Hanging basket evergreen

DocJames

Some advice please if anybody can spare a moment.

I'm looking to put some hanging baskets in the garden to provide some evergreen +/- flowers, as my dear other half who I love dearly hasn't the patience for e.g. the clematis to cover the walls and fails to see the joy in planting seasonal plants and veg.

So in the spirit of appeasing her, I'm looking for something that will provide some winter greenery from hanging baskets.

Some will be on the North facing side of a trellis, which otherwise in Summer is very warm. The other will be South facing. Both are in relative shelter and can get very warm in the Summer.

Flowers are desirable but not obligatory as she just doesn't want to look at twigs/trellis/wall whilst other things grow.

I derive lots of joy from seeing seeds grow into mature plants, picking and eating my own grown fruits or vegetables, but unfortunately she hasn't got the patience to allow me to have a purely seasonal garden, bar some evergreen climbers that are just getting a foothold but won't cover for another year or so.

Any suggestions to go in round 1ft diameter size hanging baskets South facing and probably rectangular North facing baskets?

Thanks in anticipation.

Obelixx

The thing with hanging baskets is that they have a very restricted root run for the plants growing in them and will be prone to heating up very quickly - bad for the roots - and also freezing very quickly if left out in winter - also bad for roots.

You need to think about how to line your baskets to retain moisture in summer and insulate in winter.  Then you need to choose plants suited to the amount of direct sun they'll get.   Use good quality compost and feed them regularly throughout the growing season and water them, sometimes twice a day in hot spells.   Low maintenance they are not.

Have a read of this info from the RHS which includes "how to" as well as suggesting some evergreen plants - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=139 

JennyJ

The only thing I can think of that's evergreen, trailing and will stand the winter in hanging baskets (where the roots will get pretty cold even if they don't freeze) is small-leaved varieties of ivy. Small pots usually appear in garden centres with spring bedding, so soon (if not already). You could include winter pansies/violas which will flower off and on in milder spells, and maybe some tough bulbs like crocus or tete-a-tete daffs for early spring.

DocJames

Thanks.

My worry was that hanging baskets I would imagine are prone to freezing over winter without the heat sink of the earth - edit: just seen Obelixx's post, so answered that question! I have a watering system so retaining moisture shouldn't be a massive problem in the summer I'd hope.

All the ivy I've ever seen has been rampant, is that likely from a hanging basket or would the container size restrict any growing exuberance?  Would violas survive a freeze?

madpenguin

Sedum confusum!
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1039057/permanent-basket-plantings#latest

JennyJ

My violas that I planted last Autumn (in containers with bulbs underneath, not baskets) have been flowering sporadically all winter and still have flowers now. They looked a bit sad during the sub-zero temperatures, but they're bouncing back now.

DocJames

 madpenguin said:

Sedum confusum!
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1039057/permanent-basket-plantings#latest

Thought that was a Latin phrase I was unaware of....

Might be worth a go, I’ll look into that thank you. 

I did actually search the forums but sometimes, unless you get the right terms, the question may as not be there!

TheGreenMan

I have a few baskets with ivy and thyme ( a few different varieties) in them.  They survived the deep freeze earlier this month and the ivy behaves itself.  It cascades (as does the thyme) so you can just snip off any that are running away from where you want them to fall to.