Great tips for Hanging Baskets

An economical use of the vertical space in any garden for varieties with a cascading/tumbling or spreading/creeping habit.

Preparing a basket for planting:

• Buy hanging baskets complete with coconut fibre liner (see below). This will be cheaper than purchasing the separate components.
• Line with plastic right around the sides and with holes in the bottom. This helps to limit evaporation.
• Use a potting mix with a slow release fertilizer – ideally 3 to 6 months. NOT a seed raising one (6 to 12 weeks) – not enough goodies in the mix!
• Transplant seedlings (not more than 10) to the basket.
• Also poke holes in liners and plant seedlings around the side of the basket for a more covered display.
• Water regularly and use these additives - Nitrosol (a liquid fertilizer) and Saturaid (a wetting gel to absorb moisture for slow release).

Coconut Fibre:

• Coconut Fibre or Husk (aka Coir) is a cheap way to line a hanging basket.
• Produced in Pacific Islands, Asia and Sri Lanka.
• Has replaced the use of sphagnum moss which has become too expensive.
• Is biodegradable and should be replaced when basket is being replanted.
• Very porous, water will go straight through this.

Why should you transplant rather than direct sow in a hanging basket?

• Best to sow seed in trays.
• If direct sown in the basket, too many nutrients are washed out of the mix before the seedlings have a chance to become established.
• By transplanting into the basket, you ensure the maximum availability of the nutrients for the seedlings.

Some good ideas for hanging baskets:

• Several tiers of baskets
• Successive sowings of seed to ensure continuous colour in your basket
• Plant thickly and thinly as required to get best cover
• Mixed plantings for maximum colour

Vegetables and Herbs to consider:

• Tomatoes planted upside down – if plenty of light and turned on a regular basis, they’ll grow evenly.
• Cucumber, Caigua and vining types of spinach – Malabar and NZ Spinach.
• Wild Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano.

Flower Varieties (nothing that grows taller than 1 to 1.5 metres):

Alyssum Painter’s Palette; Black Eyed Susan; Dichondra Silver Falls; Lobelia Colour Cascade; Mina Lobata; Nasturtium (Tall Trailing, Top Flowering and Whirlybird mixes); Nemophila; Petunia; Rhodochiton; Sweet Pea Jet Set; Viscaria; Viola (Heartsease).