How to Plant a Hanging Flower Basket

By
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie McIntosh has written about gardening and special occasion flowers for the Spruce since 2011. She has more than 20 years of experience caring for flowers and plants. She was a feature writer for Organic Gardening at Suite101, where she won awards for her writing.
Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 11/29/22
Reviewed by
Debra LaGattuta
Debra LaGattuta
Reviewed by Debra LaGattuta
Debra LaGattuta is a gardening expert with three decades of experience in perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. She is a Master Gardener and lead gardener in a Plant-A-Row, which is a program that offers thousands of pounds of organically-grown vegetables to local food banks. Debra is a member of The Spruce Gardening and Plant Care Review Board.
Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board
Flower basket hanging outdoors with various small flowers

The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

Project Overview
  • Working Time: 1 hr
  • Total Time: 1 hr
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $25 - $50

Have you ever admired a lush hanging basket bursting with blooms at your favorite nursery? A well-designed hanging basket can run between $50 and $75 (or higher), putting a major dent in your gardening budget.

However, you can duplicate the look of a professionally designed hanging basket at home for significantly less money, even while using high-quality materials and dense planting techniques.

When to Plant a Hanging Flower Basket

Outdoor hanging baskets are planted at roughly the same time as in-ground garden plants. In cold-winter regions, this means mid-spring after all danger of frost has passed. Hanging baskets can sometimes be planted a bit earlier than in-ground plants because the soil in the basket will warm up faster in the sun than ground soil does. In most regions, April or May are the best months to plant hanging baskets, but tropical climates may allow for earlier planting in March.

If a frost is threatened, simply bring your basket indoors to shelter it from cold nighttime temperatures. You can also grow flowers in a hanging basket indoors by placing them in a location that receives plenty of sunlight (be sure to check the light requirements for the specific plants you choose).

Caring for Hanging Baskets

Caring for plants in a hanging basket is largely the same as tending the same plants in the ground or in a patio pot. But rather than being filled with garden soil, hanging baskets (and patio containers) are filled with a commercial potting mix. Garden soil is too heavy and dense. Potting mixes include materials that hold water and improve aeration and drainage. Potting mix is also usually sterile, without the soil pathogens that can be found in garden soil.

There are a variety of hanging basket ideas to choose from including standard pots and containers, but one of the most versatile is a wire basket (sometimes called a "hayrack" basket) lined with a coco coir or moss liner. This setup holds quite a lot of potting soil, is fairly lightweight, and makes it easy to saturate the plants with water without waterlogging the roots.

Plants in hanging baskets can be affected by the same pests and diseases that affect in-ground plants, so you'll need to keep a vigilant eye out for those.

Hanging baskets require more frequent watering because exposure to the wind and sun from all directions will cause the potting soil to dry out quite quickly. Some plants might even require twice-daily watering during hot spells.

Tip

Moisture-retaining products sometimes marketed as "polymer crystals" or "hydrogels" can be added to potting soil if you find it difficult to stay on top of watering duties. These moisture-retaining polymers absorb as much as 600 times their weight in water, gradually releasing it into the potting mix as it dries out. These products are often used for houseplants, but they can also be an option for outdoor container plants.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Garden trowel
  • Utility knife

Materials

  • Wire "hayrack" basket
  • Coco coir or moss basket liner
  • General-purpose potting soil
  • Flowering plants

Instructions

How to Plant a Hanging Flower Basket

  1. Line the Wire Basket

    You have several choices for lining a wire planting basket. Coco coir or moss liners are the most common materials, offering excellent drainage and aesthetics.

    Some retailers offer premium basket liners that increase water retention, such as the MagniMoist liner. These liners are more expensive than standard coco coir liners but might improve the performance of drought-sensitive plants like fuchsias.

    For a less expensive liner, you can create one yourself from layers of burlap that you've cut to fit.

