How to make your balcony winter-proof
Even if the snow and cold have not yet made an appearance in the lower-lying areas, winter is still approaching inexorably. Balconies, terraces and gardens should therefore be gradually prepared for the cold season. We have put together a few helpful tips for you on how you can best prepare your balcony for winter.
Even in winter: water regularly
Plants that are sensitive to cold should be brought into their winter quarters before the first frost at the latest. However, not every plant is equally suitable: plants that retain their foliage should overwinter in a bright place and at a maximum of ten degrees. Those that shed their leaves appreciate a rather dark home with a maximum temperature of around five degrees. However, amateur gardeners also need to give them a little care during the winter dormancy period: The plants should be watered regularly and checked for pests.
Hardy plants: Wrap well
Winter-hardy plants that overwinter outside should still have their pots well wrapped to protect the roots from frost. A hose heater also provides good service here. Here, too, it is important to prevent the plants from drying out – but they should only be watered on frost-free days.
Raised bed: The next spring is coming!
If you grow vegetables on your balcony, for example in a small raised bed, you can still provide supplies now: lettuce, spinach or radishes, for example, can still be planted out now. If you have already done this with hardy cabbage vegetables, you should check them again for pest infestation.
In the garden: One last lawn care
Those who own a garden have a lot more work to do: Because the lawn needs to be mowed and fertilized again. For the latter, we recommend a natural fertilizer that contains plenty of soil life and potassium to strengthen the roots. Flower meadows should also be mown now, although the mowing must be left until it dries out so that the flowers can still set seed. Instead of radically cutting back grasses and shrubs, the former should be tied together and the latter only slightly shortened so that insects and other animals can also find shelter in the cold season. Also on the program is raking up leaves – to protect insects and the like, it is advisable not to use a leaf vacuum here. If the leaves remain on the grass, the tannins contained in the foliage ferment and this – as well as the lack of light – destroys the lawn.
Leaves should also be removed from balconies and terraces to protect the flooring. Nevertheless, the leaves should not be disposed of immediately. Swept under bushes and hedges or piled up in a corner, it provides shelter for numerous animals in winter. Spread over vegetable beds, it protects the soil from the weather. Last but not least, pools should be drained and well secured to prevent them from becoming death traps for animals that slip under covers.
Irrigation systems should also be turned off in the winter months and the pipes drained – this also applies to outdoor showers and kitchens. The computer that controls the irrigation should also be kept frost-free during the winter.
Winterize your balcony: Winter with style
Balconies and terraces don’t have to be dreary in winter either: Hardy plants, which can also be planted until the first frost, ensure this. Dogwoods, grasses, some types of hydrangea and thistle as well as various perennials create a pleasing look in the winter outdoor living room.
The same applies to evergreen plants such as cherry laurel, rock chlorophyll or witch hazel and winter jasmine. To ensure that they are pleasing to the eye for many years, they should be planted in sufficiently large, insulated pots to protect the roots from frost.
At the same time, the outdoor living room can already be prepared for the next season: Flower bulbs (such as snowdrops, tulips, hyacinths, bluestem and similar early bloomers), which are planted in the ground now, but also in pots or balcony boxes, will ensure a splendid display of flowers next spring. They not only delight the human eye, but also serve as a source of food for wild bees in February and March. And if you plant fruit-bearing hedges and shrubs now, you will also enrich the diet of birds, hedgehogs and the like in subsequent years.
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