7 Of The Best Flowers For Hanging Baskets

Hanging baskets are a clever way for gardeners to create beautiful flower displays without the need for additional space.

Knowing what flowers to plant in your hanging baskets is key so that they complement one another and create that desired appearance of height, beauty, and spill.

To create your stunning hanging baskets at home, keep on reading for 7 of the best flowers for hanging baskets. Plus, top tips to maintain them throughout the season.

Pros and Cons of Hanging Baskets

If you are considering adding hanging baskets to your outdoor space, first take some time to read these pros and cons and assess whether a hanging basket is the right choice for you.

Pros

Add Interest

Hanging baskets make a great addition to any outdoor space, whether you have a large garden or small yard. They not only add color but also interest at a different eye level. As hanging baskets are usually placed higher than the plants in your garden, they offer bright colors and textures where you wouldn’t otherwise have any.

Space Saving

Using hanging baskets helps save outdoor space allowing you more room on the ground for plants that grow best in-ground soil, need a lot of room, or require support.

Lower Risk of Pests

As hanging baskets are off the ground and away from other plants in your garden, they are less accessible to pests and tend to attract less. In the meantime, the bright colors of your hanging basket flowers help to attract pollinators and beneficial insects into your garden. This will positively impact other plants in your garden.

Cons

Seasonal

Due to the improved drainage within the soil, plants in a hanging basket tend to only last for one season, even perennials.

You can bring them indoors before the first frost, but they require a lot of maintenance and additional care to help them survive for the following season.

Most gardeners treat their hanging baskets as annuals and replace the flowers the following spring.

High Maintenance

Flowers planted in hanging baskets need a lot more care than if they were planted in the ground soil.

The soil in hanging baskets, unless regularly fed with nutrients, is nutrient lacking and retains less water. Due to the height and depth of hanging baskets, drainage is improved significantly and hence nutrients are leached.

Hanging baskets are also vulnerable in bad weather, with strong winds and heavy rains causing breakages.

How to Create a Good Hanging Basket Display

To create a stunning hanging basket display, many gardeners recommend filling your basket with a mix of filler flowers, tall flowers, and those that hang over the side.

This range will offer you texture, color, and different levels in your basket.

7 Best Flowers for Hanging Baskets

Petunias

Petunias are a popular choice for hanging baskets. They thrive in full sunlight and last throughout the summer.

Available in all colors, when planted together they can fill your full hanging basket without the need for complementary plants. For additional texture, make sure to look out for cascading varieties of petunias that will also grow outwards and down from your hanging basket.

Geraniums

Another colorful plant available in bright pinks and reds, geraniums grow very well in hanging baskets. They thrive in well-drained soil and at least 6 hours of sunlight.

With their deep green leaves, they fill your hanging baskets. The brightly colored flowers are clumped together and grow tall to stand out above the foliage.

Pansies

Pansies are delicate flowers with round colorful leaves and a darker center. Pansies grow best in full sunlight but need space to spread and not compete for nutrients.

They are often planted in the spring, but also flower in Autumn when other flowers are at the end of their flowing season.

Begonias

Begonias grow well in hanging baskets due to their cascading appearance as they grow. For ideal conditions, begonias require potting soil within a hanging basket. This is to ensure their roots don’t become too soggy or dry. As begonias are annuals, they will need replacing each year.

Verbena

Verbenas are tiny flowers that cluster together and grow tall. They make an excellent addition to hanging baskets that have filler flowers or foliage.

Verbenas are available in pinks, purples, and blues. Although there are perennial varieties, verbenas are often grown and treated as annuals. A top tip for growing verbenas is to ensure the soil does not become too dry. They require regular watering, especially during the summer months.

Fuchsias

If your hanging baskets are full of upright flowers, fuchsias could make a great addition to add vibrance and texture.

As fuchsias grow down on the outside of your baskets, they can provide full coverage to hide your basket.

However, before planting, ensure to compliment fuchsias with plants that prefer similar growing conditions. Unlike many of the flowers we have listed, fuchsias prefer cooler conditions and partial shade.

Lobelia

As lobelia offers delicate, small purple, pink, red, and blue flowers, it can make an excellent filler flower for inside your hanging baskets. Alternatively, when planted along the edge of your hanging baskets, lobelia will cascade down the sides.

Lobelias prefer to be grown in sunlight, however, if you live in an area that experiences hot temperatures in the summer, it is best to provide them with partial shade.

How To Care For Flowers in Hanging Baskets

To ensure your hanging baskets look their best throughout the flowering season, they require the right resources and care.

Add potting soil into your hanging baskets and water thoroughly first before planting any flowers.

Make sure to check each flower’s preferred growing conditions to match flowers together e.g. those that prefer partial shade compared with flowers that need full sunlight.

As hanging baskets can dry out easily, they need watering regularly at least once a day and twice a day during the summer.

To help your flowering display look its best, you will also need to regularly deadhead flowers. This will encourage new growth and help improve the appearance of your hanging baskets.

Selecting a range of these flowers for hanging baskets will help you to create an incredible hanging basket arrangement. Make sure to select flowers that complement each other, as well as require the same growing conditions. This will help your flowers to thrive and make them easier for you to maintain.

For more inspiration on flowers to plant in your garden, take a look at these posts: