Choosing a plant for a southern balcony is a difficult task, since most of the really beautiful ones cannot tolerate high temperature or direct sunlight. We will help you choose a compromise option that will turn your window sill or balcony into a blooming greenhouse. Let's consider options for placing pots for various types balconies.
Rules for landscaping a balcony
Before you start planting on the balcony, you need to discuss the basic rules of planting, on which not only the beauty of the overall composition, but also the condition of the plants themselves depends.
Horizontal design
Horizontal design is best suited for large, long loggias that have enough space to place plants in one row. Let's consider several options for arranging flowerpots in a horizontal design.
First option involves placing pots on the floor, near an internal or external wall. Shade-tolerant plants, which at the same time do not tolerate direct sunlight, are suitable for such placement. 
Important! It is worth understanding that the first option involves a solid external wall, and not a forged protective grille.
Second option- placing flowerpots on the railings of the outer wall of the balcony. IN in this case It is worth giving preference to those that tolerate direct sunlight well.
You can place either one continuous long pot, in which all the plants will grow at once, or single vessels. 
Vertical design
Vertical design provides that the flowers on the balcony will be arranged in a kind of cascade from bottom to top.
The vertical arrangement of plants also has several variations:
Did you know? To avoid overheating of the root system, choose pots painted in White color or less bright warm colors.
Choice of colors
Let's move on to choosing suitable plants for the balcony that will withstand direct sunlight, frequent drafts and invasions of various plants.
Annuals
Let's start with flowers for the balcony that can “survive” on the sunny side.
The first flower on our list is , or dandur. The plant is considered a perennial, but in our conditions it is grown as an annual. The average height is 30 cm, the flowers are yellow, red and white.
The plant is interesting because it can withstand direct sunlight on southern balconies and has a long flowering period (from June to September). Also, caring for purslane comes down to regular care. 
The second candidate is . Another one that is grown as an annual. The ampelous plant has a stem reaching 50 cm in height and blooms with small blue, orange or purple flowers.
It is not unpretentious, but has a huge advantage - the possibility of re-blooming after cutting off the faded part. 
If you like different variations of daisies, then the next flower will be your favorite.
- “African chamomile”, which belongs to the Asteraceae family.
There are both perennial and annual variations of gatsaniya, but they all have good drought resistance.
The flower grows up to 30 cm in height; during flowering it pleases with large baskets with a diameter of up to 9 cm, which are painted in warm colors. It is amazing that up to 30 inflorescences can form on one plant, turning the bush into huge bouquet 
large daisies. The plant feels great on the south side of the balcony in direct sunlight. Other positive side
- a large amplitude of permissible temperatures at which gatsaniya blooms well and does not lag behind in development (from -5 to +30 ° C).
The unpretentious “African” will delight you with flowering from the beginning of July until the first frost. The flower is especially relevant for the southern regions.
Two year olds
Now let's talk about two-year-old plants that will look great on the south side of the balcony.
Let's start with those that are known to all gardeners. A small plant that pleases its owners with beautiful double or semi-double inflorescences. 
Important! The main advantage of the plant is its resistance to all pests and diseases, however, some viral diseases can still affect. The flower tolerates direct sunlight well and is not picky about the composition of the substrate.
Although the flower is a perennial, it is grown in culture as a biennial. Another two-year-old that is suitable for a hot southern balcony is Turkish, or bearded,
. Unlike tall garden varieties, this plant has a length of the above-ground part from 20 to 60 cm, and its height can always be reduced to an acceptable size. 
Like the above flowers, it tolerates direct sunlight well and does not require special care. The advantages include drought resistance and frost resistance. The following is the variety -. The plant is perennial, but is cultivated as a biennial. The maximum height of the above-ground part is 30 cm, the plant is compact and highly branched.
Flowers of various colors, there are variations with colored spots and stripes. The buds are large, the average diameter is 7 cm.
The main advantage of the flower is its versatility, as it grows well both in the shade and in direct sunlight. Suitable for more northern regions, since the optimal temperature for is 10-15 °C. 
Perennial
Perennial balcony flowers for the sunny side are presented in a huge variety. Many of the above can also be grown as perennials. However, problems associated with their wintering make the plants too capricious and caring for them more difficult.
