Death of birthday presents

That's very sad Balcony. I know fuchsias are not aways happy with too much hot sun but you would have expected the Potentilla to love it. But perhaps in a container the roots got too hot, in full sun all day when it was so very hot. Who would have thought of bubble wrap to protect from heat rather than frost???Wonder if it wold have helped?

Even my Pelargoniums hardly grew and had few flowers this summer and you would have thought they would have revelled in it.

I have been removing the 3 shrubs that survived on the garden to deep tubs to give them root/moisture space
then standing these tubs on the gravel bed. When there I can easily give them a gallon container of water twice a week. Whether this would be effective on Balcony's hot spot I do not know.
The rock plants in the Crevice garden were unaffected by the heat, as their roots went down below the rocks.
I have used Sempervivums on deep tubs for next year, with a good root run.
Clematis died down with the heat, then grew again.
I mulched everything with Gerbil litter which helped.
We have to be better prepared for next year, better choice of plants that can stand the heat, mulch at the ready, more gallon containers to store water at the ready. saucers under all tubs.
I had a Veronica on the garden which was quite unaffected by it, Balcony could get one of those, and
a Mahonia ditto. Then sit back and laugh.

that is sad Balcony. but the mock orange would have always struggled as it grows to about 2.5 metres. if the label says 2ft I would take the plant back and ask for a replacement /refund as you made the assumption it was suitable for a trough with it being so small.
I would leave the fuchsia as they often regrow from below soil level despite all the top growth being dead.

This has been an exceptionally hot Summer and I reckon lots of plants have given up the ghost. Our Alstroemerias sulked and it was only in September that we saw lots of bloom They are still going. Must say we thought we had lost lots. So, give the Fuchsias and other plants a chance.

Thank you all for your comments!

Stera, I certainly never thought of bubble wrap either! Maybe it would have worked, who knows!

Strange your Pelargoniums didn't grow well, mine loved the summer heat & grew & flowered very well! I shall have to try & remember to upload a few photos of them to my photos page.

Diane, my shrubs didn't die for lack of water! The troughs are all white plastic, I got them from the factory 17 years ago when I worked there! Obviously they couldn't have a deep root run as the troughs are only 12-15in deep. I believe it was the combination of heat, relentless sunshine for at least 10 hours a day & the fact that they hadn't had at lest a year to put down a good root system. If the summer had been a "normal" British summer I believe they would have had no problems adapting.

SB, you are right about the size but on the RHS page it says it takes 10 years to reach its final height. Anyway I could have kept it under control with pruning after flowering each year. In a trough it probably would never reach that height anyway.

As for leaving any of the 3 in the troughs well that's not an option, on the one hand I can't afford the wasted space, not even for one winter while I waited to see if they sprouted again the following spring. On the other I've removed all 3 & NONE of them had the slightest signs of life. I know Fuchsias will often resprout from below soil level so when I removed it this afternoon I made sure of examining very carefully the stems below the soil level but all was brown & very brittle. I shook all the soil off of the roots & looked closely at the base of the plant, scratching away at the bark but no hope of life in it. I've now thrown it away.

I examined all 3 plants before discarding them but there was no sign of life in any of them! ;(

Thanks, Eirlys, but I've discarded all three of the plants.

It now comes down to experimentation.
Definitely give a Mahonia space. They dont grow very big and are as tough as old boots. They are not very big so would be ok on your balcony. If one is happy invest in some more.

The other thing you could do is use a laundry tub as a dunking reservoir. As you are in a ground floor flat it would be easy to half fill , twice a week stand the pot with the Mahonia in in the tub for an hour to have a good drink, then discard the water. This way if the roots have dried up the water penetrates thoroughly.

Thanks very much for that advice, Diane. The problem with this plant however is the thorns & the spiky leaves - not something you want to have on a narrow (about 2-2 1/2ft wide) balcony & have to push past to get to other plants, etc.! Nor would it be very practical when you have grandkids running from one end of the balcony to the other! That is why I don't have roses, for example.

Do you know of a cultivar that doesn't have thorns or spiky leaves? If you do then perhaps I could get one for the balcony.

Oh how sad, I hate losing plants, but it was an exceptional summer, it was very hot, too hot at times..... I doubt we shall have another one, for at least 10 years!

Let's hope not, DD! But I think we are in for many more summers like this due to climate change!

Balcony there is indeed a small Mahonia cultivar with soft leaves..(not like other Mahonia leaves at all. I think its called Soft Caress. I tried it in full dry shade (in a pot) and it hated that - maybe it was too dry) so I moved it to shade in the afternoon (in the ground), but there it was too sensitive to the winds we get here and slowly gave up. There is a Goy member with a real beauty but sadly I can't remember who it was. As far as I can remember it was in a semi shaded spot alongside a low wall. They are sold a shade shrubs.

Thanks very much for that info, Stera! It's complete name is :Mahonia eurybracteata ganpinensis 'Soft Caress'.

I found it for sale at several nurseries for between £15 & £25!

It sounds ideal for our balcony! I shall have to put it on my Christmas list for Santa!