A Burke’s Backyard viewer emailed Don to ask if there were any plants suitable for an apartment balcony exposed to extreme seasonal conditions. Don visited the viewer during a recent trip to Melbourne. He created a potted garden using spineless yucca (Yucca elephantipes) and blue flax lily (Dianella caerulea ‘Cassa Blue’). These tough, hardy plants look stunning and will tolerate the harsh conditions on the top floor balcony.
Plants
Spineless or soft-tipped yucca (Yucca elephantipes)
This small evergreen tree reaches around 9 metres (30′) in the wild, but it is usually smaller in cultivation. It develops a thick, branching trunk which is reminiscent of an elephant’s foot at the base. From summer to autumn it produces white, bell-shaped edible flowers in large panicles. The spineless yucca is adaptable to a wide range of climates and conditions and is drought, salt and frost tolerant. It can be grown indoors as an architectural pot plant, or outdoors as a landscaping plant. It is suitable for modern, Santa Fe or Mediterranean style houses and landscapes.
Blue flax lily (Dianella caerulea ‘Cassa Blue’)
‘Cassa Blue’ is a ‘no cane’ form of Dianella caerulea with a tidy clumping habit. It grows to around 40 x 40cm and produces masses of baby blue flowers on tall stems above the rich blue foliage. It tolerates a wide range of soils and climatic conditions, and is drought tolerant and long-lived. Grow ‘Cassa Blue’ as a colour contrast plant, accent plant or in mass plantings. This plant is easy to maintain: just trim old leaves and spent flower stems as required.
The makeover
- Each pot was checked to make sure it had enough drainage holes in the bottom. (Tip: if necessary drill extra holes using a masonry drill bit).
- Don painted the pots with two coats of Dulux ‘Ocean Current’ exterior acrylic low-sheen paint (but you could use any good quality exterior paint), allowing several hours to dry between coats.
- ‘Ocean Current’ is a blue shade chosen to complement colours used in the apartment building.
- To help retain moisture, Rainsaver Water Crystals were mixed into the root zone of the potting mix. This is particularly important for pot plants in exposed areas.
- The pots were placed in position, and then partially filled with potting mix so that the plants were sitting at the correct level. (Tip: place some mesh or plastic flywire in the bottom of the pots to prevent the potting mix washing out.)
- Don positioned the plants in the pots, then filled around the root balls with more mix, taking care not to build the soil up around the stems. (Tip: never buy a cheap potting mix. Quality potting mixes display the Standards Australia ‘ticks’ on the pack.)
- It is a good idea to raise the pots slightly above the ground. This improves drainage, stops plant roots growing through the drainage holes and minimises staining to the balcony. Pot feet or bricks work well.
The plants were watered well after potting. Good quality potting mixes contain fertiliser, but at this stage it is ok to add a slow-release fertiliser, such as Osmocote for pots, if you wish.
Costs
- Don used the Pallina Collection troughs from Motyaj phone (02) 9618 6866, which are available at garden centres throughout Australia. 125 x 46 x 41cm troughs cost approximately $400, and 10 x 40 x 35cm troughs cost about $340.
- The square pot cost around $550.
- Multistemmed 1m tall yuccas cost around $200 for a 300mm (12″) pot.
- Expect to pay around $10 for Dianella caerulea ‘Cassa Blue’ in a 140mm (6″) pot, or about $15 for a 200mm (8″) pot.
- A 30 litre bag of potting mix costs around $16.
- Rainsaver Water Crystals cost around $18 for 250g.
- Dulux ‘Ocean Current’ low sheen acrylic exterior costs $75 for 4 litres from hardware stores.