Looking for some advice - Outdoor bonsai on balcony

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Hi everyone,

New to this wonderful forum, been lurking for quite a while.

I've been into Bonsai for a long time, but only actively for about a year now; I've mainly focussed on indoor bonsai. I live in the Western Europe region, in an apartment with a fairly decent-sized balcony, but the problem is, it's N-W facing; it gets maybe 1 to 2 hours of good sun in spring, maybe a bit more in summer. It can get quite hot in summer for a few weeks.

I want to get some Bonsai that I can keep on the balcony; my concern is, is it worth it with the conditions mentioned? Wintertime is usually mild, with mostly rain, cold winds, and chances of some frost in December/January/February. Do I need to get a small winter shelter in place? Is a box with mulch enough (problem is getting rid of the mulch afterward). I can shelter the Bonsai somewhat from the winds.

I've been overthinking this for a bit, so I come to the more experienced people to see if they can help me see the forest through the trees ;)

Thanks in advance from this new addict!
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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You might try Trident maple, or Chinese elm. Both are pretty sturdy plants and should be able to handle what you've described. Winter protection is probably necessary for both. You'd need to use the mulched box up against the interior wall of the balcony, but remember that mulch is useful because it helps trap ground "heat" when used on the surface of the earth. The balcony is suspended in the air, which means it won't have that advantage. The location against a sheltering wall that is warmer than the air temp will help.
 

Shibui

Imperial Masterpiece
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Quite a few species will do OK with a little less sun than optimum. All species will be more compact with more direct sun but still possible to have healthy plants with less sun. Trade off will be longer internodes and elongated growth.
Trident and Chinese elm are both good suggestions. I would add juniper though usually full sun is recommended it can manage with a little less direct sun and will cope with the hot summer conditions.
Ficus will do well with lower light through summer but will need to go indoors for winter when temps get close to freezing.
Try cotoneaster and pyracantha. Buxus are full sun hardy but should cope with less. Azaleas should be Ok with less direct sun.
chances of some frost in December/January/February.
How cold? What minimum temps are you likely to get on the balcony? All the above suggestions are all frost hardy here down to occasional minimums to -7C except ficus, most of which do not tolerate cold but grow well indoors with good light conditions.
 
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Following this as I also have a NW facing balcony. It’s my first full year in bonsai so we’ll see how things do (started in July). Right now I have seiju elm, azalea, crabapple, serviceberry, lilac, Japanese black pine on it so I’ll have some sense of how things do with less than optimal light soon (several of those are full-sun)
 
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I can answer whether it’s worth it though - yes. Newbies make mistakes - you can make them and learn from them perfectly well with trees having less than ideal sun. I’ve learned so much from my porch trees and many are doing perfectly OK regardless of lower light than ideal.
 
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Thanks everyone, these are already some reassuring answers!!

How cold? What minimum temps are you likely to get on the balcony? All the above suggestions are all frost hardy here down to occasional minimums to -7C except ficus, most of which do not tolerate cold but grow well indoors with good light conditions.
It would be rare to see temperatures hit -10C here, it's been a very long time. I think the coldest we get now is maybe -5C but also a rare occasion and usually only at night. I think the median they give here for wintertime is actually 4 to 5C.
 
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I should add all my trees were kept on the porch (with protection) down to -7F. I selected for mostly hardy trees expecting this.

I lost one and it was a Girards azalea that was quite weak when purchased (newbie lesson #1 on identifying signs of weakness - had a lot of dieback after summer heat)
 

Michael P

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Another way to protect your trees during the winter is to put the pots inside a Styrofoam cooler, then fill with mulch or other insulating material. Look for a cheap, shallow cooler because you may need to cut down the sides for the top of the tree and you will need drain holes in the bottom.
 
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