Hanging Baskets Gardening Guide

With a bit of planning you can have your baskets looking great all year round!

Choosing a basket:

A bigger basket is nearly always better, hanging basket plants need room for their roots to develop, so don’t skimp on the size.

Potting mix:

It is important to select the right mix for the job - the roots are the engine room of the basket and need all the right nutrients (and water) to flourish.

• Use Tui Vegetable Mix for veggie crops.
• Tui Strawberry Mix for berries.
• Tui Outdoor Container Mix or Tui Pot Power for flowers and perennials.
• For blended plantings (combination of flowers and veggies or fruit), choose an all purpose mix such as Tui Pot Power.

What to Plant: Tui Top 5 basket combinations

Vegetables:

• Perpetual Lettuce such as cos, drunken lady, frilly, oak leaf and lollo rosso are all good options. As are other leafy greens such as rocket, spinach, mizuna and misome.
• Dwarf tumbling tomatoes such as tumbling tom and mini sweet 100 are good choices.
• Chillies and dwarf peas work well too.
• Plant into Tui Vegetable Mix in spring and summer, add Saturaid to existing baskets and fertiliser with Tui NovaTec Premium once every 2-3 months.

Berries:

• Super sweet berries plucked straight from the plant will tantalise your taste buds!
• Strawberries, cranberries, orange berries are all reliable fruiting options.
• Plant into Tui Strawberry Mix in spring, and fertilise with Tui NovaTec Premium fertiliser in autumn and each subsequent spring.

Herbs:

• Pretty as picture and packed with flavour, numerous herbs work well in baskets.
• Coriander, chervil, dill, pizza thyme, oregano, prostrate rosemary and chamomile treneague are good choices.
• Plant into Tui Herb Mix, in spring summer or autumn, keep well watered and pick regularly to encourage fresh new leaves.

Edible flowers:

• Nasturtiums are the quintessential edible hanging basket flower, once the flowers have finished, the seed heads turn into capers!
• Other flower options are violas and calendula.

Indoors:

• Baskets are not just suited to outdoors, they can look effective indoors too.
• Plants which work well are baby tears, small leafed ivy, Boston ferns and the ever reliable spider plant.
• Place in a well lit position away from direct sunlight, fertilise in spring and autumn with indoor plant food.

How to plant:

• Before planting soak plants in water.
• Fill basket with potting mix and water prior to planting.
• If your potting mix is dry and dusty, discard it to the compost heap and start again with some new mix, it’s important your potting mix can hold onto moisture to enable your plants to survive.

Where to hang:

• Place the basket somewhere it will be seen, appreciated and most of all admired!
• Ensure a strong hook, nail or hanging point is in place prior to hanging, once watered hanging baskets are heavy and make a rather large mess if the hook isn’t securely attached to something strong.
• Hang it just above head height to avoid unnecessary incidents.

Watering tips:

• Water a few times a week, rather than a little every day.
• Take baskets down if they are under shelter, on days when there is a gentle rain falling, and let them get a good soaking.
• When going away for a long weekend or holiday ask your neighbours to water them for you, or leave them inside in the bath for a few days with a little water.