If the apartment faces south, it will always be sunny and therefore warmer. This is noticeable even in winter, not to mention the summer months, when the window sill is simply hot in the sun. Few dare to grow in such conditions something other than succulents accustomed to the harsh life. Of course, some, with the help of curtains and a complex irrigation system, are able to grow even delicate violets on the south side. But it is better to stay with more hardy plants.
In addition to the aforementioned cacti, hibiscus, adenium and passionflower can tolerate direct sunlight. Ficuses, arrowroot, myrtle, hamerops, cissus, coleus, hoya also survive with light shading in the “south”. But it is better to keep them not on the windowsill itself, but to put them on a table by the window, separating the glass with a tulle curtain. If the decor of the room does not allow this, you can hang blinds on the windows or glue the lower part of the glasses with tracing paper or gauze.
Other sun lovers include plants such as aloe, bokarnea, bouvardia, Sambac jasmine, Japanese camellia, coleus, coffee, laurel, mammillaria, prickly pear, oleander, stonecrop, Chinese liviston, plectrantus, rheo, fuchsia, haworthia, cerius, echinocactus, yucca. But when breeding, it is important to consider that each species needs its own portion and light saturation. In addition, not original plants live in our apartments, but their hybrids, bred with reduced light-requiring. This means that they behave differently than their counterparts in the wild.
We must not forget that the southern windows themselves are far from the same. One and the same flower will feel differently on the windowsill in Krasnodar or Iskitim. Another example: south windows on the first and last floor of the same house. Below, the green trees protect the apartment from the rays of light, and above the sun beats down unhindered.
So that the plants brought out on a brightly lit windowsill do not wither, it is worth planting in pots made of light ceramics or placing them in decorative light pots. Then the walls will reflect more heat, and the soil will heat up less. Do an experiment. Place two clay pots with soil next to each other: one dark and glazed, the other light and uncoated. Let them sit on the windowsill for a few hours and then measure the temperature of the soil. A difference of even a couple of degrees can be critical. In addition, when heated, the earth evaporates water faster, and the flower will not be able to drink in the heat. Take extra care when watering the plants in the south window. Each drop on the stems and leaves turns into a tiny lens. She refracts sunlight and literally burns flowers. Try to water as if it were summer cottages: early in the morning, in the chill, and in the evening, at sunset. In the midst of heat, a watering hole can do more harm than good. And, of course, you can only use warm water. Inexperienced growers sometimes want to cool the flowers in the heat and pour icy moisture on the ground. Alas, this is a sure way to the death of the mini-kindergarten.
The southern windows have one indisputable advantage that gardeners appreciate so much. The abundance of light allows them to grow strong and healthy seedlings, even when it comes to such capricious species as eggplants and peppers. True, one has to invent different ways of cooling and hardening the growth, but it does not stretch out in search of light.
