10 Best Low Maintenance Plants for a Balcony Garden

There are some glorious plants that are perfectly suited for balcony gardens. Small enough to fit into minimal places and perfect for adding architectural drama, color, or lushness.

But a wide selection of these plants will need a lot of work to keep them looking their best. Pruning, lifting bulbs, and watering can be an issue, especially when you’re away on vacation at the height of summer.

If you’re often away from home, whether traveling or working, regular maintenance of your garden can quickly become a challenge.

If you love having a lush and foliage-filled garden space, but find that you don’t always have time to commit to fussy plants, these low-maintenance plants are the answer.

They’ll add color and lush foliage to your balcony, with minimal work!

Low maintenance plants for a balcony garden

From my ultimate list of low-maintenance plants, I’ve pulled out the best low-maintenance garden plants for balcony gardens.

Fuss-free and compact, these plants are flowers, shrubs, and trees are hardy, drought resistant, and easy to care on a balcony.

For each low-maintenance plant, I’ve included a list of their best qualities. From drought resistance (happy with very minimal watering) to long-lasting flowers!

• Hardy: Tolerant of cold, windy, or sun-exposed locations
• Drought resistant: Tolerant of minimal rainfall/watering (great for xeriscape gardens and forgetful gardeners!)
• Won’t need staking or support: Tall, fragile plants may need additional support. 
• Slow-growing (needs no to minimal pruning): On a balcony where space is limited, you may not have room for endless garden equipment to prune and maintain plants.
• Long-lasting flowers: With minimal effort, these plants will look good for as long as possible.

I also mention if they’re perennial (they should come back year after year) or if they’re fuss-free annuals that you can very easily grow from seed or buy from nurseries each year. 

Mixed together, these plants provide lush foliage, good coverage, plus flowers and textures, without giving you a long list of gardening chores!

1. Hen and Chicks (Sempervivums)

Starting off with one of my favorite low-maintenance plants. Sempervivums (also known as hen and chicks or house leeks) are hardy, drought-resistant, and ornamental succulents.

They form dense mats of colorful rosettes, some with vibrant red or purple foliage. And with only minimal watering needed, they really are the ultimate low-maintenance balcony plant!

USDA zone: 4-10 (depending on variety)

Why you should add sempervivums to your balcony garden:

• Perennial and evergreen, so they provide interest and color in winter!
• Great drought resistance (for forgetful waterers or travelers!)
• Slow-growing
• Unique flowers in summer
• You can find them in a beautiful range of colors and sizes

Creating a mini container rock garden in one or two containers is a great way to include them. In fact, most rock garden plants are slow-growing and drought resistant — ideal for a low-maintenance balcony garden!

2. Dwarf Conifers 

I’m a huge fan of dwarf conifers. They’re beautiful plants that I think are very underrated! You can find them in such an amazing array of shapes, textures, and colors. So you will find one (or a collection!) that suits your taste.

Some of the most drought-resistant dwarf conifers are junipers. Look for the beautiful foliage of ‘Blue Star’ Flaky Juniper, Juniperus squamata ‘Holger’, or ‘Pyramidalis’ Chinese Juniper.

As conifers, they’re generally very winter-hardy, and because they’re evergreen, they keep their foliage right through the year. They’re perfect low-maintenance balcony garden plants.

USDA zone: 2-9 (depending on variety)

Why you should add dwarf conifers to your balcony garden:

• Perennial and evergreen, so they provide interest and color in winter!
• Many are fairly drought resistant
• Slow-growing and compact, great plants to create low-growing hedges
• Big variety of colors and textures to choose from.

3. Ivy 

Like dwarf conifers, ivy foliage is evergreen, providing you with year-round coverage. It’s also one of the fastest-growing plants to provide privacy on a balcony garden. Plant it in a container or trough with a trellis behind and it will soon climb up.

Ivy is also a very vigorous and hardy plant. It can manage neglectful watering and will tolerate cold, hot, or windy conditions. You can also find it in lovely variegated shades of cream and green.