Did you know? The smell of pelargonium repels flies, but at the same time many people cannot stand it, as it can cause headaches or allergies.
Having discussed color options for the sunny side of the apartment, we will talk about the rules for keeping them in not entirely comfortable conditions.
The fact is that flowers that are constantly exposed to direct sunlight become very overheated, which means that if you pour cool water on them, the contrast will be very strong, and the plants may get sick or die.
Therefore, the first rule is to water flowers only with warm water or the same temperature as the environment.
Many people know that drops of water falling on leaves create a lens effect. That is, they refract sunlight so that it causes burns. 
This leads to the second rule - spraying of plants is carried out only before sunrise, in the evening or on a cloudy day.
During strong sunshine, moisture evaporates very quickly, causing the earth to cool. The “cooling system” in the human body works in the same way, which releases sweat during severe overheating.
As in the case of watering with cold water, moistening the soil when the plants are exposed to sunlight is prohibited. The third rule is to water flowers only in the morning, evening, or when the sun is hidden behind rain clouds.
When loosening the earth, the lower, wetter layer reaches the surface, and accelerated evaporation of moisture occurs.
Consequently, if you loosen the soil during the hot sun, then the already overheated roots will receive an additional “dose” of heat, and the lower wet layer of soil, from which moisture will begin to evaporate, will not cool the root system. 
It will dry out faster and an airtight crust will immediately begin to form. The fourth rule is to loosen the substrate and remove it only at a time when the flowerpot is not exposed to sunlight.
Now you have enough information to correctly place flowers on the plant, plant the most unpretentious options and not make a mistake during care.
Use our advice and don’t be afraid to make mistakes, as experience comes with time.
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North side
The north side will be conventionally called the rooms facing north. Very little sunlight gets here, so it is always quite gloomy here.
In these rooms you will have to place plants no further than 1.5-2 m from the windows. A greater distance from the window will be considered twilight for plants.
North-facing windows should have adequate insulation and double glazing. They are necessary to limit sudden changes in temperature during the day. On the north side you can make a veranda or greenhouse, where in the summer you will be very comfortable during the summer heat.
Indoor plants for the north window
Aglaonema, anthurium, adiantum, sickle asparagus, asplenium bulbous, aspidistra, blechnum, Venus flytrap, davallia, disa, darlingtonia, fragrant dracaena, clivia, miltonia, bellflower, paphiopedilum, ivy, pellea, selaginella, scindapsus, fittonia, dwarf cous, ficus goblet stipule, cirtomium, Persian cyclamen, episcia, cissus.
South side
Let's call the south side the rooms facing south. South windows receive a lot of sunlight. In northern regions, this is the most ideal place for indoor flowers, and in southern latitudes, use these windows with caution.
You'll have to provide curtains and ventilate more often, since your pets can get sunburn, and too dry air promotes the proliferation of pests. Also, if the air is too dry, the leaves of plants begin to fall off. You will immediately have to purchase a sprayer to maintain the necessary air humidity.
Indoor plants for a south window
Abutilon, pineapple, avocado, beloperone, banana, bougainvillea, brugmansia, hemanthus, gloriosa, hibiscus, house rose, zantedechia, jasmine, cacti, catharanthus, callistemon, cordilina, catharanthus, cordilina, nolina, mikania, pachystachys, blue passionflower, nightshade, setcreasia, succulents, strelitzia, thunbergia, date, ficus Benjamin, hoya, chlorophytum, citrus, ceropegia, yucca.
East side
Let's call the eastern side the rooms whose windows receive direct sunlight only in the morning. This is a very soft, most plant-friendly light.
In the southern regions, on windows facing away from the northeast, many grow well. houseplants, and in the northern regions it is better to place indoor flowers on south-eastern windows. The only drawback of the “eastern” room is that the temperature in it changes very quickly.
Indoor plants for the east window
Alocasia, asparagus, araucaria, azalea, achimenes, aphelandra, begonia, gardenia, dracaena, dieffenbachia, zamioculcas, ginger, caladium, clerodendrum, calathea, cypress, columnea, crossandra, a coffee tree, arrowroot, nephrolepis, nepenthes, rhoicissus, poinsettia, tolmia, syngonium, fatsia, ficus binnendica, ficus cherry, philodendron, fatshedera, howea, echmea, aeschynanthus.
