Garden

[jellyBEAN]

I am in NC where it is a sub-tropical climate.  I have 2 metal hangers in which to either buy floral hanging baskets pre-made at the home store, or buy a couple of those coconut liners for metal baskets that I already have and plant some type of flowers. 

I am kinda leaning towards buying the coco liners, I have soil, and getting some flowers to plant for the hangers.  Are vinca good for this?  Is there some other type of drapey flower I should look for that would hang nicely?  Sometimes for fall I do pansies, but its way too early for those. 

Any suggestions?

[Kachina624]

@jellyBEAN    This is not a good time to be planting anything.  Plants are stressed when it's very hot and don't grow especially well, if at all.  As the weather cools, they do better but will barely get established before cold weather sets in.  Also, those fiber hanging baskets dry out very fast and will take constant watering.  I never use them for that reason

I'd wait until next spring to do any planting.  You might consider a vining geranium, my favorite hanging plant.  The come in a variety of colors and drape over the sides of the basket.

[Kachina624]

@jellyBEAN   You might want to review the USDA hardiness zones.  I don't believe NC is sub-tropical.

https://www.plantmaps.com/list-of-hardiness-zones-for-north-carolina-cities.php 

[Grade1Teach]

It's a difficult time of year to plant anything, especially in planters.  Many of the garden centers are phasing out of their summer flowers and moving on toward their fall selection.  August is a big month for that.

I have two hanging baskets with the cocoa liners this year.  I put my flowers in them in May though.  This year I chose to do Geraniums and they are beautiful.

I usually switch it up each year.  Petunias and Ivy Geraniums are wonderful in hanging planters.  They are plentiful and spill over the sides beautifully.  You might want to consider those for next year.

I was at Home Depot last week and they still had some Geraniums and Impatiens left.  If you really want to plant something, maybe you can try one of those.  Geraniums last until almost November where I live (Long Island), so you will probably haven even better luck since you're in NC.

[meem120]

I love Fuschia plants.  They are full and drape beautifully and have beautiful colors.  I think you'll like them if youre looking for something that hangs down beautifully.

[BklynKinsey]

My favorite plant for hanging baskets is Santa Cruz begonia Boliviensis:

I usually put 4 plants in a 14" coco liner basket.  The orange color is rich and stunning and the flowers are lush and trailing.  It's probably too late to plant for this season, but you might want to keep it in mind for next year.

[pattypeep]

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@BklynKinsey wrote:

My favorite plant for hanging baskets is Santa Cruz begonia Boliviensis:

I usually put 4 plants in a 14" coco liner basket.  The orange color is rich and stunning and the flowers are lush and trailing.  It's probably too late to plant for this season, but you might want to keep it in mind for next year.

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@BklynKinsey Gosh, that's beautiful. I've never seen this plant where I live. I will definitely search a little harder next spring. I suspect it takes shade?

[JustJazzmom]

Are the baskets in sun or shade?

Sun-- calibrachoa or million bells petunias in lots of colors

Shade -- fuchsia can trail

These are just a few you can use.

[Kachina624]

So many of the prettiest plants like exotic begonias, fuschias and even petunias can't take extreme heat and shrivel up and die in June.  Good old geraniums go on forever.  I've had one in my kitchen (West facing) window for several years.  Even in winter it occasionally rewards me with a bloom.

[maximillian]

In the Spring I buy several hanging baskets for my front porch.  The ones that do well in our hot, humid, but dry summers are flowers labeled "Proven Winners."  They last until the end of October.