CORVALLIS, Ore. — Hanging a basket filled with colorful plants gives decks and gardens another dimension.
“You’ll have color where you wouldn’t have any otherwise,” said Brooke Edmunds, an Oregon State University Extension Service horticulturist.
With all the plants on the market, getting started can be intimidating, she acknowledged. Looking at finished baskets at garden centers or browsing magazines and books can help you find colors and designs you like.
A basket that hangs high looks great with trailers such as petunia, ivy geranium, calibrachoa, alyssum, lobelia, verbena and fuchsia.
“Think about the finished product — how you’d like it to look — and go from there,” she said.
A basket that hangs high looks great with trailers such as petunia, ivy geranium, calibrachoa, alyssum, lobelia, verbena and fuchsia.
If you’ll see the whole container, try the “thriller, filler, spiller” approach: a taller plant in the middle, clumping plants to fill in, and trailers around the edge.
Thrillers include upright geranium, nicotiana, salvia, daisy and heliotrope. For extra drama, use dracaena, small ornamental grasses or cordyline. Around the center, choose clumpers like upright geranium, marigold, lantana, mounding petunias, nemesia and coleus.
Match plants to mature size and site
When you design a basket, consider how big plants will be at maturity and choose the number accordingly.
“You don’t want to use too many at first or they won’t reach their potential,” Edmunds said. “And too few and the plants will never fill in fully.”
Most important, don’t mix shade lovers with sun lovers.
“Definitely match plants to conditions or they won’t perform well,” Edmunds said.
Edmunds’ tips for hanging baskets
Choose a container that’s not too heavy, such as plastic, peat, or a wire basket lined with moss or coir. Avoid ceramic or terra cotta.
Don’t use soil dug from the garden; it’s too heavy and drains poorly. Use a quality potting mix, and replace old mix if reusing a basket.
If the potting mix doesn’t include fertilizer, blend in a slow-release type at planting. If plants look ragged midseason, apply a water-soluble fertilizer once a week.
Leave about 1 inch between the soil surface and the rim to allow room for watering.
Lift the basket to gauge moisture. If it feels light, water. First, test once right after watering so you know the “wet” weight.
Deadhead at least weekly to keep plants blooming. Trim back foliage if it gets leggy.
Previously titled Hanging baskets put the color in summer
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