West side
We will conditionally call the western side rooms in which direct sunlight appears only at sunset. This is ideal conditions for plants in areas where it is too hot in the summer.
Western rooms are easy to maintain a moderate temperature throughout the day.. Special attention You need to pay attention to the thermal insulation of window frames and natural ventilation of rooms if the windows do not open in them, since winds most often blow in westerly directions.
Indoor plants for the west window
Allamanda, acalypha, brunfelsia, vriesia, gusmania, grevillea, dendrobium, jacaranda, cattleya, coconut, codiaum, carmona parvifolia, groundsel, mandevilla, monstera, medinilla, neoregelia, oncidium, odontoglossum, pandanus, polycias, pisonia, rheo, cycad, saintpaulia , pigweed, spathiphyllum, parmannia, stephanotis, tillandsia, rubber ficus, phalaenopsis, fuchsia, shefflera, cyperus, jacobinia.
Light. Light. Light. Why do plants need it? How much of it should there be in plant life? Which location is preferable? With each new plant in the collection, the questions multiply and grow in number. Let's figure it out.
Why do plants need light?
The question is simplest for those who know chemistry and biology. Today, only plants have been given the art of creating organic substances from water and air using light energy. During the process of photosynthesis in the leaves and stems of plants, with the participation of chlorophyll, glucose is formed from carbon dioxide and water, and then starch and other, more complex organic compounds. The energy contained in these substances owes its origin to sunlight.
Photosynthesis was discovered at the end of the 18th century. In 1771, the English chemist Joseph Priestley performed such an experiment. He put the mouse under a glass cover. Five hours later the mouse died. However, if there was a mint branch under the hood, it remained alive. From here Priestley concluded that animals with their breathing make the air unsuitable for the life of the body, and plants restore it with their breathing, i.e. make it suitable for life. However, the experience with the mouse was not always successful. The Dutchman Ingenhuis (1779) showed that an indispensable condition for a successful experiment is the presence of sunlight.
During the process of photosynthesis, plants not only develop and grow themselves, but also enable all living things on earth to breathe.
How much light should plants have?
The first is obvious. There must be light. Without it, plants will not be able to develop, grow, bloom, or bear fruit.
We all know that the sun looks through the windows differently, and the level of illumination in the room depends not only on whether it is morning outside, day or night. What is also important is what is in front of the window. Are there nearby houses, trees, or a balcony that block the sun? Even the cleanliness of the glass is important!
Second, important. To determine a plant's need for light, it is sometimes useful to know how it is measured. Here we will talk about illumination. Illumination is a physical quantity numerically equal to the luminous flux incident on a unit surface. The unit of illumination is the lux (1 lux (lx) = 1 lumen per square meter). Lumen (lm) is a unit of measurement of luminous flux. For example, a 40 W incandescent lamp produces a luminous flux of 415–460 lm. While a fluorescent lamp of the same power has a luminous flux of 2480 lm. The luminous flux of the sun will be equal to 3.8 x 10 28 lm.
Illumination is directly proportional to the luminous intensity of the light source. That is, the more powerful the light source, the higher the illumination.
As it moves away from the illuminated surface, its illumination decreases in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. In other words, the further the light source is from the illuminated object, the less illumination of this object. So, a plant standing 3 m from a window receives 9 times less light than one standing on the windowsill.
We draw conclusions - Most of the light enters the room through the window and it is most advantageous to place plants near the window.
A lux meter was developed to measure light levels. Once you become its lucky owner, you can play to your heart's content, determining which windows in your apartment are more suitable for cacti, and which are suitable only for ferns.
If you don't have a lux meter. On a clear sunny day outside, the maximum illumination is about 100,000 lux, and the average value ranges between 30,000 and 50,000 lux; in heavy clouds it drops to 5,000 lux. In the room, these indicators are, of course, different. Sunlight does not fall directly on the plants; some of it is retained window glass, and perhaps also a tree growing in front of the window or curtains drawn down. In summer, directly at the window, the illumination ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 lux. In the center of the room it is much smaller: at a distance of 2-3 meters from the window its value is only 500 lux. In winter, not only the daylight hours decrease, but also the light intensity: near the window it is only 500 lux, while in the center of the room it is completely dark.