USDA zone: 4-11 (depending on variety)

Why you should add ivy to your balcony garden:

• Perennial and evergreen, so it provides interest and color in winter!
• Hardy
• Quick-growing
• Great for providing screening and privacy

4. Stonecrop (Sedum)

The stonecrop genus is relatively large, but all plants have good drought resistance, because of their succulent leaves. I find that I need to water them much less regularly compared to other plants.

You can find them in a range of sizes and foliage and flower colors. Some of my favorites include the vibrant, low-growing Sedum ‘Wildfire’ and Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ with purple foliage.

Sedums are perfect if you’re creating a xeriscape garden or container rock garden.

Why you should add sedum to your balcony garden:

• Perennial so it comes back year after year
• Long-lasting flowers
• Good drought resistance
• Hardy, survives winters and comes back year after year
• Happy in poor-quality soil

5. Heavenly Bamboo 

Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) is an amazing fuss-free plant for a balcony garden. It has elegant, bamboo-like leaves that stay year-round adding color and texture throughout the winter.

Reaching a maximum height of around 4ft, it won’t overwhelm your space. Plus it may not need pruning!

Why you should add heavenly bamboo to your balcony garden:

• Perennial so it comes back year after year
• Compact yet delicate foliage, no need to prune
• Evergreen, with a beautifully vibrant pale pink foliage on new growth

6. New Zealand Flax (Phormium)

The long, strap-like leaves of phormium can add a little architectural drama and contrast to your balcony. You can find them in interesting variegated shades too, including phormium plants with pink leaves.

Why you should add phormium to your balcony garden:

• Perennial
• Evergreen, so they provide interest and color in winter
• Hardy, great for sun and wind exposure where other plants may be damaged.
• Good drought resistance

7. Perennial Grasses 

Perennial grasses are often overlooked for showy shrubs and eye-catching flowers but they’re perfect for adding soft textures and evergreen color to a small garden space.

They come in such an amazing variety of textures, heights, colors, etc, so you’ll have no trouble finding something that matches your style and space.

Some of my favorite low-maintenance perennial grasses include Carex, Stipa and particularly the gorgeous Festuca glauca which has silvery blue foliage!

Why you should add perennial grasses to your balcony garden:

• Perennial!
• Usually evergreen
• Very good drought resistance
• Hardy, survives winters and comes back year after year
• Usually happy in poor-quality soil

8. Catmints 

I’m a big fan of purple flowers. The contrast of green foliage and purple petals is such a great pairing. Catmint is definitely a favorite of mine, and a perfect cottage garden plant if you’re looking to create that kind of small garden style. It’s an incredibly hardy plant that returns year after year no matter how hard the winter was!

The delicate flowers last from summer right through to autumn. Plus they’re a great pollinator-friendly plant, that also happens to attract cats too!

Why you should add catmint to your balcony garden:

• Perennial
• Long-lasting flowers
• Great for pollinators
• Very hardy

9. Dwarf Sunflowers

Dwarf sunflowers are easy to grow from seed too, if you had the time to grow your own. It’s a great low maintenance and easy to grow plant for children too.

Next to hardy perennials like dwarf conifers or catmint, easy to grow annuals like dwarf sunflowers can bring bold bursts of color to your space.

Why you should add dwarf sunflowers to your balcony garden:

• Gives you the warmth and joy of sunflowers at a more manageable size
• Annual, but very easy to save seeds and grow yourself from seed each year
• Should only need watering once a week (may need more in a heatwave)

10. Angel Wings (Senecio candidans)

With their rounded soft, silvery leaves, Angel Wings can add an ethereal quality to your balcony garden. Their coating of silvery hairs makes them very resistant to harsh sunlight and dry conditions. Ideal for hot locations where rainfall is sporadic!

Why you should add angel wings to your balcony garden:

• Perennial evergreen
• Good drought resistant
• Tolerant of hot and sunny locations
• Unique silver foliage

For other top tips on creating a low maintenance garden, from choosing bigger pots to mulching, check out our guide to creating the ultimate low maintenance mini garden. Including some of the best low maintenance fruit and vegetables you can grow.