How to Make Hanging Summer Flower Baskets

Hanging flower baskets draw the eye.

Hanging summer flower baskets make an eye-catching addition to a porch or patio. You can plant plastic and wood hanging baskets much as other containers, by filling them with potting mix and adding the plants. For wire baskets, you need to create a lining that holds the plants and their potting mix in place.

Things You'll Need

• Slow-release fertilize
• Potting mix
• Water retention beads
• Sphagnum moss
• Plastic lining
• Bucket

Instructions

1. Wash the wire basket with soapy water and allow it to air dry.

2. Mix the slow-release fertilizer, potting mix and water retention beads. Submerge the sphagnum moss in a bucket of water and allow it to soak for at least an hour. When the moss is done soaking, wring it out like a towel and place it on paper towels or newspaper.

3. Set the basket on a table. If it has a rounded bottom, place it in a bowl to stabilize it. Line -- do not fill -- the basket’s bottom and sides one-third of the way up with clumps of sphagnum moss. Line the inside of the moss lining with plastic to reduce moisture loss. Punch holes in the bottom of the plastic liner so it can drain, the University of Illinois Extension recommends.

4. Transplant flowering plants to the bottom third of the basket. Lay the plants on their sides, facing the outside of the basket. Once you have the desired arrangement, fill the bottom third of the basket with the potting mixture.

5. Add a few more inches of moss around the sides of your basket and add a second layer of flowers -- vines also make a nice addition. Add more potting mixture to cover the roots as before.

6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until you come within an inch of the hanging basket if you have a large basket that allows for more room.

7. Water your hanging summer basket thoroughly and hang it up.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Making Hanging Baskets
• Clemson Cooperative Extension: Hanging Baskets & Window Boxes