Hanging baskets maximize vertical space and instantly add vibrant color and texture to porches, patios, and balconies. This elevated style of gardening requires selecting plants specifically suited to the unique environmental constraints of a suspended container. Success depends on choosing the right varieties for the available light and understanding the heightened care demands of a confined root system.
Vibrant Options for Full Sun Baskets
For baskets receiving six or more hours of direct sunlight, selecting heat-tolerant and drought-forgiving plants is necessary. The intense solar exposure and increased airflow cause the soil in hanging containers to dry out rapidly. Petunias, particularly the Supertunia series, are favored for their prolific, trumpet-shaped flowers and continuous blooming without the need for deadheading.
Calibrachoa, often called Million Bells, is a smaller, vibrant choice that produces a dense cascade of miniature, petunia-like blooms. These plants are known for their self-cleaning nature and nonstop flowering throughout the season. Trailing Verbena offers clusters of flowers and a semi-mounding habit that spills attractively over the basket’s edge.
Trailing Geraniums (Pelargonium) tolerate heat well, offering large, classic blooms and a semi-trailing habit. For extremely hot and dry conditions, Portulaca (Moss Rose) is a succulent-like plant with vivid, rose-shaped flowers that thrive in the sun and tolerate drier soil conditions. Incorporating ‘Silver Falls’ Dichondra, with its silvery, cascading foliage, provides a striking contrast and softens the edges of the display.
Flourishing Choices for Shaded Areas
Areas with limited direct sun, such as covered porches or north-facing walls, require plants that generate color and interest in low light. Shade-loving varieties often rely on vibrant foliage or flowers that are less prone to wilting. Fuchsia is a classic choice for shaded baskets, producing unique, pendulous, two-toned blossoms that resemble dancing lanterns.
Impatiens, especially the New Guinea and SunPatiens hybrids, offer a mounded habit with bright, saturated flowers in conditions ranging from partial to full shade. For a plant that handles deep shade, Begonias are excellent, with varieties like Dragon Wing offering glossy leaves and continuous blooms, while tuberous Begonias provide large, showy flowers.
If foliage is the primary goal, Coleus provides a stunning range of leaf colors and patterns, from chartreuse to deep burgundy. Trailing foliage plants like Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) or variegated Swedish Ivy can be used as “spillers,” their leaves cascading over the sides of the basket. These shade-tolerant plants often appreciate higher ambient humidity, which helps prevent their leaves from becoming crisp in dry air.
Maintaining the Health of Hanging Basket Plants
The confined soil volume of a hanging basket makes proper watering the most influential factor in plant health. Due to increased exposure to air and wind, moisture evaporates quickly, often necessitating daily watering during the heat of summer. A helpful technique to gauge moisture is the “lift test,” where a basket that feels unexpectedly light indicates the soil is dry and needs immediate attention.
When watering, thoroughly saturate the soil until water runs out of the drainage holes, ensuring the entire root ball is moistened. If the soil has become extremely dry, it may be necessary to water twice, waiting a few minutes between applications to allow the potting mix to fully rehydrate. It is best to water in the morning to allow the foliage to dry before evening, which reduces the risk of fungal issues.
Hanging basket plants are heavy feeders because frequent watering leaches nutrients from the limited soil volume. Gardeners can incorporate a slow-release granular fertilizer into the potting mix at the beginning of the season for a steady supply of nutrients. Alternatively, a regular regimen of water-soluble liquid fertilizer, applied every one to two weeks or at half-strength with every watering, ensures consistent nourishment for continuous blooming.
Routine grooming is necessary to maintain a full appearance and encourage new growth. Removing spent flowers, known as deadheading, prevents the plant from diverting energy into seed production, promoting the formation of new blooms. A light pruning or “pinching” of leggy stems encourages the plant to branch out, resulting in a denser, bushier form that maximizes visual impact.