Creative autumn planting for your balcony

Less light, lower temperatures - at first glance, it doesn't look as if flowers and blossoms have a particularly good chance on the balcony in autumn. Fortunately, there is a whole range of flowers, perennials, and grasses that also feel really good in autumn. We'll tell you what they are, what you should pay particular attention to when planting in the fall, and how The Plant Box's ready-made balcony plants can help you add colour without the mess and hassle.

Flowers & plants for your autumn planting on the balcony

When people talk about autumn flowers or plants, they usually mean so-called late bloomers. The focus when planting the balcony boxes is therefore primarily on autumn flowers, which can still shine with blossoms after the summer or do not have to at all - for example, because their leaf colors already provide a highlight. The biggest advantage: You can actually only plant many of the plants in late summer or at the beginning of autumn - long preliminary planning is therefore not necessary.

To our autumn creations

Blooming autumn flowers for the balcony

Fortunately, the fact that the season of colourful flowers ends with summer is only a myth. In fact, there is a whole range of late bloomers that are ideal for autumn planting on the balcony and provide colour from August to October, or even November. Since the sun usually no longer poses a major risk in autumn, the usual distinction between south and north balconies no longer plays an important role in the selection; most colourful autumn flowers can handle sun, shade, and partial shade.

10 flowering autumn plants for the balcony:

Autumn Cyclamen
sedum
Bulky Aster
Bergenia
leadwort
Autumn Anemone
chrysanthemums
winter heather
silver leaf
elf flower

Good to know: As the year progresses, the sources of nectar for insects become scarcer. The right, insect-friendly autumn planting in balcony boxes can also help to attract butterflies or bees in autumn.

Foliage ornamental plants for the autumn balcony

In addition to the blooming autumn flowers, there are of course also some plants that score points simply because of the colour of the leaves or the discolouration of the leaves, and thus not only provide a nice contrast to the flowers, but also create the classic, autumnal atmosphere on the balcony.

5 foliage plants for the fall:

Silver Jewelry Perennials
Purplebells
coloured nettles
Snowfeather Funkie
Gold Funkie

Ornamental grasses as an autumn addition

The different types of autumn-ready grasses not only impress with their flowers, but also with their special colouring. The biggest advantage: Ornamental grasses also withstand frost well and are therefore the ideal supplement or alternative for all those who are looking for hardy balcony plants for autumn.

5 ornamental grasses for fall:

flat spike grass
sedges
Switchgrass
feather grasses
lamp cleaning grasses

Winter-hardy balcony plants for autumn

In addition to the ornamental grasses, there are many other robust and winter-hardy autumn plants for the balcony. However, you should know the exact species before making your selection, as many plants, such as the aster, have both winter-hardy and frost-sensitive varieties. But once you have found the right autumn plants, many of the balcony plants not only bloom in autumn, but even into winter - some autumn flowers are even perennial.

5 hardy balcony plants for autumn:

asters
heather
sedum
chrysanthemums
yarrow

Perennial autumn plants

Perennial autumn flowers and plants are ideal for anyone who doesn't just want to enjoy their balcony planting for only one autumn. Important: Perennial does not mean winter-hardy! Before winter, it is important to ensure that any type of plant is properly prepared for the winter. As a rule, it is advisable to overwinter the perennial autumn planting in the house or apartment.

3 perennial autumn plants for the balcony:

geraniums
angel trumpet
lemon tree

Balcony plants in autumn - what should I consider?

The good news for all hobby gardeners who tend to doubt their green thumbs: most autumn plants for the balcony are comparatively easy to care for, robust, and have relatively low demands. If you pay attention to a few important points, not much should go wrong:

Autumn flowers: the right time

If you want to have colourful autumn planting on the balcony, you naturally ask yourself when you should start. Since autumn flowers and plants grow quite slowly on the balcony, it makes sense to start early - preferably in September. This gives the autumn plants enough time to develop strong roots and to withstand lower temperatures. The current climatic conditions show that late summer, mild temperatures can extend into October.

The right containers for autumn planting on the balcony

You have several options when it comes to the right containers for autumn planting - in most cases balcony boxes or planters are used. You can use balcony boxes made of light materials such as plastic as well as concrete or terracotta buckets, as the plants cannot fall over so easily. You are welcome to use containers from the previous year for your autumn planting, but these must not only be freed from soil residue, but also thoroughly from any fungal spores and germs.

