With some natural greenery from real plants, almost every balcony looks much more homely and inviting. However, if you don't have time for the daily care of more demanding plant species, evergreen groundcovers like Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) can be a good alternative to pansies and geraniums.

The delicate periwinkle also thrives in pots on the balcony

Choosing the right periwinkle variety

One could sometimes be tempted to choose the slightly larger-leaved and upright-growing varieties of Vinca major for planting on the balcony. However, this could be problematic, since Vinca major is only hardy to around -15 degrees Celsius and locations on a balcony are sometimes even more exposed to the weather than many a garden bed. You should therefore rather reach for strong young plants of Vinca minor, which you plant in the spring in the planters provided for this purpose. Mix different flowering varieties and keep the recommended one
planting distance, as the plants will spread even further under suitable conditions.

Beware of the sun and heat

South-facing balconies are only suitable as a location for the small periwinkle to a very limited extent, since this plant cannot thrive well in the long term in extreme heat and drought (which are usually associated with continuous sunlight on a balcony). Unless you have a balcony with a maximum of two to three hours of direct sunlight per day, you should look for alternatives to planting in the window box on the balcony railing. These can definitely be found:

  • in a shady location behind the balcony parapet that serves as shade
  • under an eaves
  • in a “vertical” balcony bed (e.g. on a shelf)

Care for the periwinkle on the balcony properly

After you have filled the selected planters with as nutrient-rich, loose soil as possible, you can plant the evergreen plants a little deeper than the roots into the substrate. Given the right conditions, even specimens planted a certain distance apart will soon form a green carpet. But before that happens, the soil in the plant pots must always be kept moderately moist, as wind and sun can cause much more drying out on a balcony than in a garden bed. If a continuous cover of the ground cover has formed later, the water rations can be dosed more sparingly.

tips

The high water requirement of Vinca minor, even in the shade, can sometimes lead to the nutrients being washed out of the plant substrate. If necessary, take countermeasures by fertilizing with some compost or with some liquid fertilizer (which is practically easier to do with this ground cover).

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Herbs