Hanging baskets the lane end way!

We create hundreds of individually customized baskets each summer. Follow this guide to learn how to create your own. Or why not come on one of our Hanging basket courses.

First find your plants, then fill your basket, put the plants in following our simple guidelines and then simmer gently in a humid greenhouse for spectacular results!

Plant choice

Like Planting a garden you need to avoid swamping the slower growing smaller plants with big tough ones. Similarly if you've a small space then you need to use a smaller cultivar.

We suggest sticking to plants in adjacent groups ie Vigorous and medium or Medium and small

Vigorous Plants

Medium Vigor

Recipe

For a 14" Basket:

1 Trailing Petunia
3 Ivy Leaved Geranium
3 Fuchsias centrally just outside the triangle made by the geraniums.
1 Helichrysum or Bidens
1 Verbena
3 other trailers
3 plugs of lobelia

ie 12 plants plus lobelia

You'll have difficulty fitting that many full sized plants in but try !

Basket construction

The traditional basket has a round bottom which makes it hard to plant up, difficult to transport and the flat bottom we now use is not visible once the plants are growing. It is important to keep the basket dry over the winter once the reusable plants have been removed as rust significantly shortens the life. On reused baskets check the chains carefully each year. Broken chains once the plants are in is bad for blood pressure and heads!Some of the deeper plastic baskets have a reservoir for water which probably helps if all the baskets are the same.

Lining

The traditional material is sphagnum moss though with dry summers this has become more expensive especially as sustainable harvests from a fixed area are now widely used. We line the wire baskets with a thin layer of moss being careful to extend it above the rim. If you have too much thickness then there is less room for roots and water!

We then line the moss with a thin layer of plastic (any colour as it is not visible). You can make holes in the plastic but it is so rare for baskets to be over watered and so irritating for dribbles of compost laden water to pour over your clothes that we leave it intact. Without an impermeable lining layer water will tend to pour out of cracks which happen very quickly in peat based composts but see watering at the end.

Compost

Any reasonable compost can be used though we tend to avoid the very fine seed and general purpose types. This is because the spaces between the peat fibres can close up excluding air from the roots and suffocating the plants from below. The coarse container type compost is satisfactory but does tend to drain rather fast so on balance we use a medium potting grade.

Put 1-2 Litres into the plastic and push it sideways into the moss then put another scoop in and check that there is no space that will later subside. We're not convinced that Swell gel makes much difference or at least not as much as it costs!

You are aiming to leave about a 1cm gap between the level top of the compost and the top ring of the wire. Less and you will overflow when watering, more and you have less soil for the plants to grow in!

Don't firm too much. though you don't want the middle of the basket to subside it's the space in the compost that hold the water.

Feed

The compost will have enough food in it for the first 3-5 weeks so it is important not to feed for the first month or so while the young plants are establishing. After that, liquid feeding on a reliable basis depending on the growth of the plant, the amount of sunlight and the state of flowering will give the best results but if you don't have an integrating solar energy meter then use slow release pellets. With 7.5g Osmocote tablets use one for every 1.5-2L of compost.

The food will be released depending on temperature and they last 5-6 months. If the weather is very bright and/or you see some yellowing particularly on the older leaves then nitrogen deficiency is possible and a couple of liquid feeds with a High Potash fertiliser is advisable. Resist the temptation to use a high nitrogen one because if basket plants have too much nitrogen they grow and grow and grow and DON'T flower.

Push 4 plugs into the surface of the compost evenly spread around the centre.

Final preparations for planting

Top up the compost to the level of the brim as some settling will occur on watering. If you are using large plants which have been potted up then use less compost as plugs do not raise the soil level.

Trim the plastic to 1cm above the brim and top up any defects in the moss.

You can leave the basket unplanted for up to 2 weeks or longer if the compost is dry. If the feed pellets are moist then they start to release feed which will build up and possibly damage young plants.

Planting

You are aiming at contrasting symmetry so look at the plants you intend to use and lay them on the surface. While you place them check that the plugs have been stopped i.e. that the tip has been pinched out which encourages a bushier habit of growth. This is especially important with Fuchsias, Verbena and Bidens.

1. Three ivy geraniums will look best as a triangle in the center.

2. Put the Fuchsias around the geraniums

3. Vigorous trailers such as Surfinias or Bidens or Helichrysum should be arranged opposite each other or the basket appears unbalanced.

4. Trailing plants such as Nepeta or Polygonum need to be about 2cm in from the edge. Not on the edge as the compost dries out too quickly. If you are using a bush fuchsia or a scented geranium then this needs to be central. The rest should be arranged evenly on the surface.

Aftercare

We keep the basket in full light at a minimum temperature of 8C watering when the basket weighs about 1.5kg to bring it back to weigh between 3 and 4 kg. This is much more reliable than feeling the compost surface as it encourages the roots to fill the whole hemisphere of compost.

We also keep a very close eye open for pests. Greenfly is the commonest as our plugs are usually in very good health. To avoid damaging beneficial insects we try and just use Pirimicarb available in several forms such as Rapid. We also use Interectp (Imidacloprid) mixed into the compost whch also stops Whitefly.

Before putting the basket out at the end of May it should be hardened off. This involves slowly increasing the amount of ventilation and decreasing the heating which we do in an unheated polytunnel. The plants are adapting during this phase by closing off the stomata under the leaves and thickening the cuticle covering the leaves. You can also do it by moving the basket slowly from a sheltered spot on the ground into more and more exposed places. Beware however of slugs which may suddenly emigrate with your help.

Conservatories especially south facing ones are very hostile places, please ask for advice in plants for such a spot.