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Hanging Baskets - Beginner
Bala
Posts: 113
I have always envied those lovely hanging baskets in my neighbours garden and at most of the pub entrances. This year I am going to give it a try, never done it before. I have already ordered some plants from TM. Expecting them this month end.
Q1. Now for the baskets I have looked at this at Wilko. Do I have to add liner to this or can it be used straight away?
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-30cm-black-easy-blooming-hanging-basket/p/0424771
Q2. Baskets are bit pricey, I need at least 8 of them. So was wondering if normal pots can be used with the help of this hack. Any one used it before?
https://youtu.be/g5_RjKnNjGQ
Q3. While I wait for the plants form TM arrives, I would like to try and grow some from seeds. Which ones grow reasonably successfully and easy?
Sorry, that's a lot of questions :-). Just beginning my connection with the real world away from computer and gadgets.
Q1. Now for the baskets I have looked at this at Wilko. Do I have to add liner to this or can it be used straight away?
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-30cm-black-easy-blooming-hanging-basket/p/0424771
Q2. Baskets are bit pricey, I need at least 8 of them. So was wondering if normal pots can be used with the help of this hack. Any one used it before?
https://youtu.be/g5_RjKnNjGQ
Q3. While I wait for the plants form TM arrives, I would like to try and grow some from seeds. Which ones grow reasonably successfully and easy?
Sorry, that's a lot of questions :-). Just beginning my connection with the real world away from computer and gadgets.
0
Posts
A nursery down the road from me prepares such baskets.
When I go into their greenhouses around March/April the hanging baskets are already hanging up full of substantial plants and often already in flower. The greenhouses are heated and have halide lighting.
The key is having the conditions to get big healthy plants early on in the season so by summer the baskets are overflowing with flowers.
I wish you luck and hope your baskets overflow with blooms
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
To answer your first question: I think the Wilko basket is designed for use WITHOUT a liner. It seems a good design, with the ability to be able to put plants in the side as well as the top.
I like the YouTube trick, but have never used it. Why not give it a go?
I don't grow things from seed, I'm afraid, so can't advise there.
I think the key things for baskets is a) watering and b) feeding. Good luck!
Dealing with your questions, that basket will not need a liner but, until the plants grow, the exposed black plastic will not be as aesthetically pleasing as a wire basket lined with coir (coconut husk). A cheaper alternative is a wire basket lined with black plastic such as a compost bag turned inside out with punctured drainage holes though, as with the Wilko pot, you have to live with exposed black plastic. A 35cm wire pot costs £2 in Wilko.
I looked at that video and was unimpressed. It is just a way of attaching a rope to a pot, a dangling pot that will look very unattractive compared to a made-for-purpose wire basket. And I bet the pot in the video did not have a drainage hole so the plant will rapidly die.
Waiting for plants from T&M ... sorry to have to break the news but there have been lots of complaints about very poor quality T&M plants arriving late. But not everyone complains so hopefully you’ll be one of their satisfied customers. Next season I would buy plug plants from a different supplier - a quick search on this forum will generate recommendations - and it’s likely you’ll be able to select a more harmonious plant collection than the clashing, garish jumble of plants sometimes sold as suitable for baskets. Or, delay your plant purchase till May/early June next year and buy the very cheap plants on offer outside supermarkets and DIY stores. Take a look this year and see if you like them - personally I don’t because I am no fan of trays of mixed coloured plants which are the bulk of those on offer.
The best option, but certainly not the cheapest, is an independent garden centre who, if you visit at a quieter time, can give you advice on plant selection and planting. You get to choose exactly the colours you want but, with 8 baskets, you might need 60 to 80 plants. In individual small pots, the going rate is £2 per pot or 3 for £5.
One piece of advice I’d offer is to sprinkle in a light dusting of slow release fertiliser granules into the compost when you plant up the baskets. Alternatively you can add a liquid feed to your watering can, a weak solution once a week from about mid July onwards. I also put a margarine tub or similar in the bottom of my baskets which is designed to be a water sump. I’m not sure if it’s beneficial but it does no harm. And don’t fill the compost right to the top of the basket or watering will be very difficult.
Finally you ask about growing seeds. Nothing you sow now will grow quickly enough to become a viable hanging basket plant but if you’re just looking for something to add colour to your garden buy a couple of seed packets from the supermarket, looking for ones described as hardy annuals. Supermarkets sell all the common plant varieties, often common because they’re easiest to grow. The problem is if your garden has not been much cultivated, disturbing the soil to sow your bought seeds will bring to the surface weed seeds which will grow fast and it takes an experienced eye to distinguish the sown seed from the weed seed. Putting your seeds in straight lines can help.
If it were me, I wouldn't buy 12” baskets, I’d rather but less but at 14/16”. You still need to line those types, the water will just run out of the gaps in the sides.