Hanging Basket Watering Color and Care

Don’t overlook the beauty to be derived from hanging basket plantings outdoors. Line the baskets with a layer of sphagnum moss to help maintain moisture. If the plants to be used in the planting have just been repotted, set the pots inside the basket and pack them tight in the basket with more moss, or with potting soil. The plants can be set directly into the baskets if you desire. If left to grow in their own pots, the plants can be more easily cared for in the fall, and lack of moisture will not be such a summer time problem.

The baskets may be hung from a tree, porch post or anything else appropriate, so long as water dripping from the basket is not harmful. The best hanging basket watering system is to take them down and set the basket in a container of water until it is thoroughly soaked. They can be watered while hanging, but it’s hard to be thorough.

Hanging baskets are best suited to the conditions in a shaded garden or on a porch where they will be protected from hot winds and burning sunshine. These plants are suited to hanging basket culture in the shaded garden:

• Vinca major
• Ivy geraniums
• Double or fancy frilled petunias
• Achimenes
• Strawberry begonias (saxifraga)
• Hanging basket tuberous begonias
• Episcias

Standard petunias and geraniums need more sun to grow and bloom satisfactorily.

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