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Hanging Baskets If I had the room, money and ambition I'd invest in big wire baskets, heavy chains for hanging the creations and bales of sphagnum moss to line the baskets. I'd have a drip line to every basket for automatic watering and misting and I'd spend my days admiring my hanging plants. But that's for another life. In reality I use inexpensive (about $1 each purchased mail order from a greenhouse and gardening supplies catalog) pot hangers which are nothing more than wire shaped to slip over the rim of small plastic pots. These snap on pot hangers are great for starting cuttings of houseplants and hanging in the greenhouse. They're also good for those hanging plants you plan on giving to friends and family. The problems is the plants quickly out grow the small plastic pots and the plants require daily watering unless your growing a succulent or cacti in the container. These hangers were purchased mail order from a greenhouse and gardening supplies catalog.
Another type of hanging basket I found was a wire basket with a preformed liner made of recycled materials. A 10 - inch at about $7 and a larger 14 - inch one at about $14 were available. I went for the smaller of the two as a test model. The liner was very similar to the small fiber flats I've used to start seeds except there were no drainage holes. Unfortunately the flats I used softened and fell apart and eventually ended up in the compost bin. I'm not sure how long a hanging basket of the same material would last and the manufacture did state the baskets were recommended for indoor use. Although purchased at a nursery I wonder if it wouldn't be more appropriate for some place that sells plastic flowers and plants. The next interesting yet somewhat expensive basket I found was once again made of wire and came with a nice set of chains for hanging. The basket by itself with hanging chain sold for about $5. Not bad for a 14 - inch wire basket. I also bought a 20 - inch Cocoliner™ made from 100% coconut husk fiber that certainly looked like it would allow for good drainage and soil aeration. Twelve inch and 16 - inch baskets with 17 and 22˝ - inch cocomoss liners were also available. My concern would be how fast the porous liner would allow the hanging basket to dry out on a breezy day. When I finally planted the basket with young spiderplants (Chlorophytum comosum) and watered it an awful lot of the soil seemed to wash out. Eventually the fleshy roots of the spiderplants will hold the soil in place. The other thing I found different about the chain held basket was the fact I needed a stepladder to hang it. With the stiff hangers of plastic pots I can easily move them from place to place with my hand on the bottom of the pot. With limp chains you have to hold the basket by the chain and lift it into place. I'm prone to moving my hanging baskets around the garden in search of the right amount of light, to rotate for even growth or to get the blend of colors I'm looking for.
The reliable plastic hanging pots come in 8, 10, and 12 inch sizes. Some have drainage saucers, others don't. Some have metal wire hangers, others have plastic. I've found that the plastic hangers can actually lose their shape under Tucson's hot summer sun and you may find your basket on the ground instead of hanging. They can be found in different colors including white and dark green. I've seen other shades of colors for the pots but I lean toward the dark green to blend with the foliage of the hanging plants. I generally buy the 10 - inch size pot which can be found for somewhere between $2 and $4 each.
I always use a good grade potting mix and add a slow release fertilizer before planting. What I haven't tried is any of the moisture holding granules that you moisten thoroughly before adding them to the soil. Maybe if I tried to keep water loving plants in hanging baskets during the summer I'd try the polymer so I wouldn't have to water as often. Sometimes I use small metal chain covered with clear plastic tubing to hang plastic pots at different levels from trees. The plastic tubing protects the tree limb and the inexpensive chain can easily be adjusted to get the height I need for hanging the baskets. The search is still on for the perfect hanging basket container. So it looks like I'll continue to use the quick clip metal hangers for plastic pots in the greenhouse and the old reliable hanging plastic baskets with metal hangers for my outside petunias. The verdict on the coconut fiber husk liners isn't in. (2000) (Editor's note: Once the soil dries out the water floods through the porous coco liners bringing the soil with it. Can be incredibly messy on a porch. The liners and soil dry out quickly in the summer. Wouldn't be my first choice for a hanging basket.) |
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