Today, greenhouse and florists are receiving more and more inquiries about varieties of plants suitable for hanging baskets or wall planters. No doubt, this ties in with today’s increased use of plants for home decoration.
For somehow, a plant suspended in the air, growing up and down and all around, takes on added beauty. This trend may tick in, too, with the narrowness of modern window sills. When a plant can’t sit in the window, it can usually hang with some attractive fixtures.
And even more practical, it may tie in with the hobby-greenhouse owner’s tendency to overcrowd his house. Hanging plants don’t occupy bench space.
In Style Hanging Basket Considerations
Whatever the reason, hanging baskets are definitely in style. Where to hang them, how to plant and take care of them, and what kinds of plants are most effective are frequent questions.
Location
The where, of course, is the first consideration.
The selection of container and plant material depends entirely on the chosen area or environment.
For example, wall planters at some distance from daylight, for example, should hold only foliage plants—because only foliage plants will exist without good light and some sun.
And even these should be fairly frequently renewed. Sunny windows are excellent for flowering plants. Even for an unheated sun porch, there is a wide variety from which to choose.
Containers
Containers, then, are selected with dual purposes in mind—decorative value where they will hang and suitability for specific varieties of plants with specific good-growing requirements.
Examples are:
- Earthenware
- Terra cotta, and other pottery containers
- Finely finished or rustic-looking hangers of wood, particularly redwood
- Bronze, brass, pewter, or other metal baskets
Any or all of these should have either drainage holes in the bottom, or an inside plant liner or basin.
Planting directly in any container without drainage can lead to over-watering and the problem of rot.
Lining Baskets With Moss
Strawberry jars hung by chains are charming. With protective liners, willow bread and flower baskets are shallow 12-inch-diameter wire baskets lined with a thick layer of sheet moss from the woods or unrefined sphagnum.
The moss can be pressed tightly around the outside of a bulb pan one size smaller than the basket, then transferred and packed tightly inside the wire.
A liner of burlap or other coarse material inside the moss will help keep soil from falling through.
This is filled with the proper planting mix. Then, these baskets can be watered by a hose spray from below or plunged into the water and set aside to drain.
Watering is always thorough, yet the soil is never packed and soggy, and the roots can easily breathe.
A few hanging plant varieties will not do best in these traditional baskets.
What Determines The Planting Method
The type of container, plant material, and growing area, of course, determine the method of planting.
One single angel wing begonia will put on a magnificent show of flowers in a four-inch pot inside a small hanger. But large baskets are usually not crowded when planted with four plants of the same variety for balance.
Episcias start well this way, and they can be further encouraged to cover the soil and edges of the basket by hair-pinning stolons to the soil where they will take root.
Mixture Of Plants
A mixture of plants can be extremely effective if one caution is kept in mind—in one container, mix only those plants that like the same or similar growing conditions.
Dry-growing peperomias, for example, will rot in a basket kept moist enough for ivy; shade-loving ferns will blister in the sunlight the sedum basks in.
But a selection of tropical plants—all of which like moisture, humus and humidity — can be a delight and can thrive.
In a mixed planting, place a slow grower with erect habit in the center; next Outside it, some shorter bushy plants; and around the margin, trailers, creepers, and droopers — some which will hang down, some twine upward on a cord or handle.
Plant Overcrowding
A common fault is overcrowding, which leads to reciprocal strangulation — one plant fighting another for its very life.
Allow plenty of room for growth. Pack the soil firmly about the roots to forestall settling or washing out. Water thoroughly.
Soil Mix
A soil mix with equal proportions of garden loam, sharp sand, and leaf mold or humus is suitable for most hanging plants.
Some growers recommend the addition of a good proportion of bark. If you know your plant material, you will know its needs.
Watering Hanging Baskets
Water hanging baskets regularly all the way through, so water runs out the bottom of the container. But don’t keep them saturated, and don’t let them get bone dry. Provide fresh air—but not cold drafts.