Typically, plants require light in the range of 500 to 3000 lux for normal functioning. Those plants that are willing to grow and bloom at 500 lux are called shade-tolerant. Plants that require maximum lighting are usually called sun-loving.
Based on the plants’ need for light (very often mention of the necessary lighting can be found in descriptions of plants in encyclopedias), let’s try to place them on our windows.
North windows
For some reason, it is believed that owners of northern windows are unlucky. Like, nothing will grow there, you can close the shop. In fact, this is not so. The lighting on the northern windows is soft, even, without the scorching midday sun. Daily temperature changes are significant. And many plants like this so much. The northern windows have one - in my opinion, the main - plus: the plant will never get sunburn here.
Plants for the north window:
Aglaonema, maidenhair , aspidistra, asparagus, aucuba, begonia angular, helxin, dracaena marginata, fragrant dracaena , zygocactus , saxifrage , Kalanchoe, large-tongued groundsel (not variegated), Japanese lygodium, monstera , arrowroot , round-leaved peperomia, gray and blunt-leaved peperomia, nightshade, ferns , ivies, passionflower, sansevieria , scindapsus , spathiphyllum, selaginella, tolmia, fatshidera, fatsia, ficus dwarf, climbing philodendron, fittonia, rhombifolia cissus, cineraria, cyclamens.
South windows
Growing plants on a southern window is more troublesome than on a northern one: few plants will tolerate prolonged exposure to direct sunlight and too significant daily temperature changes. Often, during the hottest time of the day, you will have to create shading in the form of a gauze or tulle curtain. Therefore, you need to especially carefully select plants for the windowsill of a south window. Only the most resistant plants that need sun can be placed on the windowsill itself, for example, cacti and other succulents, hoya fleshy, stephanotis profusely flowering, passionflower, etc. If you read in the recommendations for caring for a plant that it loves light, but needs shading, then place it on a table near a south window under the protection of a tulle curtain. Such a place is ideal for decorative foliage flowers such as cyperus, chamerops, cissus, coleus and evergreen myrtle.
Plants for the south window:
Aloe arborescens, Aloe Khanburiana, bouvardia, jasmine sambac, camellia japonica, Coleus Blume, mammillaria, prickly pear, sedum, Livistona Chinese, plectranthus, fuchsia, haworthia, hoya, cereus, echinocactus, hibiscus, oleander, aglaonema variable, white-flowered hemanthus, Dieffenbachia variegated , Dracaena dereme, Dracaena Godsefa , variegated croton, a coffee tree, Crassula purslane, Pandanus Vici, Strobilanthes rosea, cacti and succulents, most palms, roses, laurel, Kalanchoe, a pineapple.
East windows
East windows are ideal in every way. The soft rays of the morning sun are replaced by bright diffused light in the afternoon. The natural, uniform decrease in temperature in the evening allows you to grow all indoor plants here without exception.
They will feel better than others here asparagus, aucuba, tree begonia, hairy begonia, metallic begonia, emerald begonia, griselinia, Dracaena angustifolia, Dracaena derema, butcher's broom, myrtle, ivies, cissus, pittosporum, fatsia japonica, ficus, Roussel's epiphyllum, epiphyllum obtuse, Albizia lofanta, emerald begonia, Japanese euonymus, coastal griselinia, ligustrum ovate, myoporum punctate, pachysandra apical, pittosporum, Pseudopanax Lesson, Indian raphiopepis, Usambara violet, royal begonia, abutilone, Cordyline apex, Cameo, Corynocarpus smooth, Livistona chinensis, Myraina africana, Bauer's Ropalostylis, Sanhesia nobilis, Fatsia, Diffebachia, Yucca, Schefflera, Strelitzia.
When placing flowers on windows, it is important to remember that all flowering indoor plants, without exception, prefer slightly brighter lighting than decorative leafy species, since they absolutely need light for the formation of flower buds.
Plants with variegated leaves require more light than plants with green leaves.
Plants suffer if they are often moved from place to place, especially with different light levels.
In winter, plants should be placed closer to the window, or the plant should be illuminated additionally when signs of lack of light appear.
Dirty glass blocks up to 70% of light, so try to wash your windows more often. Plants need to be rotated periodically different sides to the light source (unless there are buds on it) for uniform leaf formation.
And the last thing: There are exceptions to all these rules, so read in detail about your plant and the rules for its maintenance.
