If you choose hanging basket plants
Hanging basket plants allow you to display different colours of flowers within very small space. Photo by Edgar R Batte
What you need to know:
If you have limited space to plant either flowers or any other plants, using hanging baskets will be a good option as Shabibah Nakirigya writes.
There are some people I know that will never have hanging plants around their house. One of them says they believe such plants harbor snakes.
However, that’s their opinion but for people who know how to deal with snakes around their home, hanging basket plants is not a problem but rather a good way of making the house look nice.
This is because it gives them a fun and creative way to display a lot of colour in a little space.
The material
There is a variety of baskets material you can choose from and these include wire, woven and wood. Irene Kirabo a landscaper on Mukwano Road says the most important consideration when choosing a basket is the root system of the plants you have selected.
She explains that for larger plants with deeper roots, “a bigger basket with more depth would be more suitable. The more surface area for soil you have, the less frequently you will have to water and the more moisture the soil will hold.
Planting your basket
Once you have chosen a basket, location and plants that thrive in the chosen location, you are ready for planting.
If you are planting in a wire basket, Kirabo says you will need to use moss as the basket liner.
“The moss is normally dry so you will need to soak it in water to create a basket liner. After its soaked, tightly pack it between the wires along the top of the basket.”
“Lay larger sheets of moss along the sides of the basket and pack them into the wire. The moss sheeting just has to be thick enough to provide a solid netting to hold in the soil and plants.”
Kirabo adds that before planting; fill the container halfway with fertile soil.
Hanging your basket
Before hanging, make sure the basket chain is hanging from a sturdy hook that’s rated for the weight of the pot and is anchored in solid wood or concrete.
Kirabo adds that a wet basket weighs a lot more than a dry basket, so make sure the structure the basket hangs from is strong enough to support a full, wet basket. To help keep the basket nutrient-rich, add an organic fertiliser every four to five months.
If you want to know when to water your moss-lined basket, give it a gentle tap on the bottom. If the moss feels moist, it doesn’t require additional watering, but if it’s dry and crispy, it needs a good soaking.
