The perennials that succeed on my balcony thriving on neglect over the winter (zone 6) are herbs, namely chives, lavender, and believe it or not, curry plant. I use smaller pots than whiskey barrels so you may find more success with more plants with whiskey barrels. I did toss an old pot I had used to force bulbs one year into a disused part of the yard. The grape hyacinths return with alacrity. I understand they need ants to propagate and if that is true, you may need to encourage them somehow.
I have never had luck with tulips in containers, presumably because of water management problems, but that probably just me or the fact that the pots are too small. The tulips in the yard get along very well.

Generally, you're safe going with plants two zones hardier than you're living in. Since you're in zone 5, you're in luck, because loads of plants are hardy to zone 3 (where I live). Only plant the perennials as deep as you would plant them in a garden. I don't think hyacinths would make it, but tulips should, especially species tulips, and many varieties of daffodils, muscari, scilla, etc. Asiatic lilies might work, too. As for perennials, I only have a shade garden, so my plant suggestions would be no good for full sun, if that's what you have. Lois Hole's books are good, and everything in them is hardy to zone 3 at least.

I understand about the shade, my barrels are the only sunny spot on the whole property.

Thanks for the advice.
Nett

I have a shady balcony with some morning and late afternoon sun. The corners are in deep shade. I have a passion for Hostas and Ferns. My pots range in size from Medium to Huge.Would it be possible to arrange for Hostas to be full and thick and beautiful from Spring until Fall? I am in Baltimore, Maryland. Can anyone advise. Deeply grateful.
Marion

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Here's mine from last summer. Doesn't get any sun. Go for it! I have three more -- they're about the easiest container plant to grow!

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Another one.

Here's one in bloom:

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I have a shady balcony with some morning and late afternoon sun. The corners are in deep shade. I have a passion for Hostas and Ferns. My pots range in size from Medium to Huge.Would it be possible to arrange for Hostas to be full and thick and beautiful from Spring until Fall?

I think you can grow both. The ferns will probably do best in the corners that have full shade; there are ferns that grow in open ground, but they are probably not the ones you will be able to obtain. Many hosta varieties will do well in a mixture of sun and shade. Generally they are described as plants for shady areas, but years ago I had a large H. plantaginea that grew in nearly full sun.

Oriental lillies! This was the first time I overwintered anything. Like you, I posted here for help. I left the bulbs in whiskey barrels over winter. Some are already coming up!!! Someone told me that commercial growers store the oriental bulbs in freezers!!!! And the fragrance! They stayed green and pretty right up til a hard frost too! Good for background in the barrel.

You can grow anything you want in containers. Just be mindful of the hardiness (the 2 zone rule is a good one to go for, although with protection and/or a mild winter, you can often go near zone with a large enough container) and also of the environmental conditions for the plant (soil, amount of sun, water, and wind).

I've grown bulbs including tulips, daffs, hyacinth, crocuses (spring and fall blooming), asiatic and oriental lilies, tiger lilies (my year old babies are coming up right now) and even literally just scooped some blooming muscari out of one of my sister's yard and plopped them in a container yesterday...lol. I have had or still have rhizomous plants like iris (bearded), peonies, mandavilla (brought inside for winter), and am starting some cannas for the first time this year. Herbaceous plants have included dicentra, hosta, ferns (fragile fern, sensitive fern, and am starting some cinnamon fern right now), daylilies (plain H. fulva, kwanso, the double of H. fulva, "Stella D'oro", "Happy Returns"), lily of the valley, various mints - peppermint and spearmint, and Sedum "Autumn Joy". New are some Jacob Cline bee balm, a variegated Jacob's ladder, Coral Bells, and soon I'll have some "Black and Blue" salvia. Also have established clematis and 2 different honeysuckles. The rest out there are shrubs and a few tender perennials that I overwinter inside including wax begonias, as well as a plethora of tropicals and semi-tropicals (like passifloras) that will go out when it gets warmer.

Wow
I thought this was going to be a limited idea, but I guess I was wrong, will try something new this year.

Thanks for all the ideas

Nett

How about Solomon's Seal? My aunt gave me some from her garden last year that she put in pot for me and they are actually coming up again! I am surprised actually since I was going to take the soil out of that pot and reuse it!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1048}}

Ignore the mess, I haven't finished clean-up yet; but I think if I can grow forsythia, cherry tree, lilac, etc. in containers, you can grow anything appropriate to your zone and conditions. These are all over 5 years old.

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meg....beautiful shrubs and trees.....what size pots do you have the forsythia and cherry tree in? do you leave them out on the balcony all winter? i am new to container gardening and want to try and grow shrubs and trees that can be left out all winter....sissy

I love this forsythia tree, I also would like to the previous questions what potting mix do you have it in? If you insulate it how you do it? Thanks
Lovely picture, thanks for sharing

The forsythia is in a whiskey barrel; the cherry tree and lilac in 20" pots. They were potted into standard potting mix, either Scott's or Miracle Gro, don't remember, I used both a few years ago. These are left outdoors all winter with no special protection other than added mulch. My smaller perennials do get bubble wrapped, and some double-potted.

I was very naive and very lucky when I bought these over 5 years ago. I didn't even think to check their hardiness and that being in a pot made a big difference from being in the ground. But they were bought at local nurseries, and as I say, I was lucky on that score. If I were doing it again, I would look for things hardy to at least one zone lower than mine, ideally two.

Good luck to you both :-) If there is something you really love, try it in a container! I never let myself be deterred by the naysayers who look askance about things being able to thrive in pots.

Hi
I'm kind of new to this and was wondering about putting
Allium Roseum,and Muscari armeniacum together in half wiskey barrels.
I have 12 spaced down my drive.(nothing in them yet)I was wondering
how long this combination will bloom,and when the leaves will die for summer annuals etc.
I would like to put flowering cabbage in them for fall next year

Re: My earlier post from April. Very few of the Oriental Lillies actually came back. Even fewer bloomed. I think I had four out of fifty come back and bloom. And we had a pretty mild winter. Oh well. On to something else! I love the forsythia too! I may try that. I did have luck with a staghorn sumac in a whiskey barrel and a smallish pot. They both made it thru last winter. They are both in the whiskey barrel now and I even have a new little sucker in there!

In San Francisco Bay area, Z9, California, my backyard is about 30'x60' and is 90% paved, but I grow a number of perennials and trees in containers. I use quite a number of half wine barrels for a number perennial trees including a Cinnomomum camphora, a Colorado Spruce, a Magnolia, a Chinese Flowering Peach (pictured), a Cunninghamia, several tall Nerium Oleander.... My 25 ft tall bamboo grows in a heavy ceramic container 35 inches in diameter. In spite of the heavy bottom weight of the combination, the bamboo does threaten to trip over in high winds. I tied down some culms by wires. For smaller perennials I use ceramic containers 18-24" diam. All the plants in the pictures below are in containers.

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Love your container garden!

Oh my such a beautiful garden,everything looks so lush and healthy...I gotta get more things to survive in pots,in my MI.winters...

Loretta...