Basket of supertunias    

The list of plants to put in a hanging basket has gotten a lot longer over the past few years. Years ago we were limited to the varieties of plants that were available for hanging baskets but recently with the addition of plants from ‘Proven Winners’ and ‘Tried and True’, hanging baskets have come a long ways.

A ‘Proven Winners’ plant that has become a real favorite for many gardeners are the ‘Supertunias’.  Supertunias are very fast growing, growing up to an inch a day, self-cleaning, making them low maintenance, fragrant, and the flowers come in a wide range of color, and are single, double or mini. They bloom all summer and make excellent container plants. They grow best in full sun and are weather resistant. Because Supertunias are such vigorous growers they are heavy feeders needing fertilizer 1-2 times per week.   

‘Superbells’ (Calibrachoa hybrids) are another popular hanging basket plant. The brightly colored 1 inch flowers look like smaller versions of petunia flowers. They are self-cleaning which means that no dead heading is needed and are self-branching. Plants have a cascading habit are compact and fast growing. They can be planted in either a mixed basket or plant just one or two varieties of superbells in a pot for something simple. A heavy bloomer that will continuously bloom throughout the spring/summer. They grow best in full sun to partial shade and should not be allowed to dry out.

‘Diascia’ has a pretty little flower that have two spurs on the back which reminds me of a snapdragon except smaller. Flowers grow on clusters at the end of the stems. These early bloomers have a nice compact growth habit and look beautiful in any container. They grow well in full sun to partial sun and when just being started should not be over watered as this can cause the plant to rot.  ‘Nemesia’ has a similar flower to that of Diascia and also similar care but not all the varieties cascade.

 A plant that is must for most mixed hanging baskets and containers is ‘Bacopa’. The tiny star shaped flower comes in the popular white and also pink and lavender. It blooms profusely throughout the summer. It prefers full sun and is an easy to grow plant that is tough and weather tolerant.

There are varieties of upright ‘Verbena’ and then there are the varieties or cascading Verbena that are excellent for hanging baskets. The brightly colored flowers grow in clusters at the ends of the plants stems and attract butterflies and humming birds. They grow best in full sun to partial sun and are easy to care for. For lots of flowers they should be dead headed so that the plants energy goes into producing more flowers.

 Another flower that is often seen as a filler in many hanging basket is the yellow flowered ‘Bidens’. There are a few different varieties with some being more compact while others that trail more. Foliage plants that are grown only for their foliage because they do not bloom are the ‘Impmoea’ which is also a beautiful filler plant. There is a very lime green variety and also a dark deep purple leaved variety that have become popular.

 These are just some of the newer, more well-known varieties and types of plants that can make up a hanging basket. Geraniums, (upright and hanging)  have been around for years but now come in new colors and still are one of the most popular plants to place in a container

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Garden Centres in Prince George,

• Highway 16 West at Kimball Road
• Highway 97 North at  Northwood Pulpmill Road