5 Container Plants for Sun
In care instructions for plants, there will usually be an indicator of how much sun a plant needs to grow well. If a plant requires full sun, it needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day. The following five plants should do well in a sunny apartment balcony garden with 6 or more hours of direct sunlight daily.
Don't have a sunny balcony? Check out five great plants for shade>>
1. Peppers. Bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, chiles de arbol, cayenne peppers and habanero peppers are great plants for sun. Some people say that the hotter and sunnier it is, the hotter the pepper! Just remember that if you don’t water properly during development, peppers won’t have the right taste. Bell peppers, for example, can be bitter if not watered enough.
2. Bougainvillea. The drought-tolerant bougainvillea is the perfect plant for sun. The bougainvillea plant provides vertical interest and color (white, pink, orange or purple) to a warm, sunny apartment garden that contains other plants for sun. Keep them in large enough containers and don’t overwater.
3. Jelly bean plant. Also called pork and beans, this succulent plant has jelly beanlike leaves that love to soak up sun. This great plant for sun thrives on hot, sunny apartment gardens. It can survive dry conditions and doesn’t need to be watered or fertilized often. The fun jelly bean plant grows drooping down and is easily propagated through cuttings.
4. Lavender flowers. These pretty purple flowers attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators to your sunny garden. Lavender flowers add height to your container garden. They do best in full sun and don’t need to be watered or fertilized often.
5. Zinnia flowers. Zinnia flowers, also great plants for sun, come in many different colors and shapes. White, light green, yellow, orange, red and purple zinnia flowers can have a single row of flower petals or multiple rows of petals that produce beautiful dome-shaped, full flowers. Plant some zinnia flowers in a garden with other plants for sun, and you’ll have a beautiful display in no time!
So if you have a sunny apartment garden, try one of these great plants for sun. You’ll love them!
PLANTS FOR SUN TIPS! When looking for potted plants for sun, make sure to choose drought-tolerant plants that can survive in the heat. Sunny apartment gardens on balconies often also get extra wind that will dry out potted plants, and the small amount of potting soil in plant containers often won’t hold enough water for the plants to get them through a hot day (some porous plant pots like terra cotta lose a lot of water from evaporation). Even plants for sun can dry up, ending up with brown, curled up plants (plant leaf scorch/plant leaf tip burn). So make sure to water and protect your plants, even if it is drought-tolerant and doesn’t need a lot of water.
