Nemesia, diascia and pelargonium hanging basket

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Thursday, 18 July 2019 at 10:57 am

Follow our guide to creating a pretty pink-coloured hanging basket, using nemesia, diascia and pelargonium.

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Pelargonium produce an abundance of flowers throughout summer, and work well with other bedding plants to make the perfect, long-lasting hanging basket display. Here, the nemesia and disacia are ideal for growing at the centre of the basket, while trailing pelargoniums should be planted around the edge, to fall over the sides. Deadhead spent flowers regularly and cut the nemesia down after flowering, to encourage a second flush of blooms.

You Will Need

Pelargonium 'Trailing Mexicana' plants
Pelargonium 'Salmon Queen' plants
Diascia 'Romeo Pink'
Nemesia 'Pink Princess'
Hanging basket and liner
Sphagnum moss (ethically sourced)
Multi-purpose, peat-free compost
Water-retaining granules
Slow-release fertiliser

Step 1

Prop the basket in a bucket or plant pot, to make planting easy, and line it with sphagnum moss or an alternative.

Step 2

Adding plastic to the basket to aid water retention

Add a piece of plastic – such as from an old compost bag – to the inside of the moss, to help retain moisture. Cut a few drainage holes in the plastic.

Step 3

Fill the basket two-thirds with multi-purpose compost, and add water-retaining gel, mixing it in with the compost.

Step 4

Adding compost around the newly planted plants

Add the nemesia and diascia to the centre of the basket, then the pelargonium and diascia plants around the edge. Fill in-between the roots with compost, leaving a gap of around 2cm between the top of the compost and the basket's rim.

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Step 5

Add slow-release fertiliser pellets to the compost around the plants. Water in well and leave the basket to drain before hanging in position.

Kevin Smith says...
Line hanging baskets with moss raked from your lawn – it’s just as good as anything you can buy with the added bonus of know it’s ethically sourced. Grass clippings lined with plastic also work well.