The petunia improved a lot after its haircut but given how hard the roots are in the pot, it is quite old and tired now. It cost no more than a bunch of cheap flowers, so we will get another plant.
Other years have seen us put up some elaborate balcony lighting. This year we bought two strings of LED lights and wound them around the balcony railing. These are the solar collectors to power them. Long way down, Grace. What? You really want to see the lights? They are just two strings of lights coloured lights, nothing special.
The other balcony plant has been with us for a very long time, maybe a couple of decades. It went on holiday to a friend's house for a few months, but we missed it and brought it to its new home at The Highrise. It nearly died earlier during our winter when I did not water it for a long time, but it revived and as you can see it is thriving. The red is quite brilliant. The long branch needs cutting off, but I haven't the heart to do it. Next winter I will.
I was sitting at the desk and looked at the temperature indicator thingie and it showed blank. Ah, batteries on the outdoor measuring unit must need replacing. Out I go to check and where is the unit? Only the bracket remains. Oops. It was a very firm clip. I don't know how, but it must have fallen and bounced on the balcony and over the edge.
Somewhere way down here, smashed to smithereens I guess. In my effort to take a scary photo for Grace, I scared myself for a moment. I can look down at something but not just look down at nothing when I am right at the edge. Grace is probably quite ill now.
Please don't throw away a perfectly good beautiful petunia!!
ReplyDeleteRepot it into a larger pot or give it away to someone who will.
How can you just throw away a living thing???
Put it down on the footpath with a "free" label on it. Put "needs repotting" in smaller letters.
If you decide to repot it yourself, don't forget to loosen the tight bound roots.
River, a couple of weeks is a long time in plant life. It seems to have powdery mildew on its leaves and looks pretty sick. You are right about killing living things but I have decided to be heartless about balcony plants. We just don't have the space. It is not like they will bloom annually.
DeleteThen get a flowering perennial instead, one that can survive in a pot? A larger pot than the one you get petunias in. Even another crown of Thorns, I believe they come in white as well as pink.
DeleteEchoing River.
ReplyDeleteLove your other plant too.
EC, petunias come and go, but I am quite attached to the ..........ah, can't recall the name.
DeleteCrown of Thorns.
DeleteI don't doubt you, but I have heard another name.
DeleteWell damn, now I have to go back to google.
DeleteAndrew, lovely view. And the flowers too. On which floor is your apartment located? I believe it is very high..
ReplyDeleteThanks Gosia. I don't like to say which floor we are on, but it is in the upper teens.
DeleteThings outside do wear out as do the flowers. Flowers can get pot bound as you mentioned your petunia is, plus they don't last forever and I know I would get tired of having the same colour there all the time..
ReplyDeleteWA, nicely put. It is always exciting when we buy a new and very nice looking plant. Ok, yes, we are shallow.
DeleteWonderful RED flowers!! And I feel dizzy just looking at those over-the-edge shots!!
ReplyDeleteRed, I get a feeling in my legs, but only when I am not looking at something. Ah yes, very red flowers.
DeleteI have the red flowered whatever it is, also a yellow version. Great plants flower all yeah with little maintenance.
ReplyDeleteAllan, haha, as long as they are occasionally watered.
DeleteOkey-dokey. Crown of Thorns is one of many types of Euphorbia. Called Euphorbia Milii, native to Madagascar and comes in white, yellow and apricot as well as the pinky-red you have on your balcony.
ReplyDeleteI had to find out, I wouldn't sleep otherwise. Bugs the heck out of me that I have to know, but on the upside I'm not likely to ever forget it now.
River, Angel will allow you a sleep in. Yes, we called it Madagascan something.....
DeleteSerendipity! Angel allowed me to sleep until 7am after I had given him his breakfast at 3.30am.
DeleteOMG that was so mean Andrew :) oh my that is such a long way down, what level are you on? There would be no point in me ever thinking about highrise living, I'd never be able to go outside :) Was trying to figure out the name of your older plant, it has such a beautiful bloom, thorny stem though.. do you know what it's called ?
ReplyDeleteGrace, oddly some people do choose to live in high rises and can't go outside. Seems pointless to me. Yes, River did some research.
DeleteI should have read comments :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the view in that last photo.
ReplyDeleteYour crown of thorns looks very happy now. We filled two long planters with plants each. They're kind of small, but I'm looking forward to seeing them fill the space.
Mitchell, we have never gotten around to getting a long planter which would suit our balcony. We either don't like the look or the shape or size is wrong. Hmm, twelve years.....we are slack.
Delete