succulents are hardy and most will be just as happy, if not happier, outdoors. But they're not really the kind of plant that rewards constant attention, because they're so good at surviving on their own.
posted by serelliya at 11:12 AM on August 8, 2015

Mr. hgg says heliotrope. (Caveat: it's poisonous, so pets and children should be supervised around it.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:46 PM on August 8, 2015

You might want to take a look at alpines. They're small and tough, and the people I've known who really like them are the fiddly sort.
posted by conic at 5:28 PM on August 8, 2015

What about an herb garden? Rosemary is really hard to kill, same with oregano, thyme, and savory. Not very fiddly, though - they are more set it and forget it for me.

A flower to look into is Dianthus. They seem to have a rotating system of blooms wherein you need to dead-head the old ones while the newest ones are just starting out. If you take care of them, they last a long time. And they are cheap to replace.
posted by CathyG at 6:49 AM on August 9, 2015