New Plants - Bamboo Incognito

Bamboo is a must-have for any Japanese garden.  Here is what I like about it:

• Upright and takes little floor space
• Beautiful foliage
• Dynamic - responds to movement of air
• Hopefully easy to grow and maintain.

On the left is the original plant I found through this free offer page.  I need help identifying this species.  It's a runner for sure.  On the right are the cuttings from the above plant planted on my balcony.

New plants - Japanese maple, Juniper, etc.

I really really like the look of Japanese maple.  So much I saved on my phone this list of cultivars which can grow in a container.  And then, one of the days I was driving near my favorite big box store I noticed a parking lot sale.  That is Japanese maple sale.
In this container I have Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Tamukeyama' with a clump of Dwarf Mondo Grass Green (Ophiopogon japonicus 'nana') split in halves.  Probably I should have bought two of the grass mounds.  This container sits on the northern balcony near the edge of the building so it is hit by a morning sun.  Tamukeyama is believed to be the most sun resistant of all the Japanese maple dissectums.  I love to sit in the shade and just admire its intricate leaves.

Lessons Learned - Plants

Time flies.  Here is an update on my plants an what I learned about them (and myself ;-)

The combination of mother-in-law's tongue and southern maidenhair fern described here was most elegant and pleasing.  My attempts to propagate Sansevieria failed.  I used moss ground cover to maintain moisture and I think it was a mistake.  By the end of the winter mother-in-law's tongue leaves just rotted at the bottom.  I found no place for fern so just I discarded it.  Yet I would love to redo this container when I have a chance.

Sago palm described in the same post hardly changed.  I do not care much for it and it does not exactly match my vision for the north balcony, but it just keeps going.  Albeit slowly.  Must be root-bound.

On to South-facing balcony.  I knew the plants will not survive unless I automate watering.  All planters were hooked to a drip irrigation system connected to tap via timer. Most of the emitters are of micro-bubbler type. Watering was done every 3 days in summer and every 6 days in winter for 5 minutes at a time.  In retrospect, I should have been watering plants daily in summer.  Besides I forgot to change the schedule in spring and lost few plants.

Jade. Dwarf Jade Too.

Here are some cuttings I've got from neighbor's Jade (Crassula Ovata).  Oh, I did get permission to get those.   I let cuttings dry for few days.  Today I tossed cuttings and the leaves I removed from them into small pots with the same growth media I use for all plants.  I used bamboo skewers to fix the cuttings in vertical position.  I also watered the pots.  Let's see what happens - I will give an update in a couple of months.
Dwarf Jade (Portulacaria afra) sounds even more interesting!  Faster growth while being more robust!  And a common bonsai for beginners!  I ordered myself one.
I think both should look good in the cubicle.  Can they handle low light?  I doubt it.  Before I forgot, here are few links to cubicle plants:  10 Air Purifying Plants For Homes & Offices, How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air.

Plant Stands, More Planters and Plants

Here is what happened on my southern balcony in the last couple of months...  I added three planters and put (almost) all of them on the stands!

Planters

I've got new planters!  Large IKEA HUSON planter, small IKEA HUSON planter, and a large rectangular planter.   Let's have a closer look at every planter...

Another Balcony

My north-facing balcony gets no direct sun.  So here is what I came up with...
Just a simple combination of mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) and southern maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris).  I covered the soil with moss but it gets dry fast - this summer is really hot.  I water it periodically, about once a week - how do I make sure I do not over-water it? I do not let water stand in the saucer for more than few hours.  Oh and I have no idea whether these plants are compatible - they are sold in the same section of a big box store so I presume their light requirements are similar (low).  No idea about water requirements.  I think this is the most esthetically pleasing combination of plants I have.

First Iteration

For my first iteration I decided to focus on water-wise plants, both perennials and annuals.
Here is the arrangement of planters and the furniture on the balcony.  Big planters host vine which I will train on the railing.

Planters

I decided to stick with plastic planters.  Clay planters are too heavy and do not hold moisture nearly as well as plastic.  They do allow plants to breath and water evaporation may cool the plant in summer.  Nevertheless, the thought of hauling clay planter to the 3rd floor (did I mention I have no elevator?)  was for me enough to reject this idea.  I found that Lowes offers the best selection of plastic planters.  I also used Amazon.