A rented home usually means a garden in pots, and one that has to survive a move. This guide covers the ten plants that cope best with that life in Australian conditions, the pot sizes that make it work, and the practical points for balconies and courtyards.
Renting, and gardens you have to take with you
Around a third of Australian households rent, and rental agreements generally prohibit changes to the garden. That makes container growing the practical answer, and it changes the plant list considerably.
| Constraint | What it means |
|---|---|
| Everything must be portable | Pots only; nothing in the ground |
| Pots dry out fast in our summers | Go larger than feels necessary |
| Balconies and courtyards are exposed | Wind and radiated heat, not just sun |
| Body corporate rules | Pot weight, drainage onto the unit below |
| You may move in summer | Plants must survive transport in heat |
Pot size is the whole game
This is where temporary gardens fail. A 200 mm pot in full Australian sun can dry out completely between morning and evening, and a plant that dries out repeatedly will not thrive no matter how good the care.
Use 400 to 500 mm pots minimum for anything significant, choose pale colours in full sun since dark pots heat the root zone severely, and group them so they shade each other and raise local humidity. Balance that against having to move them - a 500 mm pot full of wet soil is heavy.
Ten that genuinely cope
- Agave - essentially indestructible in a hot exposed position, and it stores its own water.
- Jade plant - thrives on neglect; forgives a missed watering entirely.
- Dietes - evergreen, flowers through the warm months, close to unkillable.
- Lomandra - flexes in wind instead of shredding, sun or shade.
- Olive - a genuine small tree in a large pot, silver foliage, drought hardy.
- Society garlic - flowers for months and tolerates poor conditions.
- Baby Boomer lilly pilly - a compact two-metre native for screening in a pot.
- Philodendron xanadu - for shaded courtyards and covered balconies.
- Rosemary - useful in the kitchen and untroubled by exposure.
- Dwarf citrus - productive, and Meyer lemon is the most compact and cold tolerant.
By climate
- Brisbane and the subtropics - xanadu, cordyline and lady palm on shaded balconies; watch drainage in wet summers.
- Sydney - salt-laden air on coastal and harbour apartments narrows the list; lomandra and dietes cope.
- Melbourne and Canberra - hot northerlies then cold snaps in one day. Olive, rosemary, lomandra and dianella handle both.
- Perth and Adelaide - the daily sea breeze plus dry heat. Succulents, agave and olive are the reliable performers.
- Darwin and tropical Queensland - heat and humidity suit tropical foliage; drainage is the constraint.
Practical points
- Water daily in summer for most sunny positions, and remember a covered balcony receives no rainfall at all.
- Empty saucers after rain - standing water rots roots faster than drought kills.
- Secure pots against wind, particularly above ground level. A pot blown from a balcony is a serious safety issue.
- Check body corporate rules before adding weight or anything fixed to walls.
- Move plants in the cool part of the day, and water well the evening before a move.
Related guides
Indoors, pothos and the spider plant are the forgiving choices, and our indoor plant tips for beginners cover the basics.
Succulents travel well and forgive a missed watering, and our guide to the world of succulents covers the easiest varieties to start with.
Lettuces, radishes and cherry tomatoes all crop in containers, and there is more on the approach in our guide to growing a successful fruit and vegetable garden.
For more that suit a small exposed space, see our roundup of top small space plants for a balcony.
For shaded rooms and covered balconies, peace lilies and philodendrons are easy company, and succulents suit the sunny sill.
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