Plant up a Hanging Basket

A spectacular hanging basket, dripping with flowers, is the pride and joy of any gardener. Adding colour and interest to higher places, a basket is great by the patio or for showing off by the front door. Follow this guide to the range of baskets and care products available, and make this season's display your best ever.

First things first

Always consider carefully where you are going to place a hanging basket. They may look very nice when they are in full bloom but they can be dangerous. Position them away from where people tend to walk or at least make sure that they are well above head height, so that passers by will not bang their heads on them.

A hanging basket, particularly a large one, when full of compost and planted up, can weigh a substantial amount. Keep this in mind also when positioning your basket. Will you be able to lift it up to the bracket - safely? If not consider a smaller basket or positioning it somewhere else.

While on the subject of the weight of baskets and safety, I must bring up one more point - the bracket. Always ensure that the bracket that you are using, if whether a commercial wrought iron or just a simple hook, is strong enough to take the weight of the basket when it is full. A basket being blown about in the wind can put heavy stresses on a steel bracket or hook so always make sure that they are strong enough and well secured to a strong surface such as a brick wall and not on a flimsy or rotten fence. A large fully planted basket could quite easily crush a skull if it were to come down. Be Warned.

Choosing a basket

Buy the largest and deepest basket you can, as the more compost a basket contains, the less frequently it will need feeding and watering. A 35cm (14in) diameter basket is recommended as the best size for general use. Look for a design with a flat base as it will be much more stable when planting. Traditionally, baskets have been open-sided and need to be lined, but there are now solid-sided models with built-in water reservoirs available. These require less frequent watering and are particularly useful in hot and exposed positions where a traditional basket would demand a lot of attention. Unfortunately many of these solid baskets do not allow for planting to be made in their sides, and some gardeners find them less attractive visually. The wire baskets are suitable for outdoor positions while, if planting up for a position indoors, the solid baskets may be more suitable, particularly the self-contained types or the ones with anti drip trays, as they prevent drips.

Choosing a liner

Live Sphagnum Moss is the traditional material used for lining open-sided baskets to hold in the compost. However, there are now many good alternative products, such as loose cocoa fibre and wool fleece. Solid liners are also popular as, with care, they will last for several seasons. They come in a range of materials, from cardboard to cocoa fibre, and many have a disc of capillary matting at the bottom to help preserve moisture. Different sizes are available to fit all diameters of baskets. However, it is worth checking that the liner selected will be deep enough for your individual basket. Many gardeners prefer flat-packed liners to preformed ones as it is possible to plant through the side of the basket without having to cut the liner.

What type of compost.

Most multipurpose composts are suitable for using in baskets but you will find that a loam based compost will be easier to re-wet if it dries out than a peat or peat substitute (such as coir) will. The loam based composts tend to be heavier than the peat based ones and this can be a disadvantage if using in a very large basket or you have to lift the basket any considerable height to hang it it up.

Water-retaining gel

Water retaining gel crystals can be added to the compost to improve its ability to hold water. When water is added, the crystals quickly absorb the liquid to swell to several times their original size, forming gelatinous pieces which release their water as the compost dries out. Add them when making up your baskets, after first swelling them in water. They will keep on working for the whole season.

Planting up

While planting the basket, it is advisable to sit it on a bucket or large plantpot to keep it stable and clear of the ground.

Place either Moss or the liner of your choice in the basket. A good tip - If you place a plantpot saucer in the base between the liner and the compost, it will act as a reservoir to hold water.

Add moist compost of your choice to a depth of a few inches and firm it down with your fingers.

Insert plants through the sides of the basket ( you may need to make holes if using a liner), so that their rootballs are level with the compost. Tip - To protect the roots - roll newspaper around the rootball while you push it through the hole and then remove it once through.

Add more compost around the roots and firm them in. Depending on the size and depth of your basket you may need more than one layer of plants around the sides. If adding more layers try to alternate the plantings between each other on subsequent layers to balance the display. Top up the compost on each layer.

Once you reach the top of the basket add more plants of a more upright nature around the edge of the basket and taller plants in the centre to add height. Fill in with more compost around the roots to finally fill the basket. Try to leave the centre compost slightly dished to help retain the water when you water the basket.

Water your basket thoroughly and leave to drain. Place in a greenhouse or conservatory for 4 - 6 weeks to grow on. Hang your basket in its display area once all danger of frost has past.

Feeding your baskets

Plants can be kept well-fed by using slow-release fertilisers. These come in granule or tablet form, and should be mixed into the compost when planting. They gradually release their nutrients over time, and should remove the need for additional liquid feeding of the basket.

Watering

Now that you have a superb hanging basket you need to keep it looking good. To do this you will have to keep it well watered and ensure that it does not dry out. Just because you have put water retaining gel in the compost does not mean that you don't have to water any more. The amount of water required will vary depending on a lot of factors such as the size of the basket (small baskets will dry out quicker than large ones), the type of compost used (peat based composts tend to dry out quicker than loam based composts), how many and what type of plants are in the basket, the weather ( in warm weather the basket will dry out quicker) the siting of the basket ( baskets in full sun will dry out quicker than baskets in the shade) etc.

The best thing to do, is to check each day and , if the composts is staring to dry out, give the basket a good watering. Remember though in very hot weather it may need watering more than once each day and also in cooler weather, just because it has rained that day does not mean that you don't have to water. A shower of rain may not have even reach the surface of the compost if the the basket is heavily planted.

If the compost has dried out, it can be very difficult to get water back into it, particularly with peat based composts. One way is to immerse the basket in a very large tub or bucket of water and let it soak until no more air bubbles come out of the compost. Tip - If you cannot immerse the basket when it has dried out, try putting a quantity of ice cubes from the freezer in the centre of the compost. As the ice melts it slowly seeps into the compost instead of running off the surface as when watered normally. This tip is also useful if you are out all day and the weather is hot, Put the ice in as you leave home and it will slowly melts and keep the compost moist until you return home.

The Plants

Most baskets are only used during the summer months and are planted up with the old favourites, annuals such as pansies, petunias, Pelagoniums, lobelia, bizzy lizzie, etc. but any plant whose size and habit suit the conditions can be placed in a basket.

Why not try experimenting and planting up a winter basket using a selection of winter hardy plants like winter pansies or planting one up to hang indoors with a selection of ferns, and ivies and plants such as coleus, ficus, gardenias, stephanotis, or - well the list is endless and so are the ideas and combinations that you can use, both indoors and out.