The choice of plants for creating hanging flower arrangements for landscaping balconies and terraces is much wider than you might think. At the same time, it will be much more interesting to look not monoplantations, but combined “mini-flower beds”. The best result is obtained by a combination of flowering and decorative deciduous plants in one planter. In this article I will tell you about the most interesting decorative deciduous plants with ampelous growth.
5 best decorative leafy ampels for landscaping balconies and terraces
1. Plectranthus
One of the most unpretentious ampelous plants, which was previously grown mainly only indoors – as a pot plant. By the shape of the leaf blade plectrantus (Pickranthus) a bit like Coleus. And these plants are indeed the closest relatives of the labiate family.
The foliage of the plectrantus is medium in size, on average 4-5 centimeters in diameter. The surface of the leaves is densely covered with hairs, the faceted stems are thick, but they are not visible behind the abundance of foliage. Sometimes the plant can emit spike-shaped inflorescences, consisting of small purple or white flowers, resembling Coleus flowers. But the main decorative value is the foliage of the plant.
Hybrid Silver Shield it is distinguished by a monophonic, strongly pubescent silvery-gray foliage, which gives the impression that the plant is made of metal or densely covered with frost. Another type of plectrantus The Variegate has more expressive leaves, which are distinguished by a creamy white border on a dark green background. Elastic “mustache shoots” hang down about 60-75 centimeters.
Плектрантус (Plectranthus) Silver Shield. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Proven Winners Plants
Terms & Conditions
Containers with plectrantus can be placed both in the sun and in partial shade. At the same time, light shading is preferable, since in the sun the foliage of the plants becomes shallow and the tone of the foliage becomes noticeably pale.
For winter time, it is better to place the plectrantus on the lightest window, the temperature range should remain within 15-25 degrees, watering is moderate. If the air in the apartment is too dry, it will not be superfluous to spray the plant periodically.
Towards the end of winter, you can trim the bushes and root the cut off parts of the shoots. Plectrantus takes root very easily. If you put the cuttings in a glass of water, they will begin to form roots very soon. Young plants are taken out into the fresh air after the threat of recurrent frosts ends.
Plectrantus in design
In container design, plectrantus is usually used in combination with flowering annuals. The Silver Shield hybrid is great in compositions of cold colors when you add flowers of purple and white shades to it, for example, petunia, alyssum, heliotrope, verbena and others.
Plectrantus “Variegata” is suitable for almost any color of annual flowers. In combination with red, it will slightly cool the expression of bright red annuals and create very harmonious pairs with them.
For a continuation of the list of the best decorative deciduous ampelous plants for landscaping balconies and terraces, see the next page.
