Hanging basket growing tips
Hanging basket gardens are a great way to add some flowers to the garden at eye level. Check out 5 beautiful planting ideas to add some color this summer
Hanging basket plant inspiration
A hanging basket is one of the easiest ways to put color at eye level if nothing else. It will decorate a structure like a porch or a pergola in an instant and connect it more closely to your garden. A shepherd's hook and hanging basket are all it takes to create vertical interest in any bed or border.
Watch how I created a monochromatic hanging basket in the video above along with my helpful planting tips below. Scroll on to discover 4 more must-try plant combinations for your hanging basket planters!
Monochrome white hanging basket
Hanging Basket Planting How-To
Start with your largest focal plant and place it in the basket. In this case, I positioned the petunia first.
Add plants like verbena, sedum, and sweet potato vine found here. Drape some branches around the basket hanging wires, it looks natural and helps the foliage spread.
Add plants that trail but grow more upright to fill the basket. Fanflower and dandelions do the job in this basket.
Design tip
I like to have a focal plant on one side and then fill in the variety around. They are joined together as they grow. But you can create a more balanced basket with a central focal plant and a "skirt" of plants around the edge of the basket.
Plant list (number to plant)
A) Lantana Lantana camara Shamrock™ White (1, 4" pot)
B) Sedum Sedum mexicanum Lemon Coral® (1, 4" pot)
C) Sweet potato vine Ipomoea batatas Sweet Caroline Medusa™ Green (1, 4" pot)
D) Fanflower Scaevola aemula Whirlwind® White (1, 4" pot)
E) Verbena Verbena hybrid Lanai® ‘Green Apple’ (1, 4" pot)
F) Petunia Petunia hybrid Ray™ Pistachio Cream (1, 6" pot)
Hanging basket with petunias and flowering vines
Hanging baskets make a great entryway accent – just imagine something like this on either side of your door! Chock full of flowers, a bright basket tells everyone exactly where to go. Hang it from a porch post so that the container almost touches it, and the plants will hug the support. If a gust of wind comes up, it will help keep it from spinning.
Fertilizer tip
Additional fertilizers may be needed in mid-summer as plants grow. Apply a water-soluble general-purpose fertilizer once a week to give them a boost.
Plant list (number to plant)
A) Petunia Petunia Supertunia® Royal Velvet® (1)
B) Petunia Petunia Supertunia® Trailing Rose Veined (2)
C) Black-eyed Susan vine Thunbergia alata Lemon A-Peel® (1)
D) Licorice vine Helichrysum petiolare ‘White Licorice’ (2)
The hanging basket is 12 in. in diameter
A hanging basket with tropical flair
Add color to any space with long-blooming Mandeville. Buy a small cultivar like red wok 'Audrey' and use this well-behaved double vine in a hanging basket - no cutting required! With a tendency to bloom all summer, rivaling any bedding annual, 'Audrey' is a great addition to the mix. And at 18 to 36 inches, it doesn't outshine its peers.
Start with a 1-quart pot containing two or three small Mandeville. Place plants in a hanging basket plant, then add a burgundy iris and a colorful plane plant. Vines may need to be chained off rather than climbed.
Plant list (number to plant)
A) Iresine Iresine herbstii ‘Purple Lady’ (1)
B) Variegated airplane plant Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’ (1)
C) Mandevilla Mandevilla Vogue® ‘Audrey’ (3)
The container is 14 in. in diameter
Feature greenery for shade-hanging baskets
A mounding habit of coral beads does an excellent job of filling hanging baskets. By placing the foliage at eye level, details such as intricate veins or silver overlay are easily appreciated. Plus, you'll experience a slightly different look each season, as coral beads and hecharella bloom in summer and coral bead leaves change hues in cooler weather. When it's time for fall clean-up, add these perennials to the front of the border.
Hanging basket watering tip
Hanging baskets should be checked once a day for water. Depending on the weather, they may need to be watered more than once, especially if they are in full sun during the summer heat.
Plant list (number to plant)
A) Brunnera Brunnera macrophylla ‘Emerald Mist’ (1)
B) Coral bells Heuchera ‘Electric Lime’ (2)
C) Coral bells Heuchera ‘Georgia Peach’ (1)
D) Coral bells Heuchera ‘Sugar Plum’ (1)
E) Heucherella Heucherella ‘Glacier Falls’ (1)
The hanging basket is 24 in. in diameter
Flower power to partial shade
Vigorous Superdunia Vista silverberry petunias will benefit from regular feeding throughout the summer. After you plant, start with a balanced water-soluble fertilizer like 10-10-10 every two weeks. As temperatures warm, plants require weekly doses and may even be fed with each watering. A light trim of leggy stems in mid-summer guarantees neat plants that hide the hanging basket from view.
With an upright, mounding habit, BabyWing begonia does well in heat and humidity, blooming in early spring and continuing through frost for long-lasting color without much additional help. Although the plants take full sun, they do best in partial shade, especially in the afternoon.
Plant list (number to plant)
A) Foxtail fern Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’ (1)
B) Iresine Iresine herbstii ‘Purple Lady’ (1)
C) Asparagus fern Asparagus densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’ (1)
D) Petunia Petunia Supertunia® Vista Silverberry (3)
E) Begonia Begonia BabyWing® Pink (2)
The hanging basket is 14 in. in diameter
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