Hanging Basket Planter Ideas

Hanging basket planter inspiration

A hanging basket is one of the easiest ways to put color right at eye level, where there might otherwise be none. It can dress up a structure, like a porch or pergola, in an instant, tying it more closely to your garden. And all it takes is a shepherd’s hook and hanging basket to create vertical interest in any bed or border.

See how I created the monochromatic hanging basket in the video above along with my helpful planting tips below. Then scroll on to find 4 more must-try plant combinations for your hanging basket planters!

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Monochromatic white hanging basket

Hanging basket planting how-to

1. Start with your largest focal point plant and place it in the basket. In this case, I positioned the petunia first.
   
2. Add plants that will trail, such as the verbena, sedum and sweet potato vine seen here. Pull some branches around the basket hanging wires so it looks natural and helps spread the foliage around.
   
3. Add plants that will trail, but also have more upright growth to fill in the basket. Fanflower and lantana do that job in this basket.
   

Design tip

I like to have a focal point plant to one side, then fill in with different kinds all around. They will mesh together as they grow. But you can also make a very symmetrical basket with a center focal point plant and a "skirt" of trailing plants around the edge of the basket.

Plant list (number to plant)

A) Lantana Lantana camara Shamrock^™ White (1, 4" pot)
B) Sedum Sedum mexicanum Lemon Coral^® (1, 4" pot)
C) Sweet potato vine Ipomoea batatas Sweet Caroline Medusa^™ Green (1, 4" pot)
D) Fanflower Scaevola aemula Whirlwind^® White (1, 4" pot)
E) Verbena Verbena hybrid Lanai^® ‘Green Apple’ (1, 4" pot)
F) Petunia Petunia hybrid Ray^™ Pistachio Cream (1, 6" pot)

Hanging basket with petunias and flowering vines

Hanging baskets make an outstanding entry accent — just envision one like this on either side of your door! Chock full of flowers, a bright basket tells everyone exactly where to go. Hang it from a porch pillar close enough that the container almost touches, and the plants will hug the support. If a blustery wind comes along, that will help keep it from flailing about.

Fertilizer tip

As plants grow, they may need additional fertilizer in midsummer. Use a water-soluble general purpose fertilizer once a week to give them a boost.

Plant list (number to plant)

A) Petunia Petunia Supertunia^® Royal Velvet^® (1)
B) Petunia Petunia Supertunia^® Trailing Rose Veined (2)
C) Black-eyed Susan vine Thunbergia alata Lemon A-Peel^® (1)
D) Licorice vine Helichrysum petiolare ‘White Licorice’ (2)
Hanging basket is 12 in. in diameter

Hanging basket with tropical flair

Add color to any spot with long-blooming mandevillas. Buy a small cultivar, such as red Vogue ‘Audrey’, and use this well-behaved twining vine in a hanging basket — no cutting back necessary! With summer-long blooming tendencies to rival any bedding annual, ‘Audrey’ makes a fine addition to this combination. And at 18 to 36 in. long, it won’t overtake its companions.

Start with a 1-gal.-sized pot containing two or three small mandevillas. Put the plants into the hanging basket planter, then add a burgundy iresine and a variegated airplane plant. You may need to direct the vines away from the chain to keep it trailing instead of climbing.

Plant list (number to plant)

A) Iresine Iresine herbstii ‘Purple Lady’ (1)
B) Variegated airplane plant Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’ (1)
C) Mandevilla Mandevilla Vogue^® ‘Audrey’ (3)
Container is 14 in. in diameter

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Feature foliage for shady hanging baskets

Coral bells’ mounding habit does a great job filling out hanging baskets. Putting foliage plants at eye level makes it so details, such as intricate veining or a silver overlay, are easier to appreciate. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy a slightly different look each season, as coral bells and heucherella bloom in summer, and coral bells’ leaves change hues in cooler weather. When it’s time for fall cleanup, just add these perennials to the front of the border.

Hanging basket watering tip

Hanging baskets need to be checked once a day for water. Depending on the weather, they may even need water more than once, especially if in full sun in the heat of summer.

Plant list (number to plant)

A) Brunnera Brunnera macrophylla ‘Emerald Mist’ (1)
B) Coral bells Heuchera ‘Electric Lime’ (2)
C) Coral bells Heuchera ‘Georgia Peach’ (1)
D) Coral bells Heuchera ‘Sugar Plum’ (1)
E) Heucherella Heucherella ‘Glacier Falls’ (1)
Hanging basket is 24 in. in diameter

Flower power for part shade

Vigorous Supertunia Vista Silverberry petunia will benefit from regular feeding all summer long. After you plant, start with a balanced water-soluble fertilizer, such as 10-10-10, every two weeks. As temps get hotter, though, plants need weekly doses and can even be fed with every other watering. Lightly trimming back leggy stems in midsummer guarantees neat-looking plants that will still hide the hanging basket from view.

With an upright, mounding habit, BabyWing begonia does well in heat and humidity, blooming in early spring and continuing through frost for long-lasting color without much extra help. Although plants can take full sun, they’ll look best in part shade, especially in the afternoon.

Plant list (number to plant)

A) Foxtail fern Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’ (1)
B) Iresine Iresine herbstii ‘Purple Lady’ (1)
C) Asparagus fern Asparagus densiflorus ‘Sprengeri’ (1)
D) Petunia Petunia Supertunia^® Vista Silverberry (3)
E) Begonia Begonia BabyWing^® Pink (2)
Hanging basket is 14 in. in diameter