Make Hanging Wire Baskets
Datetime:2013-11-15 Hits:
One common complaint gardeners have about hanging baskets is no matter how attractive the plants in them are, the baskets themselves are usually a little ugly. A hanging wire basket can solve this problem and offer a few other advantages. Hanging wire baskets allow you to plant plants not only at the top of the basket, but on the sides as well. They also provide plants with excellent drainage.
Instructions
1
Purchase an empty wire hanging basket at a garden center. Empty baskets usually cost only a few dollars and come in a variety of colors and styles. While you are at the garden center, pick up some coconut fiber. You can find the coconut fiber either in sheets you'll have to cut or in precut sheets that fit the size of your basket.
2
Place the coconut fiber in the hanging basket. Line the basket all the way around and from top to bottom with a single layer of coconut fiber. The coconut fiber holds in the soil but also allows for moisture to seep out.
3
Fill the bottom of the basket with potting mix. This holds the coconut fiber in place.
4
Cut slits in the coconut fiber where you want to insert plants. Be creative and arrange the plants all around the side of pot how ever you like. Consider placing trailing plants at the bottom of the pot, hanging plants on the sides and upright plants at the top of the basket.
5
Insert the plants into the slits. As you insert the plants sideways into the slits, pour in more potting mix to hold them in the pot.
6
Leave a hole in the center of the top of the hanging basket several inches deep. Fill the hole with plants to fill in the top of the basket. Then, fill in any gaps in the potting mix.
7
Water the hanging wire basket. Give the basket a heavy watering to thoroughly wet the soil. This helps everything settle.
