Except for free growing grass and bushes most flowers that are suitable for your balcony should be purchased from specialised flower stores in early spring and before you plant them in flowers pots you should leave them for a couple of days on the balcony so that they can adapt to the air outside as well as to the spring sun light. As all new flowers first need to get acclimatized to a bright, warm place protected from wind, rain and direct sun light you should place them in a suitable place on your balcony. The lighter the place the faster and healthier the flowers will grow.
When the flowers are big enough it is time to place them in flower pots. However, before moving the flower itself you should prepare the pot. First, fill it with soil. Check the soil by touching it with your hand. If it is dry, richly water and wait for half an hour. Then, simply pour out from the pot the spare amount of water.
Remember that you should protect the flowers from the low temperatures that are quite common in early spring nights. You can easily keep the flowers away from the night cold by covering them with folio or papers.
So, it is time to move the flowers from the small vessels they are put in the flower store in your own flower pots.
For that purpose you will need the following items:
• Soil
• A small pole needed for swooping the flowers
• A plastic basket where to mix different types of soil
• Shears
• Garden gloves
• A spade
• A sharp knife
• Charcoal dust – it serves for disinfection of the cut parts of the flower
• Different types of fertiliser
• A water can (5 to 10 litres)
• Watering systems
First, you should prepare the pots for the flowers. The main rule that applies here is to use pots that have special holes in their bottoms for draining the water. If there are no holes you better place the flowers in plastic pots as they can easily be pricked. Make sure to carefully clean used pots before planting the flowers in them. First, wash all of the pots with hot water and soap and then use a brush to clean them. For better cleaning use a mixture of water, vinegar and salt – 2 spoons of vinegar and a cup of sea salt are dissolved in a litre of water. Pour the mixture into all of the pots, leave it for a couple of minutes and then wash with clean water.
If the pots are new and have never been used before, you should place them in clean water for a day or two in order to remove all chemical substances and the pots themselves to absorb enough water. This way they will not absorb water from the flower soil.
A very useful tip is to use tiles, wooden bits or an old grill as a pad for the flower pots. This will allow air to circulate in their bottoms. This will protect them from getting musty.
