©By Deborah S. Tukua,
co-author of Pearls of Garden Wisdom
www.hollycreekbooks.com

Hanging baskets of cascading flora add color, texture and shade to your outdoor living spaces. A row of hanging baskets full of lush fern evokes a feeling of coolness with its cool, green color palate.

Nothing is prettier on a porch than hanging baskets of lovely, healthy, thriving plants and flowers. As with all container plants care must be given to keep the plants from drying out, especially in the summer. Essential care tips for hanging baskets follows.

- Determine how much sun the plants will receive in the area you wish to hang a basket before making your plant selection(s). Baskets hung in the lawn from a shepherd’s hook or post in full sun must contain only plants suited for a full sun exposure. Lantana is a lovely annual that thrives on direct sunlight and will nicely trail over the sides of a hanging basket. It will also attract beautiful moths and butterflies.
- Sun loving plants require at least six hours of sunlight a day.
- Shade plants cannot tolerate the hot afternoon sun but are well suited for an easterly sun exposure on the porch.
- Plants that can handle partial shade or partial sun are perfect for hanging on the edge of the porch where the overhang of the roof lends some protection from the direct heat of the sun.
- Trailing plants well suited for planting around the edges and sides of hanging baskets are fuchsia, ivy, ivy-leaved geranium, lantana, lobelia, dragon wings begonia, petunia, sweet potato vine and verbena.
- Bushy annuals well suited for planting in the center of hanging baskets are begonias, fuchsias, impatiens and geraniums.
- Rotate hanging baskets on the porch daily to keep the plants growing uniformly all around. An easy way to do this is to hang all the baskets with the hooks pointing in the same direction, left. The next day, turn each plant so the basket hooks face right.
- Plant baskets hung in full sun may need watering twice a day in extreme heat.
- Water plants in the morning or evening to avoid quick evaporation.
- To water while hanging, use a watering wand for a gentle, yet thorough soaking.
- To water wire hanging baskets filled with porous materials such as moss, lower the basket into a tub of water and allow to soak. Drain a few minutes before returning basket to its hook.
- Generally, plants should be fed a liquid fertilizer about once every month during the growing season.
- Remove dead blooms and leaves regularly.

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