I thought I would try some Dahlias on my balcony this year and got myself three varieties, one small and two very large ones. I know I was a bit ambitious. Well, the start was very nice and promising. As the season went on, they grew big and provided the nice green backdrop I was aiming for. In early July, leafminers decided to eat my Dahlias but I could easily locate the larvae inside the leaves and just gently squash them to death while they are still inside the leaf! I really enjoyed killing them one by one. lol Surprisingly though, no other pests on any other plants. I was afraid Begonias might get spidermites (but so far in Germnay, no spidermites on my plants to my delightful surprise!!). Then, I started seeing these tiny green jumping insects on my Dahlias. At first, I would just try and catch them and kill by hand, but they were rather fast and easily escape my hand. Soon, they multiplied in numbers but still only stayed on Dahlias. I was getting super annoyed and once I found them on my other plants next to Dahlias, I put a huge black trash bag over them and took them out. I did enjoy a few flowers but they were not as good as anticipated. I guess I'll never get Dahlias again unless I move to a house with a garden. No more bugs and my Elephant ears are growing big fast filling up the open space where the Dahlias were. My current biggest challenge is to overwinter perrenials and more importantly my beautiful Hydrangeas, which will hopefully provide a nice back drop for other smaller plants I plan on trying. I see that you have some Hydrangeas so I'm gonna search and see if you have already covered that topic. You said you are in zone 8. I'm in Berlin, so zone 7 I believe.
Bonjour what I wish I knew before is the importance of mulching. I can't believe it took me that long to realize this! I was good since I started with composting ( even easier now with my Bokashi) and keeping pots well watered. Thank you for sharing.
I'm very happy that I found you...🌷🌷🌷 I adore humans giving life to everything around them, and making everything better! Living slowly and hopefully intentionally.❤ Fateme Life, Canada
My advice would be, don't use terracotta pots if you have a full ☀balcony... unless you want to water 3 times a day... I have experienced that myself during hot summers 🥵 or windy 🌬days. 😮💨😅
Thank you for amazing video. I wanted to ask how to fix over watering for containers. I have windows between east south so I have less exposure in Summer. I have used all purpose potting mix with vermiculite 1:1. But I still see overwatering as the problem for many dieing plants in basket. I would highly appreciate your advice. Thank you ❤
Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Vermiculite has a high water-holding capacity, so adding a little bit will prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. But with 50% vermiculite, the soil will most likely be permanently wet and this is what causes the plants to rot, unfortunately 🫤. Perlite would be a better option, it improves drainage and aeration in the soil.
I thought I would try some Dahlias on my balcony this year and got myself three varieties, one small and two very large ones. I know I was a bit ambitious. Well, the start was very nice and promising. As the season went on, they grew big and provided the nice green backdrop I was aiming for. In early July, leafminers decided to eat my Dahlias but I could easily locate the larvae inside the leaves and just gently squash them to death while they are still inside the leaf! I really enjoyed killing them one by one. lol
Surprisingly though, no other pests on any other plants. I was afraid Begonias might get spidermites (but so far in Germnay, no spidermites on my plants to my delightful surprise!!). Then, I started seeing these tiny green jumping insects on my Dahlias.
At first, I would just try and catch them and kill by hand, but they were rather fast and easily escape my hand. Soon, they multiplied in numbers but still only stayed on Dahlias. I was getting super annoyed and once I found them on my other plants next to Dahlias, I put a huge black trash bag over them and took them out.
I did enjoy a few flowers but they were not as good as anticipated. I guess I'll never get Dahlias again unless I move to a house with a garden.
No more bugs and my Elephant ears are growing big fast filling up the open space where the Dahlias were.
My current biggest challenge is to overwinter perrenials and more importantly my beautiful Hydrangeas, which will hopefully provide a nice back drop for other smaller plants I plan on trying. I see that you have some Hydrangeas so I'm gonna search and see if you have already covered that topic.
You said you are in zone 8. I'm in Berlin, so zone 7 I believe.
Thanks for sharing. At the beginning I killed many plants by overwatering. I understood it later.
Bonjour what I wish I knew before is the importance of mulching. I can't believe it took me that long to realize this! I was good since I started with composting ( even easier now with my Bokashi) and keeping pots well watered. Thank you for sharing.
This is such great advice, thanks so much for sharing! Mulching is a game changer 🙌🏻.
I'm very happy that I found you...🌷🌷🌷
I adore humans giving life to everything around them, and making everything better! Living slowly and hopefully intentionally.❤
Fateme Life, Canada
Aww that's really sweet of you to say so! Glad you're enjoying my videos 🥰 Greetings from France!
My advice would be, don't use terracotta pots if you have a full ☀balcony... unless you want to water 3 times a day... I have experienced that myself during hot summers 🥵 or windy 🌬days. 😮💨😅
Haha so true, soil dries out very quickly in terracotta pots! Thanks for sharing 💚!
Hola amiga!👋 Great topic!👍 I wish I would have known that wind drys out containers, so during windy days, you must water more.💕
That's so true, I wish I knew it sooner too🫣!!
likes 👍 Nice sharing Dear Friend ❤ beautiful video ❤👍🤗
Thank you for amazing video. I wanted to ask how to fix over watering for containers. I have windows between east south so I have less exposure in Summer. I have used all purpose potting mix with vermiculite 1:1. But I still see overwatering as the problem for many dieing plants in basket. I would highly appreciate your advice. Thank you ❤
Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Vermiculite has a high water-holding capacity, so adding a little bit will prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. But with 50% vermiculite, the soil will most likely be permanently wet and this is what causes the plants to rot, unfortunately 🫤. Perlite would be a better option, it improves drainage and aeration in the soil.