Pretty hung up

Hanging baskets provide a quick means of adding a splash of colour to a room, porch, entrance, patio, balcony or yard. These eye-catching accents can be used all around the house and garden. You can fix them to a wall or a window using strong brackets or suspend them from the beams of a veranda, pergola, deck or terrace.

You can even hang your plant from a strong tree branch or any sturdy structure that will hold the weight. Alternatively, you can hang a basket near the kitchen window to grow herbs for ready use.

Ideally, the area where you hang the plant should be a sheltered sunny or semi-shaded spot without much traffic. Mount the basket close to eye level, so it can be admired and watered with ease.

Gardening with hanging baskets allows you to put flowers or foliage right where you want them, opening up a host of design options. However, the main drawback of these versatile planters is the high level of care required to keep the plants in good shape. Being exposed on all sides, the outdoor hanging baskets dry out quickly, so they need to be watered daily - even twice a day, when the weather gets hot.
Very small baskets are best suited for indoors, as they will dry out in minutes when exposed to hot and windy conditions. Hanging baskets also require more frequent fertilising than other container plants to keep them lush, green and flowering.

Choosing a basket

Many nurseries and garden centres in the UAE offer you a selection of ready-planted hanging baskets, but if you prefer to make your own basket from scratch, it is relatively easy to do. For that, you will have to first select the right type of hanging basket to fit your requirements and complement your settings.

The framework of the basket may be made of various materials. A galvanised or plastic-coated wire basket is lightweight and allows you to insert the plants through the sides, however, being exposed on all sides; a wire basket is highly susceptible to drying.

Hanging terracotta or clay pots, on the other hand, look very attractive; but are considerably heavier. Moreover, being porous, terracotta pots will also demand more frequent watering.

Plastic or fibreglass pots with built-in saucers and hangers are by far the most convenient options for outdoors in our hot climate, because, besides being light and easy to move around, they are non-porous, enabling them to retain moisture for longer durations.

The colour and style of the basket should complement the plants as well as the setting where you intend to hang the basket. You can use macramé or jute hangers to enhance the display. Whatever design or material you choose, do bear in mind that when filled with compost, a hanging basket tends to become very heavy, especially after watering and will require strong and secure fittings to suspend it safely.

Choosing plants

Any small-rooted, compact container plant can be used in baskets, but graceful arching or trailing plants are ideal. Avoid tall plants that are likely to give an unkempt appearance to the display and will probably break in strong wind.

While a variety of plants work well in larger baskets, for small containers, it is better to stick to a single plant type. If you are going to put several species in the same basket, they better be compatible with one another. No matter how attractive the plants look together, unless they share common growing habits, the combination may prove to be lethal as the plants may soon kill each other. It is therefore vitally important to select plants that require the same conditions of light and water. The choice of plants for a particular location will mainly depend on light conditions - you cannot hang shade-loving species such as ferns or impatience in full sun. Similarly, plants that thrive in sun will become miserable and leggy when relegated to dark corners.

You can either go for a vibrant display of multi-coloured plants or plant a variety of plants in a single colour. In fact, some of the most visually stunning baskets are those that follow a single colour scheme - for example, an all-white, or an all-red basket. The annuals in the basket will bloom for only one season and must be replanted each year.

Foliage perennials such as English ivy or heart-leaf philodendron, on the other hand, will grow for several years, creating a lush green tropical effect.

Try combining trailing species such as lobelias with upright geraniums or zinnias. The overall effect should be lush, so use filler plants such as sweet alyssum or lobelia to weave together petunias or geraniums. Upright plants such as marigolds should be used at the top.

In recent years, many heat and drought-tolerant species have been introduced that flourish exceptionally well in hanging baskets. Hardy species such as periwinkles, portulacas, ice plants, etc., can be successfully grown in baskets even in summer.

Planting the basket

Place the basket on an inverted bucket or an empty flowerpot. Line it completely with thick moss. Cut a sheet of plastic or polythene to fit the container - pierce a few holes in it to allow for free drainage. Then line the moss with the plastic, which will help to hold the vital moisture in wire baskets. When planting a wire basket, you should also make splits at the sides for inserting plants.

Fill one third of the basket with potting mix to which water-retaining crystals have already been added to prevent drying. A saucer with broken charcoal placed in the bottom of the basket will also help the basket to retain water.

Place plants of upright habit at the centre of the basket with trailing plants around the periphery. If you are using young plants, leave enough space between them. Over-planting can often be disastrous. Add more potting mixture to fill the container two inches below the rim. Water thoroughly and then keep the basket in filtered sunlight for a couple of weeks to let the plants become established, before shifting them to their final sunny location.

Hanging baskets, without a doubt, need regular watering along with a lot of tender loving care. However, the visually stunning results you get in turn certainly make them worth all the trouble.

Tips: Watch how you hang them!

Sun and wind make a lethal combination; therefore avoid hanging the plants in very exposed and draughty locations.
Firm fixing is vital, so make sure that the supporting, brackets, hooks and chains are strong to avoid any kind of mishap.

A basket made of wire, wicker or wooden slat must be lined with moss and a light material to prevent soil from falling out.
Hanging baskets need copious watering, feeding, and dead-heading, so place the basket at an accessible height not higher than eye level.

Regular dead-heading is important to prevent the plants becoming thin and straggly and to encourage healthy blooming. Snip off the faded flowers to ensure better flowering throughout the season. Also remove dead or discoloured foliage regularly.

Regular fertilising is a key to successful hanging baskets. A liquid feed once a week will help to keep your plants in peak condition.

Always use a light potting mix especially meant for containers to which water-retaining crystals have already been added.

Choices: All that you can grow

Following are some colourful plants that flourish in hanging baskets:

Plants for sunny locations

Asparagus plumosus (Fern Asparagus)
Asparagus sprengeri (Sprengeri Fern)
Edging Lobelia (Lobelia species)
Four O'Clock (Mirabilis jalapa)
Geraniums
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Phlox
Marigold (Tagetes erecta)
Petunia
Portulaca
Periwinkle (Vinca rosea)
Strawflower (Helichrysum petiolatum)
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Trailing Coleus (Coleus rehneltianus)
Tradescantia
Plants for light shade

Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
Devil's Ivy or Money Plant (Scindapsus aureus)
English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Mosaic Plant (Fittonia verschaffeltii)
Heart-leaf Philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium)
Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana)
Pansy (Viola tricolor hortensis)
Polyanthus
Tuberous Begonia (Begonia tuberhybrid)