    Wire planting basket covered with moss liners next to pink flowers

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

  2. Increase Water Retention

    Most garden centers line the bottom of the coco coir liner to prevent excess water from rushing out of the bottom of the basket during irrigation. You can place a plastic dish or a piece of a plastic garbage bag in the bottom of the liner to increase water retention.

    If you decide to line the entire piece of coco coir for maximum water retention, cut several holes in the liner to allow for drainage and air circulation.

    Moss liner covered with white disposable papers and scissors cutting holes for drainage next to pink flowers

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

  3. Add Potting Soil

    The most essential step in creating a healthy hanging basket is selecting high-quality potting soil to fill it with. Garden soil is too heavy and can carry pathogens that can infect your plants.

    Choose a lightweight bagged potting soil. It should contain a mix of organic ingredients that will feed your plants, such as compost, humus, earthworm castings, leaf mold, and inorganic ingredients that enhance aeration, like perlite. Moisten the soil before you start planting and add more soil to the basket if settling occurs.

    Potting soil added on top white disposable paper inside lined hanging basket

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

  4. Choose a Focal Plant

    The first plant to install in the hanging basket is a focal point in the design, so choose a specimen with a long blooming time and vigorous performance. Smart choices include angelonia, salvia, or celosia, all of which will grab attention at the center of the basket. These plants have upright growth habits with spiky blooms and won’t get lost as the other plants mature.

    Focal plant with fuchsia flowers placed in center of hanging basket next to light purple and pink flowers

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

  5. Add Mounding and Trailing Plants

    Surround your focal plant with additional plants with mounding and trailing growth habits that have similar requirements for sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer. These plants fill in quickly, providing fullness with fewer plants. Some of the easiest plants to grow in hanging baskets include petunias, verbenas, portulaca, and million bells—all high-performing flowering varieties to tuck around the edges of your basket. If your basket will be hanging above your reach, reduce maintenance by choosing varieties that don’t require deadheading.

    Trailing pink flowers arranged on side of hanging basket

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

  6. Plant the Side and Underside of the Basket (Optional)

    This is an optional step but one that will quickly reward you with the “blooming ball” look. For small baskets, the trailing flowers planted at the basket’s edge will drape over and cover the basket within a few weeks, but larger baskets might need a few trailing plants inserted directly into the bottom and sides of the liner for extra fullness. You can use the same trailing plants you used at the edges of the basket.

    Use a utility knife to cut several slits into the sides and underside of your liner. Grasping small transplants by the root ball, insert the root ball into the slit. Don’t worry about damaging the plant, as the root ball can take quite a bit of manhandling. Just be sure not to grasp the transplant by the stem, which can break easily.

    Hanging basket cut on side to add pink trailing flowers

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

  7. Water Thoroughly

    Keep flowers and other plants alive in your hanging basket by providing them with a proper watering and fertilization schedule. Water new plants until you see runoff. Expect to water your hanging baskets daily—perhaps even twice a day when hot, dry conditions persist. Improper watering is the most common reason that plants in hanging baskets die.

    Fertilize your baskets twice a month to keep them looking healthy throughout the season.

    Hanging basket full of various flowers watered thoroughly by white watering can

    The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

Materials and tools for planting a hanging flower basket

The Spruce / Heidi Kolsky

FAQ
  • How many plants do you put in a hanging basket?

    Hanging baskets can accommodate multiple small plants, one large plant, or a combination of both. If you're planting several young specimens, you can follow a general rule based on basket size: three to four plants in a 12-inch basket, four to six plants in a 14-inch basket, and six to eight plants in baskets between 16 -20 inches.

  • Should you put drainage holes in hanging baskets?

    Like plants in pots and in the ground, flowers and other species can benefit from drainage holes in hanging baskets. Ensure each basket has multiple small holes or one large hole on the bottom.

  • How do you make a hanging basket look fuller?

    To make a hanging basket look fuller, pinch off the ends of stems to encourage extra growth. This technique works especially well for flowering plants, but it can also be applied to vines and other trailing species.

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