Planting Baskets and a special way to plant for your garden

One does not need to look very hard to notice the numerous elegant hanging baskets in the garden, the shopping mall and residential streets. Use the following basis rules to create your own hanging baskets.

What Equipment should I use?

  • You will need the following accessories

  • A basket with a chain

Inserts are necessary to ensure that the compost stays in the basket. Moss from lawn or coconut fiber matting is ideal for ecological reasons. Alternatively cardboard, foam or textile inserts can be used. Avoid using loose lining material instead of compost. The walls of the baskets need to be lined with lining material of the correct thickness to provide the plant with adequate compost to hold water and nutrients. Use polythene to maintain moisture and ensure that water freely runs out.

Put about 10-15 plants in a basket of 35cm (14 inches).consider there growth habit and size as well.

Using Young plants

They are reasonably priced and the small root stocks are not difficult to insert through the wire mesh. However it will take time before the plant flower. Younger plants are not widely available compared to mature plants.

Using mature plants.

There is a wider selection of mature plants. Mature plants flower quicker than young plants. The disadvantages of using them are that they are more expensive and the root stocks are too big to fit in the wire mesh. When planting mature plants

  • Create more room for the plant by pulling the wire mesh apart

  • Use wire cutters to cut the wire open

  • Divide large plants proportionally in a pot

Preparing the basket

There are 2 different methods that can be used to prepare the basket

1. Use an insert, moss or coconut fiber to cover the basket. Insert the linear. The insert will help stop compost from falling through the planting holes

2. Once the plant is inserted- cover the neck of the root of each plant with moss or coconut fiber. The linear will be inserted gradually as other plants are added

The above method normally results in compost drying up faster.

Special ways of planting

1. Gently wrap the plant in foil or cellophane ensuring that no part of the plant gets damaged. Insert the plant shoots into the mesh from inside to outside.

2. insert the plant rootstock first from the outside inwards

How to Plant

  • Hang the basket up at chest level and remove the plants from their pots, dry plants should be watered first. Its good practice to plant from the bottom upwards

  • cut a slit in the insert for each plant gently insert the plant through the mesh and insert it to the beginning of the stalk then close the opening around the neck of the root

Add compost in between the roots and gently press down.

Plant Containers

  • Plant containers come in various shapes, sizes and materials

  • Ceramic containers

Earth coloured or terracotta hanging containers produce beautiful decorations. Containers with porous walls encourage root growth but allow water to evaporate rapidly. This results in the compost drying up fast. Ceramic containers are very stable due to their great weight.

  • Stoneware containers

These are readily available, are tip-proof, frost proof and give roots the opportunity to breathe

  • Plastic containers

These are suitable for hanging plants due to them being light and their ability not to break. Plastic containers keep water in the compost because their walls are not porous. There are not very attractive in the initial stages of growth but they are quickly covered by the over flowering hanging plant.

  • Wooden boxes, willow baskets

These containers are made of natural materials such as wooden boxes, willow crates and fruit crates. They are however not durable due to constant moisture from plant irrigation. A protective coating of plant friendly preserver can be applied to increase durability. Alternatively line the inside of the container with polythene sheeting. The containers need to be monitored constantly to ensure that the floor and handles do not rot.

  • Semi-spherical-shaped containers

Used for planting next to the wall. They are mead of terracotta or plastic. Ensure that they have drainage holes so that rainwater does not get water logged and drown the plant.