Growing on a balcony, a patio or a rooftop.

What to plant, what it all weighs, how to handle wind and watering, and what a lease usually allows.

1 guide Balcony gardening · Planters & gear Updated through the growing season

A balcony has a weight limit, more wind than a yard, usually no tap, a neighbor underneath, and a lease that may have something to say about railing planters. Those are the constraints each guide in this section starts from, because they decide what is worth planting and where it goes.

The practical numbers: balconies are typically built to carry around 50 lb per square foot, which matters more than you would think once wet potting mix is involved, since a 10-gallon pot weighs around 60 lb watered. Wind dries pots faster than sun does and can break anything trellised much above three feet. And drainage that runs onto the balcony below is the quickest way to get a note from the building.

Work with those and even a small balcony will give you salad, herbs and tomatoes right through the summer. Start with the balcony guide, then the railing planter review if you are renting.

Before you buy

Five things to check first

Count the hours of sun

Check your space at a few points during the day and note when the sun reaches the floor. A balcony that feels bright can still get only three or four hours of direct light.
Growing in shade
Work out the weight

Add up what the heavy pots will weigh once watered, and keep them close to the wall or over a supporting beam rather than out at the railing. Your building can tell you what the balcony is rated for.
Balcony gardening
Plan for wind

Choose compact varieties over tall, trellised ones, and give the pots a solid base so they stay put. A screen along the railing takes the edge off the strongest gusts.
Think about drainage

Plan where the water goes before you hang anything: a saucer, a drip tray or a solid liner keeps it off the balcony below and keeps the neighbors on your side.
Railing planters
Read the lease

Some buildings ask that nothing hangs on the outside of the railing, or that planters are not fixed to the structure. It is worth knowing before you buy the brackets.