When you don’t have a garden or access to an outside space when living in an apartment, plants can be a nice way to add some greenery into your home.
However, if you’re new to hanging plants up, you might be wondering: How do you hang plants on a balcony?
In this article, I will cover some key information about plants, including how you can hang plants on a balcony and tips for hanging up heavy plants.
So, let’s get started.
Can you hang plants on a balcony?
Yes, you can hang plants on a balcony! However, one of the biggest concerns with having plants on your balcony is that you won’t have enough space left to enjoy your balcony.
This simply comes down to the fact that plants on the ground can take up a lot of space. That being said, hanging plants up on your balcony will eliminate this issue as you will have a lot more space for things such as furniture to sit on your balcony.
However, this comes with the caveat that you should always do your research if you have no experience in using a drill or have never done any kind of DIY before.
While hanging plants on your balcony isn’t complicated, it’s better to be safe than sorry when you’re making adjustments to your home. After all, you don’t want to end up damaging anything!
Which plants are best for your balcony?
You’d be surprised how many plants you can grow on your balcony! These include but are not limited to:
Fruits and vegetables – On your balcony, you can grow garden plants such as tomatoes, onions, peppers, peas, garlic, beans or any others that are small enough or that can grow up a trellis. This is a great alternative to having a vegetable patch if you live in a busy city!
Flowers – Flowers don’t only brighten up a space, but they are also a great choice to grow on your balcony. You should do your best to research the types of flowers that you would like to have, figuring out where they would be best placed on your balcony in accordance with their needs.
House plants – Upright houseplants or trees are great to have if you have a shady balcony, and small fruit trees or bonsai are a better choice for a sunny one.
Herbs – You can also grow a variety of herbs on your balcony, especially those you can use in the kitchen such as basil and rosemary. It’s great to have fresh herbs on hand!
How do you hang plants on a balcony?
There are a variety of ways of hanging plants on a balcony. Generally speaking, your balcony will provide four main areas in which you can hang your plants.
These are the roof, walls, the balcony balustrade (railing), and the floor space the balcony provides. Once you have decided which area is best for your plants, there are a variety of ways to hang your plants in each area which I will go into more detail about below.
A guide on how to hang plants from balcony roof or eaves
If you have a balcony ceiling, then hanging a plant from it will entirely depend on the type of ceiling that you have.
Hanging plants from wooden eaves
Hanging your plants from the eaves of a wooden balcony is easy enough if you have some DIY experience.
However, you need to be aware that if your plant is hung from the edge of the eaves, if it blows off you’ll lose it to the ground below. You should always be aware of this when choosing the location of hanging plants, especially if they have heavy planters.
Equipment that you’ll need:
Instructions:
- Start off the process by choosing a drill bit the same size as the screw part of your hook.
- Choose the location you want on the wood joist, making sure that you mark the location using a ladder to get high enough.
- Next, it’s time to drill a hole into the wood where you made your mark.
- If your plant weighs over 10 lbs or is going to grow to that size, then make sure that you squeeze glue onto the screw. You should be mindful that plants become heavier when you water them.
- Screw the hook into the hole, being mindful to wipe away any excess glue. Make sure that you wait for 24 hours to let the metal bond with the wood.
- Power drill with wood drill bit
- Ladder
- Ceiling hook screw
- Polyurethane-based glue, such as Gorilla Glue
- Plant hanger
- Hang and water your plant as and when it needs to be.
Hanging plants from a plastic or fabric awning
Plastic and fabric awnings will have metal supports made from either aluminium or steel for you to hang your plants from. However, you will need to test the strength of the supports, as you don’t want to end up damaging them with the weight of heavy plants.
Equipment that you’ll need:
- Plant hangers with a hook. Alternatively, you can use a big, decorative S hook that you can attach to your plant hanger
Instructions:
- Begin the process by pulling on the supports of your awning to see how strong they are, or tap them to see how they ring. A dull ring means that the supports are made out of aluminum, a clear one means that it’s made out of heavy steel.
- If your plant is less than 10 lbs when it has been watered and your hanger has a hook on the end, it’s now time to hang the hook over one of the supports where it will bear the weight well.
- If your plant hanger doesn’t have a hook already, use a decorative S hook to attach to your plant holder’s loop. Then hook the bigger side of the S hook over the support.
- If your plant is heavy and the supports are sturdy, throw the chain over the support, catch the ends together with an S hook or carabiner clip, then hang the plant from the other end of the hook.
A guide on how to hang a plant from a balcony wall
Equipment you’ll need:
- Wall planter with screw
- Potting soil and hanging plant
- Hand drill and drill bit
Instructions:
- Start by checking your wall planter contents and instructions. How many screws they come with can vary, some are hung with only one screw, some with two.
- Next, mark the desired location/s on the wall where you plan to hang your planter.
- Use the hand drill to drill the hole/s where you marked.
- Insert the wall planter over the screw heads.
- Finally, add potting soil and plant, then water as required.
It’s important to mention that if your plant is heavy, you will need to take extra care wherever you place your hanging plants.
The considerations you will need to take is how to hang your plants, what you will hang it with, and how you hook it onto the container. These are important considerations to have as you don’t want a heavy planter damaging the ceiling or wall, or crashing to the floor and breaking its pot or crushing the plant.
Tips on hanging heavy plants on a balcony
- Be sure to use strong S hooks to connect the chains to the container.
- Make sure that you avoid using a plant hanger made of regular rope or plastic—they’re not strong enough – make sure that you use chains instead.
- To hang a heavy plant from the wall, use screws (not nails) to fasten a sturdy bracket into the wall. Hang your plant from the bracket.
- When hanging from a wooden eave above, use hook screws in the wood as opposed to nails.
Can you hang plants without drilling?
While hanging plants from the ceiling or wall is the most common method, yes – there are other ways of hanging plants that don’t involve drilling if you don’t feel comfortable drilling.
These methods include but are not limited to:
Over-the-door hanger – If you have a balustrade that is the same thickness as a door, you can always try an over-the-door coat hanger for the top rail and hang plants from the hanger’s coat hooks. Alternatively, you can always try growing plants in a window box placed over the rail itself, as well.
Magnetic hook – If you have a roof supported by steel beams, you could always consider buying a strong magnetic hook to hang the plant from. Make sure that you choose your location carefully before mounting the hook, because a strong magnet will be hard to move once it’s grabbed onto the beam.
Swing bench – If your balcony is big enough for a swing bench or chair, you might be able to hang plants from the poles that hold it up. However, you should always be careful, and never overload a swing bench with plants as this could end up damaging your new investment.