Top container gardening tips for a successful flower hanging basket.

Hanging baskets make for the most amazing flower displays. They make terrific eye height focal points in the garden and if used correctly make all the difference to your

Tip 1: How to determine the best flowers and plants for a flower hanging basket?

The size and material of the hanging basket make all the difference:

How large your hanging basket is will determine where you can hang it as well as which plants you can plant in it. What material your hanging basket is made of will further influence where you can hang it. As with most container gardening, the size of your hanging basket also determines how often your container will need watering and feeding.

Ask yourself how many plants do I want in my hanging basket and how much potting soil will they need? Th answer to this question and where you plan to position your hanging basket will help you determine what size container you need.

Remember proper anchoring is important when putting up your flower hanging basket. Keep its weight in mind, for safety and to avoid wind damage. This is one of the most important tips for raised container gardening so don’t just wing it.

Tip 2: What are the best shapes and types of plants for a flower hanging basket?

Plant choice is really important when it comes to container gardening and more so when gardening with hanging baskets.

Mounding and upright plants to give your flower hanging basket some form and structure, while trailing and spreading plants creep over the edge should spectacularly cascade from your hanging basket.

The commonly know trailing and spreading plants that cascade over the edges aren’t the only option for hanging baskets.  That said, you don’t want any plants to be too tall, they shouldn’t exceed the handle or “anchoring point” of the hanging basket as that’s where damage to your plants and flowers can occur. 

The position of your hanging basket and thus its exposure to wind and sunlight will also impact the plant choices for your hanging basket. Remember to keep in mind how much time you are willing to spend attending to your hanging basket as this can also play a role in your plant choice.

Tip 3: Try this to hide the entire hanging basket container.

Hanging baskets are famously known for their amazing flower displays that hide the entire container they are planted in.

How to hide the entire flower hanging basket and get that “blooming ball” full flower effect to blow away all your guests with your new hanging container garden.

Some hanging baskets are manufactured to allow planting along the sides and bottom of the basket. If you can’t find these or prefer gardening on a budget get creative and DIY your nursery-bought hanging basket by making planting holes along the sides or “walls” of the basket with a box cutter.

This will allow you to plant flowers along the sides and bottom and makes for a full, spherical look that obscures and hides the entire hanging basket container. This tip could be the one that pushes your baskets flower display just that little bit over the edge… pun intended.

Tip 4: Don’t overplant your flower hanging basket.

In any container gardening planting too many plants too close to each other might look right initially, but in fact, you could be setting all your plants up for failure.

Account for the mature sizes of plants when planting, even if your hanging basket initially feels empty, enough space in your container is essential for good air movement and light penetration which in turn results in healthy plants that show off beautifully hanging over your basket.

As a rule of thumb, don’t risk overcrowding when gardening with hanging baskets or container gardening in general. Rather buy fewer of more established plants than squeeze in multiple less mature plantlets into your hanging basket.

Pruning plants that are taking over or removing struggling plants is totally acceptable, in fact, it is encouraged for a healthy and attractive flower hanging basket. As hard as it is for most gardeners, don’t be scared to remove poor-performing plants, they are only going to attract disease to your containers and steal nutrients from your healthy plant babies.

Tip 5: Feed and fertilise your new hanging basket.

Regular feeding is important when gardening with hanging baskets, especially in smaller ones.

Feed your hanging basket regularly. As is often the case, with container gardening, hanging baskets tend to need more fertilizer than plants in open soil. This is because of the smaller volume of potting soil available to plants and flowers in your hanging basket.

Feed by adding a slow-release fertilizer to your potting soil while planting up the basket.  This will make sure there are always nutrients available to your plants even if regular watering leaches nutrients from the potting soil.

Its always recommended to feed containers and especially flower hanging baskets with a water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks or so. Simply add your fertilizer to your watering can or spray bottle and apply whilst watering the container or splay onto the top and bottom of the plant leaves. Continue to do this for the entire lifespan of your hanging basket.

Tip 6: Maintain moisture levels in hanging baskets as uniform as possible.

Hanging baskets like most garden pots and their potting soils tend to dry out rather easily and faster than one might expect.

It is important to test the soil moisture of your hanging basket regularly. A quick wiggle of your finger in the top bit of potting soil will help determine how moist your hanging basket is.

Remember the same basics apply for hanging baskets as for other containers, more water is required during warmer months and overwatering is always a bad idea, make sure you add additional drainage holes to your hanging basket to avoid a soggy mess.

An easy way to cheat is to add water retaining mediums and moisture-retaining products to hanging baskets. Growing mediums like peat moss and vermiculite are perfect for improving potting soil for outdoor pots and indoor plant pots, just be careful not to overdo it.

As your local nursery for suggestions and definitely grab some moisture retention products for any container gardening as a rule of thumb for good potting soils. Always keep packaging instructions.
Expect to water your flower hanging basket every day and sometimes even twice a day in hot, dry conditions.