Gold Coast Gardener

July 16, 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

In some people’s landscapes there’s a lot of space where you can hang things. I’m talking about large trees or inside screen enclosures. Many plants can be displayed as hanging baskets and in fact any large garden center usually has fairly good selections of already completed hanging baskets ready to take home.

Many types of plants commonly used as hanging specimens are vines which have a natural trailing growth habit. Good examples would be many types of philodendrons, ivy, or plants such as spider plants. If you like flowering or bedding plants, these, too, are often displayed in hanging baskets and you can display orchids or other beautiful plants in hanging containers as well.

If you choose to buy the plants and make the hanging basket combination yourself, it’s not that hard. Most garden centers have a variety of types of hanging baskets available for sale and you can purchase the one that you like in the size that you wish and a bag of potting soil or potting material and then purchase your plant. Once home you can plant it carefully and then put it up in your favorite hanging display area.

Most hanging plants require watering once a week, unless it’s a cactus or succulent plant that can go longer between watering. Fertilizing depends on the size of the container and the size of the plant. Many people prefer using soluble or liquid fertilizers about once every two to four weeks. If you don’t have the time to do that frequent fertilizing, slow release or time release type products are available that feed for several months and these release each time the plant is watered.

Hanging plants may require some trimming or shaping as they get larger and over mature, but that’s not really a major maintenance headache if you’re a serious gardener. Also some types of bedding plants or flowering plants have to be replaced periodically so they’re not going to be there in that spot for several years.
If you’re far away from the coast remember that some tropical foliage plants used in baskets are cold sensitive and it might be a smart idea to take them inside the main part of the house on cold nights to protect them from possible chill or frost damage. If you have plants hung in outside trees or other areas not inside a screen enclosure, remember that they do need to be watered regularly since they are high enough that lawn sprinklers don’t provide any irrigation help whatsoever.

Occasionally pests may invade hanging baskets. The biggest one being sucking pests such as mealybugs or scale. These can be controlled if needed with insecticidal soap or other similar products.

Diseases generally are not a major problem if the plants are not overwatered, but be very careful about watering too frequently since if you have soil that doesn’t drain very well serious root rot can develop on hanging basket plants which can ultimately cause it to decline and die.

If you have questions about hanging plants and the types used, ask at your local retail garden center or contact the Palm Beach County Extension Service. Dial 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.