The Best Plants For Hanging Baskets

Hanging baskets bring gardens up to eye level, making a garden feel fuller and more complete. On the porch they create an immediate sense of welcome, while plants hanging outside windows create a connection between the indoor and outdoor worlds. Use them to dress up walls or decorate tree branches. The best plants for hanging baskets take advantage of their heightened locations, with trailing stems that cascade over a container’s edges. They also stand up to the challenging conditions of container life. Container plants need consistent moisture. Locate hanging baskets close to a water source and consider attaching a watering wand to the hose to extend your reach. Drip irrigation also works well for containers. Hanging baskets will likely need watering every day in the heat of summer. Try combining several varieties with similar needs, and experiment to find the best mix for your porch or patio.

Calibrachoa stands up to heat and is drought tolerant, making an ideal selection for baskets hanging in the hot sun. Also called million bells, an apt description of this plant’s flower power, it produces masses of 1/2-inch blooms all summer long without deadheading. Varieties are available in almost every color of the rainbow. Calibrachoa also tolerates partial shade, but flowering will be reduced.

With gracefully arching foliage, this evergreen fern is a staple of Southern porches. Boston fern thrives in heat and humidity, but requires