A Planta Alternative Built Only for Balcony Plants
Planta helps you care for your plants. Balcony Plants (balconyplants.co) helps you save the ones on your balcony: it tells you which plants suit your balcony and where to put them, then warns you the day before the weather puts one in danger, with the one thing to do. You answer four questions once, and after that it only speaks up when a plant needs you.
I built Balcony Plants, so keep that in mind. Everything here about Planta comes from Planta's own help pages and store listing, and from using it myself in September 2026.
We don't solve every plant problem. Just the balcony ones.
Plant apps try to cover everything a plant can go through: watering, fertiliser, pests, repotting, that mystery brown spot. Balcony Plants covers the one thing a balcony adds on top of all that: weather hitting your pots harder than the forecast says.
By our model, a south-west-facing balcony can run 8–12°C (14–22°F) hotter than the forecast on a sunny afternoon, and a pot out on a high, open floor can drop below the forecast low on a clear night. A city forecast can't see either, and that's exactly where balcony plants get caught out.
Save first, care second
A perfect watering schedule can't save a plant that's on the wrong balcony. A plant that hates afternoon sun on a west-facing railing, or a delicate one on a windy top floor, will struggle however well you water it. So the order matters: first the right plant in the right spot, then the day-to-day care.
That first part is what Balcony Plants does. Our free plant picker tells you which plants suit your balcony, which tempting ones to skip, and where each one goes: on the bright edge, mid-floor, or against the wall. After that, a care app like Planta has a plant worth caring for.
Tell us 4 things. Done.
- Your city
- Which way your balcony faces
- Which floor you're on
- Your plants, picked from a list
That's the whole setup. You get one line per plant, something like:
Basil: move it off the railing before noon, the afternoon sun will scorch it.
Pepper: fine where it is.
With the season pass, you also get an email the day before a plant is in danger, with a subject line like 🔥 2 plants in danger tomorrow (~41-44°C). No daily tasks, no streaks. If nothing is in danger, you don't hear from us.
In Planta, each plant gets its own setup (how you're growing it, the pot, when you last watered it, a photo, a name), because Planta is building a full care schedule for that plant. That's the right amount of setup for what Planta does. It's more than you need if all you want to know is whether tomorrow's heatwave or tonight's frost is going to kill one of your plants.
Balcony Plants and Planta, side by side
| Compared | Balcony Plants | Planta |
|---|---|---|
| For | Balcony growers | Anyone with plants, mostly indoors |
| Its job | Save your balcony plants from the weather | Care for each plant, day to day |
| Right plant, right spot | Which plants suit your balcony, and where each one goes | Which plants suit a room, by its light |
| Setup | 4 questions, once, including your balcony's direction and floor | A setup per plant, no direction or floor |
| Weather alerts | Per plant, for your balcony, the day before | On Premium, for your area |
| Price | $9.99 once for two years, no subscription | Premium from $35.99 a year |
Planta details from Planta's help center and US App Store listing, September 2026.
Stay with Planta if...
- You mostly grow houseplants. That's what it's built for.
- You want to identify a plant from a photo, or work out what's wrong with one.
- You want a light meter, or a daily care routine to tick off.
Grow inside and out? Use both: Balcony Plants to save the balcony plants, Planta to care for all of them.
The first check takes under a minute, with no app and no account.
FAQ
Is there a Planta alternative for balcony plants?
Yes. Balcony Plants (balconyplants.co) is built only for plants in pots on a balcony. You tell it your city, which way the balcony faces, which floor you're on and your plants, and it tells you which ones tomorrow's weather puts at risk and what to do about each. The first check is free.
Is Planta good for balcony plants?
Planta works outdoors: you can add a balcony, and it uses your local weather to adjust watering and, on Premium, to send heat, frost and storm alerts for your area. It doesn't ask which way the balcony faces or which floor it's on, and those two change how hot or cold your pots actually get. That gap is what Balcony Plants fills.
Does Balcony Plants need an app or a subscription?
No to both. It runs in your browser, the first check needs no account, and the season pass is $9.99, paid once, for two years of daily verdicts on all your plants plus the danger alerts. It doesn't renew, and if it doesn't help, you get your money back within 7 days.
Can I use Planta and Balcony Plants together?
Yes, and if you grow inside and out, it's a good combination. Balcony Plants helps you pick the right plants for your balcony and warns you the day before the weather puts one in danger. Planta keeps the day-to-day care going.
What doesn't Balcony Plants do?
It doesn't identify plants, diagnose problems, cover houseplants, or remind you to water and fertilise. It does one job: weather risk for the plants on your balcony, one plant at a time.
Before the next heatwave or cold night
The forecast will look fine. Find out now which of your balcony plants won't agree.