Tell me your hanging basket secrets

[floofycroissant]

This year I want one of the ones over flowing with plants and flowers, where they're trailing down the sides.

Mine always look super underwhelming.

Water gel crystals are my secret for pots and baskets. I always soak mine in water before adding them rather than adding them dry. It helps avoid the potting mix overflowing when they expand. I've tried miracle grow and Wilko's own brand and couldn't see any difference between the two. 10g of Wilko crystals to 1litre of water is usually the perfect amount for pre-soaking.

Get a really big basket, they don’t dry out as much and you can pack loads of plants in.. I agree with water crystals, but I also make a water reservoir in the bottom ( inside the liner) it’s either out of a plastic bag or just a plastic box that tomatoes or other fruit come in from the supermarket.

So its really all about the watering then? Is 30cm a normal sized basket or should I be looking at a larger one?

Also put more plants in than you think you need.

I use a heavy-duty bin liner as the basket liner, make some big holes in it and plant some of the plants through the holes on the sides/underside of the basket. It's a bit of a messy faff but works a treat. The basket will turn into a big ball of flowers. You don't see the bin liner once the basket has filled out a bit.

@AmandaHoldensLips

I use a heavy-duty bin liner as the basket liner, make some big holes in it and plant some of the plants through the holes on the sides/underside of the basket. It's a bit of a messy faff but works a treat. The basket will turn into a big ball of flowers. You don't see the bin liner once the basket has filled out a bit.

Won't they just, fall out?!

In a nutshell, water and fertiliser!

I like to use a pretty coir liner, plus an additional hidden lining of old compost sack to keep the moisture in.

Agree with pps about packing loads of plants in... you need more than you think!

@floofycroissant - no, they don't fall out. You sort of feed the plant through the hole, then you can fold the bin liner plastic around the base a bit and they sit there quite happily. And once the whole planter is planted, the soil holds everything in position nicely. (Imagine it a bit like pulling hair through an old-fashioned highlighter cap.)

Sometimes I would use strawberries on the underside/sides so that you get hanging fruit among the flowers.

I use 40cm baskets with coir outer liner. The more plants you can pack in the more lush they look.

I agree with the feed and water advice given above, plus using water retaining crystals and planting quite thickly. It's also helpful to choose your plants carefully. Something like surfinia is easy to grow and vigorous while not being easily damaged by weather. Give plug plants a good start potted on indoors or in a greenhouse, gradually hardening off outdoors so that the season is extended as much possible.

What plants work best please in your opinion?

Use the thriller, filler, spiller method, but only put one thriller in and put more spillers and fillers. I’ve had the most comments when my spillers are dichondra silver falls, trailing nepeta or helichrysum (silver or gold, depending on your colour scheme). The way they trail look really dramatic.

@AmandaHoldensLips and everyone else with these great tips: any youtube video suggestions for those of us that are new to this?
great thread OP!

@YouCannotPossiblyBeHungry

What plants work best please in your opinion?

It partially depends on aspect... My hanging baskets are situated on a north facing wall and I successfully used ivy, lobelia, fuchsia and busy lizzies last summer.

Current seasonal planting: spring bulbs (tete a tete narcissus and grape hyacinths), ivy and primrose plants. Not quite enough height while I'm waiting for the bulbs to grow, but I'll try to have patience...

If you get more sunlight than I do then you can play around a bit more... have a look at the bedding section of your garden centre for inspiration! I like to aim for a bit of height in the middle, then some medium height plants interspersed with trailing plants at the edges. Interesting foliage, variety of flower colours and sizes, etc. all tie in to create a good looking hanging basket in my view.

You don't have to stick to the traditional 'bedding plants only' look. Having said that, in my experience, most perennials in baskets or smallish pots will only tolerate it for a couple of seasons before they need to be transplanted to a flower bed, so annual bedding plants might be more convenient.

Ooh, yes, @SweatyBetty20, the thriller, filler, spiller method is great. Both for hanging baskets and pots (following this technique revolutionised my previously boring planting schemes for pots).