My Balsam Flower Adventure: Lessons Learned and a Few Surprises

I cleared out my balcony in the spring of 2025 and was left with a few pots. I thought, why not create a mini-garden? I didn't have any experience with gardening, so I just picked things that looked good on the packaging. Like this:

I later found out that this balsam is better suited for outdoor gardens. I spent hours watching videos on its cultivation, but I couldn't find any reviews on its care in indoor conditions. So, I'll share my experience of growing it in pots: the pros, cons, and what I wish I knew beforehand. For outdoor gardens, it's a real gem. On February 27th, I started the planting process (the germination rate was 100%), but by March 15th, I had reached this point:

I should have waited a bit longer before replanting, but two of the balsams were spared because I didn't have enough pots. I lost a few more, and by May 5th, I had this to show for it:

The balsams: in the second row, in the center, in the 3-liter gray pot (three of them), and in the first row, on the left, in the 2-liter pot with something (I'm not sure what) (one of them). I did one thing right: when they're at the 2-3 leaf stage, you should pinch them back, or else they'll grow like a single stalk. I learned this the hard way.

The balsam I decided to plant solo was the weakest one, and it never grew big, but it bloomed first and the most profusely. You might think it was because it had more space, but the ones growing together also behaved in a similar way: the weakest one bloomed first, while the strongest one kept producing leaves and didn't bloom until the end of summer.

15 May was a big milestone for these plants:

The balsam flowers: on the left shelf and on the table next to the Christmas tree.

By 15 June, the 'weak' balsam flower was already blooming:

But the others were taking their sweet time:

By 2 July, the single balsam flower:

was blooming, and so were the ones growing in a trio

What's worth noting: the single balsam flower was originally placed on the top shelf of the bookcase, where it got a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning and then was shaded by the ceiling of the balcony. And it was doing great. I had no idea where to put these three so they wouldn't get scorched when the sun really started beating down. My balcony has floor-to-ceiling windows that let in a ton of sunlight, and they face southeast, so I was moving them around between the room and outside. So, these are really shade-loving plants - if they don't get some shade, they'll wither away.

Mid-July:

By August, the heat wave had broken, and I finally found a permanent spot for the three balsam flowers - and they 'exhaled a sigh of relief'

The last photo was taken at the beginning of September.

By November, when the first frosts hit, they were done for. But by then, they'd already lost some of their presentable look:

The verdict.

The pros:

The photos speak for themselves.

If you've got a dark balcony, these flowers are perfect for it.

They're easy to grow and maintain.

The cons:

Those pesky aphids (I'm still trying to get rid of them, and I blame the plant).

If you plant multiple in one pot, they bloom in waves and don't all flower at the same time. One of my balm plants only started flowering in late summer (as I mentioned earlier) and, to be honest, it was mostly a mess – one part of the 'bouquet' would be in full bloom, while the other was still green. The flowers dropped off quickly. On the other hand, the weaker balm plant stayed in bloom from start to finish and kept its flowers for a long time (I have no idea what made the difference).

They take up a lot of space if the plants are healthy and strong.

All in all, it was a good experience, but this year I'll be growing something else. I still think balm flowers have their place in the garden – just not on my sunny balcony :). I rated them not on the flowers themselves, but on how easy they were to grow in my conditions, so four stars it is. No major issues with them, but my 'dance with the balm' only happened because I couldn't provide it with enough shade.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the end :).