How to Make a Homemade Hanging Basket
Hanging baskets are an easy and beautiful addition to both small patios and large, open decks. Usually found during the hot months in all areas, they can also be used year-round in more temperate locations. Hanging baskets can be filled with both colorful annuals and fragrant perennials. The baskets that are made by nursery and garden professionals generally have popular varieties of plants and are sometimes expensive. Making one gives a home gardener an opportunity to save money and also allows a favorite or heirloom variety to be used. Here is how to make a homemade hanging basket at home. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Wire basket or hanging basket frame
- Chain or rope for hanging
- Sphagnum moss
- Large bowl for soaking moss
- Potting soil
- Perlite or straw, if needed
- Different plants
- Fertilizer appropriate for the plants
- Water, as needed
- Garden shovel
Instructions
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Preparing and Filling the Basket
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1
Take the wire frame and place on a sturdy and flat work surface. Remove the moss from the packaging and place it in a large bowl or garden bucket. Add enough water to completely cover and soak the moss. Drain the water and spread the moss over the frame. The moss helps keep in the soil from the planting and allows extra moisture to drain easily. Ensure no large, gaping holes are present. Attach the chain or rope for hanging the basket.
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2
Loosen the potting soil to break up any large pieces, if necessary. If the soil is especially compact, add in a bit of perlite or straw to help loosen it up. Take the potting soil and fill the lined basket about two-thirds the way up, filling up the sides and bottom.
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3
Remove the plants from their disposable nursery pots and gently loosen their roots. Arrange the plants in a pleasing manner using taller plants in the center and trailing plants toward the edge of the pots. Add additional potting soil to the top, pressing on the top with a small garden shovel or your hands to compact and settle the soil. Give it a thorough watering before hanging.
Maintaining the Hanging Basket
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4
Keep the basket out of direct sunlight for about a week after the basket is made, and always keep the basket watered. The hanging basket will lose water easily since the bottom is open. During the warmer weather, watering several times a week may be necessary. After about a week to establish the plants, move to an area appropriate for the plants.
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5
Fertilize the hanging basket about one to two times a month. This not only spurs growth, but also ensures your basket is healthy, as all the watering the basket needs will eventually leach out many of the nutrients the plant needs.
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6
Remove spent blossoms if it is a flowering hanging basket and deadhead blooms as necessary to encourage growth all season long. If it is an herb hanging basket, remove any flower heads from the herbs as they grow to ensure the growth goes to the leaves and the plant itself and not to the flowers. During the season, remove plants and replace with different colored annuals to change the color scheme.
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