Four Plants for Hanging Baskets

Plants in hanging baskets are well-suited to apartment living as they enhance any decor and take up little space. Several houseplants work out well in hanging baskets and include such varieties as bougainvillea, trailing abutilon, fuchsia and ivy-leaved geraniums.

#1 – The Bougainvillea Plant

Native to Brazil, the bougainvillea is a vining plant that has small woody stems and ovate leaves colored dark green. The plant is a blossoming plant and has tiny flowers and small, colorful bracts surrounding the blooms in natural hues of rose, purple or white. Keep the plant in a sunny area if you want it to bloom on a consistent basis and prune it in the spring to keep the growth lush and compact. Water the plant from early spring to fall, keeping the soil moist, and fertilize it every two weeks with a mix of 10-20-10 of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Propagate new plants by taking 6-inch cuttings of semi-woody growth in the summertime and place in a rooting medium of 1/2 part coarse sand and 1/2 part peat moss. Transplant plantings to a soil mix of equal parts of potting soil, garden or aquarium gravel, pine bark mulch and peat moss.

#2 –  Trailing Abutilion

The trailing abutilon, like the bougainvillea, is also native to Brazil. For use as a hanging plant, the megapotamicum variety is often preferred for its slender, green or variegated leaves. The drooping blossoms resemble tiny Chinese lanterns and  plants with variegated leaves feature yellow and green foliage. Each bloom is a mix of a couple of colors with the most popular being a blossom colored red and soft white. For encouraging growth, the plant should be pruned on a regular basis and planted in a mix of potting soil, sphagnum moss, and coarse sand in equal parts. Trailing abutilons should be placed in a sunny area and the leaves bathed in a soapy solution (or 1 tablespoon liquid detergent added to a pint of water) to prevent the infestation of white flies, which are attracted to the plant.

#3 – Fuchsia Plant

Generally classified as a vine, the fuchsia flourishes in well-lighted areas of apartments away from direct sunlight. Blossoms on the Fuchsia dangle beneath the leaf growth and are colored in contrasting hues of pink to red, shades of purple or white and blue. With respect to temperature, make sure that you keep the thermostat around  around 70 degrees Fahrenheit as the plant does not do well in higher temperatures. Keep the soil routinely moist from late winter to late fall and drier in December and January. Propagate new cuttings in the early spring from new growth. Fertilize the plant every other week, only from April to September. Dormant plants, in winter, often lose their leaves until they begin reproducing again in late winter or early spring.

#4 – Ivy-Leaved Geranium

Known botanically as a pelargonium, the geranium enjoys sunny locations and should receive at least 4 hours of direct sunlight daily. Water the plant when the soil is dry to the touch and fertilize it every other week from April to September with a plant fertilizer high in phosphoric acid to encourage blooming. Blossoms are often colored red, white, pink or white with lavender edging. New plants can be easily rooted with 3-inch cuttings. The plants like to be pot bound and therefore should not be re-potted unless absolutely necessary.