One of the easiest ways of all to save big on your garden budget is to plant and grow your own hanging baskets from seed. Not only can it save you a crazy amount of money, it can also have you growing some of the most beautiful and unique flowers on the block!
Hanging baskets add instant interest and color anywhere. They can brighten up a lifeless porch, create a gorgeous focal point in the landscape, or bring beauty to pergolas, pavilions, decks and more. But one thing is for sure, they can be extremely expensive to purchase year after year!
Hanging planters have more than doubled in price over the last few years. Even small baskets can cost $20 or more, with some large hanging baskets now topping $75 to $100. All for plants that won’t be alive after the first frost hits in the fall!
We use a lot of hanging baskets all over the farm – and because of that, we started growing all of ours directly from seed. And one thing we have found out is that not only is growing from seed easy and cost effective, it also allows us to start and grow all kinds of amazing and unique plants from seed that we could never find at local stores.
Here is a look at how we plant and grow our own hanging plants – and how you can too this year!
How To Plant & Grow Hanging Baskets From Seed
Plant Early!
When it comes to growing baskets from seed, success all starts with getting your seeds planted early. Unlike vegetable plants that you can start just eight or so weeks before planting, you need to start annual flower seeds about 10 to 12 weeks before you want to start hanging your baskets outdoors.
Why so early? Because it will allow plenty of time for the plants to grow into the blooming stage. Most annuals need 60 days or more to start flowering from seed. By starting your seeds 10 to 12 weeks, you give them 70+ days to grow. That means your hanging baskets will look great right from the start!
Seeds Vs. Purchasing Transplants
So why not just wait until nurseries and greenhouses have annual flower transplants and use them? Actually, this is still a great way to save money. In fact, whenever we find unique flowers on sale in late spring, we will purchase and plant a few more!
But we love growing most of our own flowers directly from seed. For starters, using available transplants means waiting until nurseries and greenhouses have transplants available. Unfortunately, you are often stuck with the everyday varieties they usually choose to grow and sell.
That is exactly why growing your own hanging baskets from seed is the perfect answer! We absolutely love starting our own seeds because it opens up our flower growing to so many unique possibilities.
We grow ornamental pepper baskets, colorful coleus mix baskets, as well as rainbow petunias, calibrachoa and many other annuals that combine to create colorful hanging baskets you simply can’t find in local stores. And best of all – at a fraction of the cost! Affiliate Seed Link: Park Seeds Annual Flowers & More
Listen In To Our Podcast Below On How To Keep Your Hanging Baskets Blooming All Summer!
What You Need To Start Seeds – How To Plant & Grow Hanging Baskets From Seed
So what do you need to start hanging baskets from seed? The good news is that it requires very little in the way of special equipment. Actually, all you need are a few grow trays, a couple of fluorescent (or LED) shop lights, a good seed starting mix, and seeds!
We like to start our flower seeds in regular seed trays with the exact same method we use when planting our vegetable seedlings.
Although you could start your seeds right in your hanging baskets, we prefer starting our annuals in seed trays first. This allows you to concentrate your lights and growing efforts in a much smaller area until they reach transplantable size, which is usually in about four to six weeks.
One thing you don’t want to do when growing hanging baskets from seed is to start plants in a windowsill. There is simply not enough light and plants will grow leggy and weak. Use fluorescent or LED shop lights – they are simple, inexpensive – and they work great! See: 6 Common Seed Starting Mistakes – And How To Avoid Them!
Transplanting Seedlings Into Baskets – How To Plant & Grow Hanging Baskets From Seed
Once plants reach 4 to 6 weeks in age, it’s time to transplant them into their final hanging baskets. We have found doing this early helps the plants establish in their permanent soil much faster. This lets the roots adjust and by the time they are set for the outdoors, they are ready to explode with blooms.
The key to growing big, beautiful baskets is to use enough plants that it will fill the space – but not so many that it will crowd out the soil too early in the growing season.
How Many Plants To Plant
There are a lot of formulas for proper spacing, but for full season growth, here is what we have found to work really well:
- 10″ baskets – 5 to 6 plants
- 12″ baskets – 6 to 7 plants
- 14″ baskets – 7 to 8 plants
- 16″ baskets – 8 to 9 plants
- 18″ baskets – 9 to 10 plants
As an added note on this topic, baskets that are at least 14 inches in diameter are best. They allow enough soil for full season growth. Anything smaller and the roots of the plants often outgrow the container long before summer is over.
When transplanting into your baskets, use high quality commercial or homemade grade potting soil to fill your hanging baskets. We add in 1/2 cup of worm castings to our hanging basket soil when planting to help promote slow, strong growth. They truly are our secret weapon! Affiliate Link: 100% All Natural Worm Castings
Get Your Baskets Outside Early – How To Plant & Grow Hanging Baskets From Seed
Once you have transplanted into baskets, you can start to take advantage of warm days by placing them outside. Unlike flowering annuals and vegetable garden plants that go in the ground, hanging baskets are easy to bring indoors when frost threatens.
Because of this, take them out and let them grow as much as possible on those early spring warm days. There is no substitute for outdoor growing. It will help them expand and flower faster than ever. If you happen to have a clothesline – it is a great place to hang them temporarily!
In between, the fluorescent or LED shop lights can be hung over top of them to keep them growing. Just as with vegetable plants, keep the lights close, within an inch or two of the top of plants. The warmer the room you locate your baskets and plants in, the stronger and faster they will grow.
The Secret To Fertilizing – Growing Hanging Baskets From Seed
No matter how fertile your potting soil is, hanging baskets need to be fertilized to stay strong and beautiful all year long. After all, the nutrients in any soil will only last so long.
We like to start lightly fertilizing our flower seedlings after they have been up and growing for about 3 weeks. We use compost or worm casting tea at full strength and fertilize every 14 to 21 days from there on. If you are using a commercial liquid fertilizer, use it at about 1/3 to 1/2 strength.
Compost and worm casting tea provide a more low and steady dose and will not burn or over fertilize plants. Commercial products, however, tend to be stronger so it is best to dilute them. The key is no matter what you use – use a liquid fertilizer.
Liquid fertilizers feed both through the foliage and roots of plants. This double dose really helps plants grow strong and bloom even stronger.
The real key to success when fertilizing is applying a low and slow rate on a consistent basis. A dose every 2 to 3 weeks will work wonders to keep plants strong all season long. If you provide too much fertilizer at one time, plants use the energy to grow too much foliage and roots. Too little, and they won’t keep blooming.
Here is to growing your own hanging baskets this year from seed – and saving big money in the process! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary.
Old World Garden Farms
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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