Planting 101: How to Make a Hanging Basket

Place an old towel in the base of a low, wide garden pot. This will help keep the round-bottomed wire basket steady while you’re planting.

(LEARN: More about growing and maintaining hanging plants!)

Begin by filling the basket with sheet or sphagnum moss, green-side facing out. Be careful to cover the space fully, so there are no gaps or holes.

Using sharp scissors or pruners, cut a coconut coir liner to fit neatly inside the basket. You don’t want to see any of the liner over the top.

Add potting mix, leaving room for the plants (so it’s about two-thirds full). We use a blend especially made for containers that includes perlite, peat moss, vermiculite, and sand.

Pot up the basket with succulents, like this trailing jade (Kleinia petraea, also known as Senecio jacobsenii). Fill in with additional soil, as you would when planting a regular container.

Attach the chain, and place the basket in a bright location. Water thoroughly. When the threat of frost is gone, hang it outside in a sunny spot.