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elisamama

Windy high floor terrace suggestions desired

elisamama
11 years ago

Last summer everything on my terrace had to stay indoors while the outside of the building was worked on. The work started in May and didn't finish until September. I lost perennials I had for years. Only the chives, sedum and lithodora have returned. Not sure if the red American honeysuckle is hanging on; it has some green leaves but they've been there most of our mild winter.

So, I am mostly starting over and would really appreciate any and all input. It is a west facing balcony that gets sun from 1:00 PM until sunset from early spring to late fall. The entire space is 4.5'x 13' but for the past few years the growing space has been 4.5'x 5' in 9 pots ranging from 12"x12" to 18"x18" interior dimensions.

I am open to getting new pots, as long as they can stay outside all year or are both small enough to bring in easily and look OK inside. I have lots of houseplants and don't have lots of storage space. I usually bring in two 12"x 12" pots of amaryllis. I also have a window box but since it is so shallow most plants do not do well in it.

A major factor in plant selection is wind. I live in Manhattan 2 blocks from the water and since the terrace is on the 42nd floor, there is an extraordinary amount of wind. Over the years I have found that plants that stay behind the plexiglass partition under the 41" high railing have a better chance of escaping the wind. Vines and climbers do fairly well as the shoots grab onto each other and can be trained to grow laterally. In addition to the honeysuckle, I lost a 10 year old wisteria which would only get a few meager blooms each year. I have many houseplants that theoretically could summer outside but since most are orchids in bark, they are too light and would topple over in the wind, if not literally fly off the balcony.

I have leaned towards perennials because I like the thrill of plants and especially flowers returning year after year. Also, buying plants is not so easy. I don't own a car and rent cars mostly in summer. Tarragon and chives return for many years, but many other perennial herbs end up being annuals because they don't survive the winter.

Another factor is watering. Since there is a terrace above, direct rainfall is limited. I have a home office so I am able to water fairly frequently during the week, but I am away many weekends in the summer, so the plants need to be fairly drought resistant. Drought resistant evergreens have not faired well in the past.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I am particularly seeking plant selection, positioning and care recommendations, but would appreciate any guidance at all.

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