Succulents too expensive to buy? Learn leaf propagation from fellow gardeners and build a succulent balcony while saving money

Many gardening enthusiasts feel that growing plants burns through money. They want to buy every new variety they see, and get envious when they see others growing beautiful plants. Sigh... Ever since taking up gardening, the plants eat soil and the gardener ends up "eating soil" too. Want to fill up that small balcony at home and still save money? Take a look at these plants below, and Huahua will help you come up with ideas!

Succulent balcony

Gardening Encyclopedia

The image below shows the balcony of a beautiful gardening enthusiast from Shenzhen. At a glance it is all succulents, and there is not even a spot to put your feet

With a little tidying up and arranging, it immediately turns into a succulent park! With a small succulent balcony like this, why even go out? Staying home every day is simply wonderful

Even though Shenzhen is very hot, the beautiful owner still takes great care of the succulents. Even the ones in their dormant period look this beautiful

Many gardening enthusiasts will surely ask, with succulents this beautiful, how can Huahua still dare to say they are cheap? Actually, Huahua does not encourage everyone to buy a pot every time they see one. Succulents propagate so easily that you can absolutely do leaf propagation yourself

1. Leaf propagation

As long as the succulent leaves are healthy, basically just placing them on the soil surface will let them take root and sprout. In summer's high temperatures, be careful to keep them in a cool, ventilated place and mist regularly. They will take root in 7-15 days

2. Care

Succulents are actually very drought-tolerant, and since many are now dormant, there is even less need to worry about watering. As long as you avoid harsh sun exposure, there are basically no major problems. You must control your hands and not water randomly

Rose balcony

Gardening Encyclopedia

Roses are truly loved by everyone. As a serious flower fanatic, how could you miss out! With hundreds to thousands of varieties, your eyes will glaze over, and if you are obsessive-compulsive, you must have one of every color

A 5-year-old large plant is also impressive. Planting just one on the balcony is enough. Why ask for a riot of colors? This one alone is national beauty and heavenly fragrance

Don't say roses are expensive. Huahua only bought 3, and all the rest came from sharing cuttings with friends. Want to grow more? The only worry is that you won't have enough flower pots~

1. Cuttings

Many gardening enthusiasts think cuttings rely on luck, so it is better to take more cuttings: drill some holes in a plastic cup for ventilation, then fill it with sandy soil (a mix of granular soil and garden soil), cut 8-12 cm long vigorous one-year-old branches, insert them into the soil and place in a cool place, keep them moist, and they will roughly take root in 10-20 days

2. Care

The main problems with roses are fertilizer and pests and diseases. Everyone must regularly apply nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to ensure blooming across multiple seasons; observe promptly for pests and diseases, and the environment must be sanitary and ventilated, otherwise no amount of spray will help. If severe, just cut everything back and let it regrow

Small flower balcony

Gardening Encyclopedia

Don't look down on these small herbaceous flowers as unremarkable. Planted on a balcony, they have a charm all their own. Unlike those big flowers that are lush and verdant, the small flowers are delicate and cute and easily fill a pot, simply a must-grow for lazy people

The small flowers are colorful, and the tiny balcony is so beautiful it is hard to look away. When friends come over, they don't even want to leave~

Besides small flowers that grow into balls, such as daisies, marguerites, and petunias, there are also climbing nasturtiums, all varieties that go crazy growing as soon as they touch soil!

These small herbaceous flowers grow fast. In fact, there is no need to buy potted plants that are already blooming. You can sow them yourself. A few yuan's worth of seeds, scattered into soil, will sprout, and in less than a month they will bloom

1. Sowing

The plastic packaging trays left over from snacks are just right for sowing. First add soil, then evenly scatter the seeds on the soil. Larger seeds can be lightly buried, while small seeds do not need burying. Then sprinkle water to soak through. The weather is hot now, so pay attention to shading and moisture retention. They will sprout in about 1 week

2. Care

These small herbaceous flowers all have the trait of growing crazily once they see light, making them perfect for balcony growing. Watering is also no worry: water when the soil is dry, and do not let water accumulate in the pot to avoid root rot. The most important thing to note is to prune promptly, because they grow too fast and easily become leggy and ugly

Hydrangea balcony

Gardening Encyclopedia

Gardening enthusiasts with poor lighting at home should not be discouraged. Look at the enthusiast below. The lighting on the 1st floor is poor, which is just right for growing hydrangeas. With just a few square meters of small balcony covered with turf, a fully packed little hydrangea garden was built

At night it is dim and yellow, with a few small lights installed. The main actors are the hydrangeas, but it is very lively

Hydrangeas are famous for being easy to propagate from cuttings. A 5 cm long branch is enough, and it can take root and bloom the same year. Tell me, isn't that impressive

1. Cuttings

Cut current-year hydrangea branches into 5 cm long sections. It is best if each section has a pair of leaves in the middle. Cut the leaves in half to save nutrients, then insert them directly into moist sandy soil and keep them in a cool place. They will roughly take root in 7-10 days

2. Care

Hydrangeas like cool, moist conditions, so do not expose them to sun. Normally water about once every 2 days, and if the weather is hot, water every day. If your hydrangea always has problems, Huahua suggests cutting all the branches back and letting it regrow, and it will immediately look brand new

Hydrangeas turn blue in acidic soil and red in alkaline soil. If you want to change their color, you can first adjust the soil's pH. Adding ferrous sulfate before the hydrangea flowering period can turn them blue, and adding a little calcium powder from preserved egg shells can turn them red

Green vine balcony

Gardening Encyclopedia

A balcony is never complete without climbing vines. Choose a few pots of climbing green plants. Although they do not bloom, they stay evergreen all year round, and just a few glances every day lifts your mood

String of Pearls, String of Tears, purple oyster plant, and String of Hearts are all excellent climbing green plants. Rather than keeping them stuffy indoors, it is better to grow them on the balcony, where they grow faster and even save you a curtain

One vine of these can fill a pot. Besides collecting seeds from seed pods after flowering to sow, you can also propagate them directly by cuttings. One branch is enough to fill a pot

1. Cuttings

Cut the vines into 5-10 cm long branches, insert them into moist flower soil, and place them in a cool, ventilated place. They will roughly take root in about 10 days

2. Care

Most of these vines are also succulents, but they are very easy to grow. Hanging them up also gives better ventilation. Normally you just need to water them enough. At this point you must be wondering, if they are hung so high, how do you water them

Hanging flower pots generally have no holes, so watering will not leak; or choose double-layer self-watering pots, where excess water automatically filters down to the lower compartment and continues to supply moisture

The best place for growing plants is our balcony. All-purpose gardening enthusiasts, you must make good use of it

After seeing these small balconies

Do you have any inspiration

Then hurry up and take action

?