Avoiding waterlogging is particularly important when planting autumn flowers. No matter how robust and easy-care the autumn plants in the bucket or balcony box may be, they rarely forgive you for waterlogging. You should therefore make sure that there is a drain at the bottom of your balcony or flower box or - as we do with our own Plant Box - a drainage strip is installed.

Autumn planting on the balcony: the right equipment

After you have found the right time and the right container, you can start planting your new fall flowers. In order to be able to work properly and quickly, you should have the following items and materials at hand:

Expanded clay or other material for drainage
containers
watering can
shards of clay to cover the drain hole
gloves
fleece to cover the drainage layer
soil
planting trowel
flowers or plants

The right way to plant autumn flowers on the balcony

To ensure that your autumn plants have the perfect conditions to bloom lavishly on your balcony, you should prepare your balcony box sensibly and plant the flowers using the following instructions:

If you use closed plastic balcony boxes, it is important that you drill enough drainage holes in the box to avoid waterlogging. If your balcony box does not have a water reservoir, you should also add a drainage layer consisting of expanded clay.
The balcony box is then filled with soil – about a third of the depth. It is important that the soil used can sufficiently store the irrigation water.
Then dip your flowers in the nursery pot in water until no more air bubbles rise.
Next, remove the fall flowers from the nursery pot and loosen the root system with your fingers.
Now you can put your new plants in the balcony box. It is best to leave a hand's width between the individual plants, so that they have enough space to grow.
Place the plants in the window box just as deep as in the nursery pot.
Finally, you have to fill up the root balls with soil and press down the substrate lightly.

The right care for your autumn flowers on the balcony

In autumn, it is usually sufficient if you only water the plants a little on mild days - it is primarily important to "water" them vigorously after planting. You also support the longevity of your autumn planting by regularly plucking off faded leaves and stems (directly above the tuber).

Overwinter autumn plants properly

Unfortunately, it is difficult to generalize how to overwinter autumn plantings properly - some autumn plants are winter-hardy and can also cope with frost and temperatures down to -10°, while others unfortunately fall victim to the first frost at night. Unfortunately, the only thing that usually helps here is thorough research in advance and bringing the autumn plants indoors in an emergency. An important rule of thumb: the larger or deeper the balcony box is, the better the roots of the autumn plants are protected from frost.

If you have already gained a little more experience with planting your balcony boxes, you can also use the autumn to prepare for spring and transplant bulbs from early bloomers. Daffodils, tulips, crocuses, or hyacinths are suitable for this.

The Plant Box: Easy-care balcony plants for autumn

Even though there are a whole range of different plants and flowers that still provide blooms and colour on your balcony in autumn, they are very different; among other things with regards to when they have to be planted, how much care they need, and how well they cope with the first frost in late autumn. Under these circumstances, finding balcony plants for autumn that match both visually and with the respective conditions on the balcony can quickly become a challenge.

If you want to save yourself the work, still have some doubts about your "planting skills", or just fancy fresh ideas on your balcony, The Plant Box is ready for you. In our shop you will find a large selection of creative, ready-made, easy-care balcony plantings for autumn and every other season. You can order these online with just a few clicks and use them in your balcony or flower box in just a few simple steps. If you are still looking for a suitable balcony box, you will also find our own “ Plant Box” in the shop. All creations are put together by us personally, which means that the flowers and plants are not only perfectly matched, but are also optimally adapted to the conditions on different balconies.

Your advantages with balcony plants from The Plant Box:

wild, natural, and ready-arranged autumn plantings for your balcony
Creatively planted balcony - without any dirt or effort
blooming and insect-friendly autumn plants from regional cultivation
Our Plant Box: modern balcony box made from 100% recycled vegetable oils (Made in Germany)
Arrangements with peat-free soil and without chemical fertilizers

To our shop

Let us convince you and simply choose the autumn planting that you like best in our shop . If you're in the mood for fresh ideas on a regular basis and want to bring new colours to life in winter, spring, and summer, our convenient Plant Lover Club membership is for you.