Outdoor flowering hanging baskets are a great way to add instant colour to the outside of your home. They come in a wide array of style, colour and size and if you can't find one to suit your tastes you can make your own.
Many gardeners enjoy making their own baskets as you can customize it to what you like. Over the past few years the selection of container plants has increased largely, due to all the beautiful plants from Proven Winners.
The supertunias are a huge success
because of their easy care, fast growing, and large colour selection, along with million bells, verbena, bacopa, etc.
When creating your own hanging basket, the first thing that needs to be done is choosing the container. It is important to choose a large container.
You will appreciate a large container when it comes time to water, as larger
containers will hold more soil so will not dry out as quickly. The container should be no smaller then 25 centimetres wide and deep.
Containers come in different styles.
The most popular containers are made of plastic, but you can also choose wood, moss, or coconut.
The nice thing about plastic containers is that they are the least costly and they do not dry out as quickly as the moss, coconut, or wood containers, but they may not be as attractive.
If you want to use a coconut basket and want to stop it from drying out too quickly, line the inside of the basket with plastic leaving a hole in the bottom for the excess water to escape. (Drainage is also important when choosing a container, as plants will die if kept too wet for any length of time).
When the container has been picked out the next step would be to fill it with a good quality outdoor potting soil. This is an important step as the soil is the foundation for the plant's roots. The soil should be able to hold moisture, and be airy so that the plant's roots can breathe.
Now comes the fun part, choosing the plants. When picking out plants you need to know where the hanging basket will be placed, as this will make a difference in which plants to choose.
If an area receives early morning sun or late afternoon sun it is considered shade, and areas that receive a minimum of six hours of afternoon sun would require full sun plants.
When picking out plants it is good to know about the growth habit of the plant. Some plants grow up while others trail. Place the plants that grow up in the centre of the container and use the trailers for the outside edges.
After the plants have been planted, give the basket a thorough water. How often to water will depend on the weather, size of container and size of plants. It is good to check your basket daily and when the top of the soil feels dry to the touch give it a good water.
As the season progresses the plants will become larger with a larger root system and the hanging basket will need to be watered more often. Fertilizer is also important in a plants health.
Choose a flowering plant fertilizer that has a lower first number and a higher middle number such as 12-36-12, a water soluble fertilizer that is applied weekly.
Maintaining your basket throughout the spring/summer will help ensure a healthy-looking basket with lots of flowers. Many of the newer varieties of flowers that are used for containers are self-cleaning and do not need to be dead-headed.
There are some flowers that will benefit from being dead-headed (removing the finished flowers before they form seed) such as geraniums and fuchsias, so that the plant's energy will go towards producing new flowers, rather then seed.
Sometimes plants may become leggy over the summer. Give them a good trim which will keep them full looking and it will also increase the amount of flowers they produce.
If cared for properly, a hanging basket can look good for many months, until the fall and a frost. They also make great gifts, especially for Mom on Mother's Day.
