[totalnovice]

Hiya,

I am after some advise about what to grow int he hanging basket out side my back door. It doesn't getr a great deal of sun, even in the summer it gets if from early morning until about mid day and then it is in shade. Tried trailing geraniums, lobelia and something else (terrible memory) and they were not happy, any advise on what i could grow in it? It was kept watered and fed, and isn't in a very exposed or windy site either.

thanks in advance.

[Yorkie]

I use petunias in mine, and have once done tomatoes - though not sure they would be happy in your situation as described.

Are you sure you have watered and fed them enough?  Baskets are very difficult to maintain as there are so many plants in so little compost, which becomes exhausted and dry very quickly

[mumofstig]

Fuschias are good for baskets in shade, and small leaf ivy if you want something with it to dangle

[totalnovice]

will give petunia and fucias a go this yr - i am always really careful with the baskets, when i was younger and mum and dad lef tme alone to go on holiday i got a right telling off when they came home and all the baskets were dead cos i had no clue how to water them properly. Will try feeding more often, fed them every other week last yr.

[joyfull]

you could try herbs 

[New shoot]

Begonias are pretty good in shade.  The trailing ones will hang down quite a way and they have big blowsy flowers to contrast with the smaller flowers of the fuschias.

[Jamie Butterworth]

I do hanging baskets each year, I have a centre piece to them, which is normally either a fuscia or something similiar, some bedding plants such as begonias, bizzi lizzis, pansies, or petunias (I normally alternate each year) and then something to trail down the sides such as lobelia, ivy, or a F1 trailing bedding plant (although they can be expensive). Try differant combinations and see which work best for you in your conditions

[Goosegirl]

Bacopa is good - you can get blue and white varieties, also bidens, ivy and calibrachoea for trailing plants. Centre plants like begonias do well. I live by the sea so always have trouble with salt winds drying mine out. I use empty compost bags inside a decorative liner, with another inner layer of capillary matting inside that on which I put a plant pot saucer to hold water, plus granular feed pellets and water-retaining granules in my compost when planting, then water every day....and they still dry out!!!   

[rowlandwells]

my wife does our hanging baskets each year we use bacopa Begonia fuchsia ivy leaf-geranium and petunia [seed raised] some lobelia 

watering is the most important part for hanging baskets as well as a regular feed we've also tried the empty compost bags saucers and pots old woolen jumpers i evan bought some irrigation pipe and fittings about two years ago to water the baskets still haven't got round to fitting them yet the downside is when we go out with the caravan in the summer- weekends  its always a risk that the baskets may dry out 

but good news a lady up the street has offered to do our watering when we go away 

[totalnovice]

Some really great suggestions, thanks guys. Now i just have to wait for it to warm up a littl ebit before i can get going!

Come on spring time it is time to spring!!!!