Fertilize according to the plants’ needs with weak liquid manure or a soluble balanced fertilizer.
In the window garden, turn baskets regularly to the sun. A quarter turns each clay to maintain good balance.
Grooming And Maintenance
Keeping plants well-groomed will increase your enjoyment. Remove faded flowers and foliage.
Water spray as often as possible to keep plants clean, increase humidity, and help control pests. If pests do attack, most can be controlled with a good plant pesticide—handiest in the new aerosol bombs.
Planning Some Hanging Baskets
If you’re planning some hanging baskets, don’t stop when you find philodendron, grape ivy, or cissus to put in them. Instead, check through the following list for less usual varieties which can provide the fresh appeal of newness.
Some are large growers, some small; some grow fast, some slow; some bloom, and some are primarily foliage plants.
Check any house plant reference book for more complete descriptions of unfamiliar varieties.
House And Greenhouse CHECKLIST For APRIL
If you desire flowering plants in your greenhouse in the summer, here are some which should be ordered immediately and planted before the first of May:
- Achimenes
- Kaempferia pulchra
- Curcumas
- Eucomis undulata
- Gloxinia perennis (true gloxinia)
- The gloxinias of florists (Sinningias)
- Haemanthus null
- Mums
- Agapanthus,
- Crinums
- Dietes
- Oxalis lasiandra
- Episcias
Except for the episcias, these are all plants with tuberous roots; they will become larger, more floriferous, and more valuable for summer flowers as they grow older.
Order seeds now for planting next month:
- Cinerarias
- Primroses (P. sinensis, obconica, and malacoides)
- Biennials for outdoors (canterbury bells, foxglove, hollyhock, and sweet william)
Growing Plants Before The Frost
Grow through the summer outdoors and bring indoors before frost. When potting, place three plants in a five-inch pot.
Kalanchoe Varieties
Kalanchoes will provide bright flowers and waxy, dark green foliage from Christmas until spring.
‘Scarlet Gnome’ grows into a perfectly symmetrical, 7-inch-tall plant with deep scarlet flowers that do not lose color.
‘Yellow Tom Thumb’ grows 8″ inches and bears bright yellow flowers.
‘Brilliant Star’ grows 10″ inches tall with fiery red flowers, the largest of all.
Kalanchoes are suited to either a cool or warm greenhouse or window sill.
Full sunshine is required (except in the hottest summer) to produce stocky, compact plants. If they receive artificial light after the first of October, except for normal daylight, they may not blossom on time.
Acacia Baileyana
Acacia Baileyana makes a small shrub of value in the cool greenhouse. It has silvery, feathery foliage and graceful puffs of golden flowers from February to April.
After flowering, about a third of the plant is pruned off. This acacia is easily grown from seeds that may be planted now.
Acanthus Mollis
Acanthus mollis is a tender perennial that will flower in August from April-sown seeds. It bears broad, glossy leaves from an attractive rosette and 18-inch spikes of curious pale purple flowers.
Outdoors, the acanthus is best treated as an annual in the North. It thrives in rich, well-drained soil and should receive at least three or four hours of sunlight daily.
Allamanda Hendersonii
Allamanda Hendersonii is one of the best plants available for the greenhouse. It bears glossy green leaves, larger but somewhat like gardenia foliage, and morning glory-like flowers of buttercup gold.
Allamanda blooms over a long period and requires sunlight and rich soil. If your greenhouse is spacious, let the allamanda vine naturally; if you have little space, try to train it to the bush or small tree form.
Recommended Checklist
Everything recommended in the March Checklist still holds during April—turn back to it for more timely planting hints.
Helpful publications to write for: my House and Greenhouse Source Sheet for plants, books, and supplies for gardening indoors has been revised and expanded. If you would like to receive this new (lam sheet, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your request to me.
“Your New Greenhouse” is the title of a helpful bulletin (available for the asking) produced and distributed by Lord and Burnham, Irvington-on Hudson, New York.
44659 by Elvin Mcdonald