I did start the seeds indoors.

The poppies were sowed in three 6 inch containers and potted up to gallon. One container has 7 poppy plants of varying sizes, another 3, the third has just one. I didn't want to disturb them other than gently potting up. I am thinking of potting up the most crowded one. It had its first bloom today.

The pansies were transplanted a few times and are in shallow containers about 3 and 4 inches deep trays, I am thinking of moving the 3 inch ones (8 plants in a 5x9.5") to two 6 inch containers. The 4 inch tray is 9x12" Styrofoam and has about 15 pansies, yet to bloom, some starting to make buds.

The sweet peas were sown in and transplanted from 6 packs to gallon containers 3-4 each and then all were gently potted up in a single

14" container that is 12" deep (10 plants in all).

The potting mix is MG mixed with perlite or sta-green (is coarse so no perlite). The containers are in an open balcony that faces North West and gets some early morning sun and then late morning onwards but it is mostly a struggle to get enough sun at least in early spring.

It has rained a lot this season but they get watered if the surface feels dry, no particular routine.

I did not do a very regimented hardening off but did move the sweet peas and pansies outdoors in early spring as often as I could with the scant sun and howling winds allowing. They had better chances of not being battered to death or getting leggy indoors than outdoors. I think they did get reasonable cold exposure, all things considered. Not so much the poppies as the seedlings were tiny and fragile to survive outdoors for at least the first couple of months. I will try to post pics. Somehow, houzz gives me a very hard time doing that from the phone and transferring pics to laptop is a hassle.

I have 3 nasturtiums in there with sweet peas

I know these are pretty leggy despite my best efforts

Sounds like a lot of plants per container, which means they will need watering more often. It would be good to stick your finger in the dirt to test moisture and not just rely on the looks of the top. If really hot they might need watering more than once a day.

that should give you good visuals. I will hold off on the ice :)

here's some of the north facing balcony with their usual location

if the plants had more bulk, they would have gotten bigger containers. Ah, the chicken and the egg conundrum. I am positive that they have not been lacking in water with all the rain and yes, I do dig with my finger to see if they need watering and even if the top 1/2inch is dry to touch, they get a drink.

I think your expectations are rather high under the conditions. Given that they're very overcrowded they look pretty healthy. The pansy and lobelia container, for example is too shallow and has far too many plants in it. A single lobelia can grow a foot across. They gain bulk because they're repotted. You don't repot because they've gained bulk. Rain is not sufficient for potted plants however much there is. You always need to water. Annual poppies are not long lived and even in my climate in the ground they are over quite quickly. Do you dead head the pansies and pick the sweet peas regularly? Do you feed them?

When did you start them indoors?

I'm struggling to see a problem. All your plants look very healthy to me. In my area, it will be too hot for pansies very soon. I have tried to move them to shadier parts of the yard but they still don't seem to make it. Your sweet pea is adorable!

Pop mama, the question is anticipation of the coming doom and gloom with the rapid change to 80s and soon 90s. The sweet peas are just getting buds hence the urgency for protecting them.

Callirhoe, I started them March 4.

Floral_uk, we have had persistent rain and few sunny days this spring. The worry is of root rot rather than dehydration. Anyhow, I will make sure they are well watered. I know they are crowded but I have had too many seedlings of everything and not enough space. I cannot bring myself to thin seedlings. And yes, I should have fertilized them more. not sure it makes sense to do when it is too hot for them now.

Well, as I said, given the fact that they are crowded, they're doing very well and looking healthy.

We don't know where you are located geographically. Could it be that your climate just isn't suited to plants which prefer temperate summers? Perhaps you are hoping for outcomes which aren't realistic if you have very hot summers?

On a practical note I don't bother to raise pansies or lobelia from seed. I only need a few for window boxes and containers and the trouble of growing them indoors isn't worth it to me for the numbers I use. And it means I don't have more plants than I can accommodate.

Floral_uk, I am in New Jersey which does not have as cool summers as Lindon but we are certainly not Florida or Texas. The whole thing about starting from seeds is that it provides a welcome break from months of bleak winter and holds promise of spring? This was my first time starting Lobelia seeds. With the number of plants this time I will have plenty of volunteers next year, some will probably live through winter indoors. I am also hoping to save the pansies so they bloom at least this fall if not nest spring. We shall see... Also, I find the nursery starts that are produced at an industrial scale and hopped up on growth regulators and what not aren't close to as healthy as the plants started from seed. Anyhow, the weather gods were benevolent and the Temps returned to cooler for the past ten days or so. The sweet peas are doing well after most bottom leaves and a plant or two turning crispy. The pansies are well too, and starting to pick up pace. The poppies are holding up but slow to bloom - only half a dozen in all so far.

Your flowers look great! Perhaps next year you could sow your pansies in late summer/fall? Then theykd be ready to bloom in early spring. I’ve seen them surviving in the snow and the linked article talks about it - or just google “pansies” and “winter.” However, I’m not sure if that would work with containers, as the soil might get colder (freeze) than the ground?

https://www.thedailyjournal.com/story/life/2014/09/25/grow-pansies-winter-last-spring/16233241/

Yup, container gardening does not have the same hardiness zone aplcabilty. I bring in everything (including clematis, rose, Peony). I have left raspberry outdoors in a 10 inch plastic container and it has comebback two years in a row. But it is supposed to be prett Hardy, zone 3-4. I also successfully left columbines outdoors one year. I will experiment with some pansies if they surfive summer. I do have some in a Styrofoam tray so maybe... I am still not sure why they are biennial and not perennial...my aim would be to keep them going and use them for railing planters in early spring.

Your plants look beautiful. Along with what others have said, here are a few more tips. Start the seeds in late January indoors for spring blooms. Also, black pots get really hot in the sun and can cook the roots. Use white pots.