by Amanda Rose Newton
Not all of us are blessed with having the perfect setting for growing plants. Whether you are returning back to the office (finally), stuck with a balcony for a yard, or are encased in shade or never-ending sun, the right plant in a portable container – like a hanging basket – can be a game-changer.
In addition to providing mood-boosting benefits and enriching your space with oxygen, a single basket can provide food for both you and wildlife.
Below, we explore 5 scenarios and offer suggestions for the perfect plant to fit your needs.
Great Growth
If you have never used a hanging basket as a planter before, the same rules for basic container gardening apply. You want to start with quality potting soil, such as Fox Farms Happy Frog or Ocean Forest to ensure healthy plant growth.
If you are planting succulents, a cacti mix can be substituted easily. While just about anything can be used as a hanging planter (including old teacups or boots), proper drainage is a must! This can easily be achieved by breaking out the drill and creating a few holes at the bottom. For delicate ceramics, be sure to use a plant with low watering needs and increase the drainage potential by adding in gravel.
Indoor Hanging Baskets
Looking to ride the indoor plant craze? There are many choices even for those new to the world of gardening to be successful with. To create the best visual effect, aim for something already acclimated to low light that will create a nice spillover effect.
If you are uncertain if something is a low light plant, take a quick look over the area you purchase it in the nursery. Is it under shade? In a greenhouse? You want to keep your new plants in similar conditions to which they were “born and raised”.
The number one way folks prove unsuccessful with indoor plants is overwatering! Be sure to wait until the soil is dry to give plants a drink.
Best Choices for Indoor Hanging Plants:
• Pothos: Now featured in a large variety of colors, leaf shapes and textures, pothos has become a collector’s item. Feel free to get one of each to create your own indoor jungle!
• Spider Plant: Not only does it keep giving you free plants, but it also happens to be one of the biggest producers of oxygen, offering you both beauty and breaths of fresh air.
• Boston Ferns: The parlor classic for a reason! Offering luxurious green foliage, ferns soften rooms and are great for the office.
• Succulents: With so many choices, there are succulents for everyone! Loved for their low-maintenance attitudes, look for cascading varieties like a string of pearls or string of bananas.
• Pitcher Plants: For those seeking novelty, it does not get more interesting than having your very own carnivorous plant sharing your space
Vertical Vegetables
If you thought gardening with vegetables was out of reach for you because of the lack of green space, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish with the power of hanging baskets and planters.
Many people naturally consider placing containers along the ground and forget to utilize the space going up! You can make use of this valuable space by hanging planters along your exterior walls, using trellises, and with hanging baskets! Below are just a few of the edibles that thrive in hanging containers.
Best Vegetables to grow in hanging baskets
• Peppers: Smaller hot peppers, especially, do well in containers. You can even pair them with a few herbs to create your own hanging salsa garden!
• Herbs: The perfect container plant, most herbs — such as basil, chives, mint, lemon balm, oregano, parsley, and thyme make excellent hanging baskets. The secret is to make sure you group herbs based on water requirements and to hang in a lighting situation similar to what was present when purchased. If you are planting mint, be sure to give it its own container!
• Cherry Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes are the easiest of the bunch to grow, and hanging baskets offer the benefit of increased gas exchange, lessening the chance of fungal infections. By planting in a container, you can also have better control over the nutrients they receive and offer up additional boron and calcium, which tomatoes tend to be lacking.
• Strawberries: Also benefiting from the gas exchange, strawberries are exceptional plants for hanging containers and provide a sweet summer treat throughout their season!
Hanging Baskets for Shady Situations
If you have a balcony or area of your yard that rarely sees the sun, a hanging basket or wall-mounted planter may be an easy way to add color, texture, and life to an outdoor living space.
Plants that are normally full sun in the northern parts of the country can often benefit from a little shade when faced with the intense Florida summer heat.
If you still have some petunias or geraniums hanging on from spring, you can try to lengthen their season by keeping them out of the scorching sun. The mobile nature of the hanging basket is its greatest feature — take advantage! If you hang it in the wrong spot, it’s easy to move it to someplace more desirable.
Plants For Shade:
• Begonias: Offering pretty foliage AND flowers, begonias never go out of fashion for a reason. Some of the winged cultivars add hanging visual interest in the yard.
• Succulents: While many succulents do well in full sun, those raised in shade make excellent choices for a covered area or screened-in porch.
• Chenille Plant: With its pipe cleaner-like inflorescence, the chenille plant adds visual interest as well as softening the texture of otherwise hard features like cement walls or decking.
• Crossandra: Who says shady plants cannot have flowers? Coming in bright orange and yellow, this mood booster performs well in the shade.
Summer Scorchers: Heat and Drought Tolerant Hanging Baskets
Both hanging baskets and window boxes can be changed up seasonally with weather-appropriate plants to keep blooms going year-round.
For those hot summer months when most delicate blossoms wilt and fry in the sun, switch to heat-loving plants with low water needs. Excellent choices include:
• Portulaca or Purslane: Offering neon-colored blooms and succulent like foliage, they plant naturally spill over containers and feature low watering requirements.
• Sedum: This succulent is the hanging basket original! With so many variations, colors, and sizes, you really cannot go wrong. The spillover effect is a bonus!
• Sun Rose: Also featuring succulent-like foliage, this flowing plant has bright pink or yellow puffball flowers sure to brighten any mood.
• Dune Sunflower: Breaking from convention, using this Florida Native adds a pop of color, dramatic spillover, and sunshine cheer. For those living beachside, sea spray will be no problem for this flower!
Pollinator Power
We have often spoken of the power of one balcony in terms of adding to the biodiversity of an area, and one hanging basket certainly helps towards that goal!
Consider mixing several different flowers and change them out seasonally to have something nourishing to offer all year long. Both your senses and the pollinators will appreciate it!
Pollinator-friendly choices for hanging baskets:
• Lantana: Look for the trailing or smaller varieties, preferably native, to provide year-round nectar for butterflies and bees.
• Coral Honeysuckle: If you have a trellis or an overhanging awning, a coral honeysuckle can make your outside space feel like another living area by creating a living ceiling! A favorite of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, you will be surrounded by a bounty of beneficial wildlife!
• Mandevilla (Dipladenia): Featuring trumpet-like flowers and coming in a range of pastel shades, Dipladenia creates a long-lasting basket with trailing blooms.
• Blue My Mind (Blue Daze): A Proven Winner for Florida, this is our best-selling groundcover. Do not let its usual purpose fool you, it performs equally as well as a hanging plant with low water needs!
Unsure of what you want or giving a gift? Have one of our lovely Annuals & Perennials associates make you a gorgeous picture-perfect hanging basket ideal for your specific needs.
