Planted correctly and lovingly cared for, houseleeks make a decorative appearance on the balcony. Important parameters for successful cultivation are location, vessel shape, substrate, watering and overwintering. This green guide is full of useful planting and care tips for a balcony houseleek.
How do I properly care for houseleeks on the balcony?
For successful houseleek cultivation on the balcony, you should choose a sunny, rain-protected location, use a shallow planting bowl with drainage and use a substrate made of cactus soil (€12.00 on Amazon) and sand or lava granules. Regular watering and adapted wintering increase the growth result.
How do I plant houseleeks on the balcony correctly?
The houseleek thanks a location on thesunny balcony with shapely, colorful leaf rosettes and distinctive inflorescences. A warm, rain-protected location is beneficial for the petite sun-worshipper. These are further important key data for the perfect planting of a houseleek on the balcony:
- A flat bowl with holes in the bottom for water drainage is suitable as a planter.
- Drainage made from expanded clay allows excess water to drain away more quickly.
- The optimal houseleek substrate is a loose mix of cactus soil (€12.00 on Amazon) and sand or lava granules.
- Exclusion criteria are: shady location, normal potting soil, deep pot without holes in the bottom.
What is important for optimal houseleek balcony care?
Planted in a sunny location in a lean substrate, the houseleek proves to be aprime example of frugality. How to properly care for a stone rose on the balcony:
- Water every 8 to 10 days if the finger test indicates dried substrate.
- Do not fertilize houseleeks on the balcony.
- Do not cut off dead leaves, as dead leaves serve as a natural source of nutrients.
- Pull the withered flower stem and the dried rosette out of the pot.
- First cut off the daughter rosettes from the dead mother plant and plant them in the new container.
How can a balcony houseleek overwinter?
Winter does not leave its mark on a houseleek on the balcony. Unlike planted Sempervivum, a potted houseleek isconditionally hardyIn the limited substrate volume of an unprotected planting tray, winter hardiness already reaches its limits - 5° Celsius. How to overwinter a balcony houseleek successfully:
- Ideal winter option: Put the houseleek in a bright, frost-free winter quarters.
- Alternative winter option: Cover the houseleek pot with fleece, place it on wood or Styrofoam, cover the rosettes with straw or needle twigs.
- Winter care: water every two to three weeks.
Tip
Houseleek grows in any container in which soil can be piled up
With legendary frugality, houseleek lets imaginative planting ideas bubble up. Wherever there is space for a handful of cactus soil, Sempervivum species happily take root. Planters worth seeing include: antique cooking pots, old high-heeled shoes, old typewriters, discarded wooden wheelbarrows, rusty baking pans and historic washtubs. A shabby picture frame becomes a living houseleek picture in no time. Simply cover it with wire mesh, fill it with moss and cactus soil - the extravagant houseleek bed is ready.
