Fig. 1: First 5 pots on my balcony that no longer has a tray beneath the pot. From left to right: Malpighia glabra, Lantana camara, Malpighia glabra, Gymnanthemum amygdalinum, Catharanthus roseus.

I used to keep 24 small pots24 small pots of similar size along the balcony inside my home. Each pot sat on a tray to catch excess water during watering. Unfortunately, during a National Environmental Agency (NEA) inspection on 11 May, mosquito larvae were found in some trays, and I was fined S$200. After that, I thoroughly cleaned up the pots by removing all the trays and cutting back all the plants.

A few days later, after I left some soil-filled pots on a wooden shelf along the corridor outside my main door, I encountered a termite invasion. The termites, which had been living in the nearby wooden utility-meter door, appeared to have migrated over. Another major clean-up followed, and I discarded several termite-infested pots. I had previously reported the hidden termite nest in the door to the relevant Town Council (TC), but several rounds of treatment by the TC-appointed pest-control team failed to eliminate it. The problem finally ended last month when the entire wooden door was removed and replaced.

After the fiasco, I considered giving up on my potted plants. A few weeks later, however, the cut stems of some plants began producing new shoots. I started watering them again, and soon I was back in business. The number of pots has fallen from a peak of 24 to 12, and none now has a tray underneath (Fig. 1). I have also reduced the amount of water used each time and increased the watering frequency instead, which helps minimize wetting the balcony. So far, this approach seems to be working well.

Unlike the much larger pots placed on the floor of the balcony outside my main door, the smaller pots inside my home are positioned at chest level. This makes it easier to observe decomposers on and within the soil without having to squat or bend down.

Fig. 2: Flower of Clitoria ternatea	Fig. 3: Seedling of Physalis angulata	Fig. 4: Blooming Catharanthus roseus

Since then, I have added five pots to the internal balcony collection: a Gymnanthemum amygdalinum (South African Leaf), a Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar Periwinkle), a Physalis angulata (Bladder Cherry), and two Clitoria ternatea (Butterfly Pea). The Gymnanthemum amygdalinum came as a stem cutting, though I am unlikely to keep it for long. The two Clitoria ternatea pots contain four plants in total, two in each pot, grown from seeds taken from pods given by a relative. They were planted around mid-July and are already flowering (Fig. 2). The Physalis angulata came from fruits harvested from a plant in my pot and stored for more than a year. The fruits had dried up, with mould growing in the container, so I wanted to test whether the seeds were still viable before discarding them. They were indeed viable, although the selected seedling (Fig. 3) is growing rather slowly. The Catharanthus roseus was grown from seed collected from my first plant, which is still thriving and producing many flowers (Fig. 4). I added another pot to bring more colour to the balcony with its blooms.

(a) Catharanthus roseus	(b) Nicandra physalodes	(c) Ipomoea triloba
Fig. 5 (a-c): Seeds of the 3 plants to be cultivated.

With these five new additions, I now have 17 pots. I am planning three more: another Catharanthus roseus with darker pink flowers than my current two pink-flowered pots, a Nicandra physalodes (Shoo-fly Plant), and an Ipomoea triloba (Littlebell). All three will be grown from seeds (Fig. 5). If they grow successfully, I will likely feature them in future posts.