It's between periods of a cliffhanger hockey game, going into overtime. The US tied the game with less than 30 seconds to play in regulation time, so I'm only going to have time to comment on the cultural aspect of your question.

I would still use the coir lining, but I would line it with plastic & poke a couple of drain holes in the liner. You'll still probably need to water daily, especially once the planting matures. I think you could easily use plants that are designated as preferring full sun, too.

Al

When I do a hanging basket, I use a coir liner but I line it with plasatic. I cut a big circle out of a grocery bag and place it in the bottom and 1/3 up the sides of the basket to keep the water from running out all at once. As for plants that hang over the sides, you can plant lobelia or sweet potato vine. My neighbour always used the sweet potato vine and it looked nice. White alyssum looks nice on top of a planter. It would also keep the soil from drying out to much. Have you tried impatiens or coleus? Just a few ideas.

Thank you Al and marric for your follow-up posts! I was watching the hockey game too, and was so excited when the U.S. team scored that tying goal in the last 30 seconds...even though the Canadian team ended up winning in overtime. Congratulations to the Canadian team...they did play a great game.

OK, thank you, it sounds like the coconut coir alone was one of the factors in my lack of hanging basket success. Thanks so much for the tips on how to make a plastic liner for the coconut coir!

During my first attempt as baskets, I planted New Guinea impatiens. I've had great success the past few years with New Guinea impatiens under an awning on the south side of our house, but they did not seem to thrive under the north-facing porch. Maybe it was the baskets and my lack of plastic liner. I'll look into the lobelia, sweet potato vine, and alyssum. I'm definitely thinking about coleus too.

I was also thinking about Calibrachoa/Million Bells, but not sure if they would get enough sun? Also have considered Nierembergia/Cupflower or Ivy geraniums, but again, not sure about the sun factor. I've thought about Asarina scandens/Twining Snapdragon, and Browallia too, but maybe there is not enough shade to keep them moist. I guess I can try one of the sun-lovers, and then if the plant does seem to need more sun, I can always move the baskets to a sunnier spot on the other side of the house.

I've planted wire baskets like that for several seasons now, imitating the gorgeous ones sold at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach, CA. I just love the look of a huge ball of beautiful flowers and foliage with no visible container.

I put the plants' root balls in between the wires of my basket, and stuff soaked sphagnum moss into spaces between wires between the plants. I like the look of the sphagnum while I don't care for the coir. My husband also wired a couple of pieces of twisted driftwood to the wires. I did not use anything else to line the wire basket. I poured in a bit of Roger's potting mix if there was space for it.

One year, I thought I might save myself some watering by using those jelly-like moisture-retaining granules. They basically turned my FLORAL basket into a MUSHROOM basket. Mushrooms thrived while the flowers barely bloomed. Every morning I would pull out all the mushrooms, but by the next morning there would be a whole new crop of them.

Aside from the bad experience with the granules, the other years I planted healthy annuals in early March and would enjoy blooming till almost Thanksgiving, provided the plants did not get decimated by Santa Ana winds that we sometimes get in the fall. (If we do get Santa Anas, it goes from a daytime high of 72* one day, with moisture from the marine layer, to 104* raging winds the next. It is hard to keep the plants happy when this happens.)

Incidentally, I am a cheapskate so I didn't want to pay the $120 or so Roger's charges for their huge wire basket planting. I thought I would get the look for less by buying the plants and basket and putting it together myself. The first season I did this, I bought flats of annuals at Home Depot, but by the time I had enough to create the lush, full Roger's look in a big basket, I had spent over $100, plus half a day making and then cleaning up the huge mess of planting it. (Not to mention several trips to HD because I needed way more plants than I thought.) Last year, I really did save money, and work, by starting with a large basket with multiple trailing and bushy flowers sold at Lowe's for $18, plus a few other plants.

The nicest basket I ever created is one that I poked holes in the coir all around and stuck small annuals in from every angle, including the sides and bottom.
I did use a slightly bigger basket than what you have but if going for show stopping, it was worth it.
It also weighted a ton and I had to hang it from a large tree branch.

Oh wow! Just look at all the good suggestions you're getting. I bet you're glad you asked. ;o)

Al

Thanks for sharing your hanging basket experiences everybody! It really helps to hear about people's various basket adventures.

Andersons, I was curious what Roger's Gardens was so checked out the website...looks like they have a beautiful store and plant selection...definitely looks rather pricey though. I was thinking of just going the Lowe's route too, or ordering some less expensive plants from the net. That's a really interesting idea about using the sphagnum moss instead of the coir basket.

I remember being in Cali during the Santa Ana winds and feeling like the car I was driving was literally going to flip over in the wind! Very strange. But then again at least you probably did not get giant piles of snow this winter like we did here in PA.

Bumblebeez, I love the idea of having the annuals stick out of the coir basket at certain spots...maybe I will try that.

Al, yes, I'm so glad I asked about this on this forum! Still trying to decide which plants to use for the baskets. When I figure that out, I will post another question about soil mixes for hanging baskets. Or should I use the same recipe you recommend for containers with the pine bark fines/sphagnum peat/perlite/lime/controlled release fert/micro-nutrient powder?

Topie, Roger's Gardens must be among the most beautiful garden centers anywhere. I am told that people travel from Japan to buy stuff there and have it shipped. Indoors, they have antiques, home accessories of all kinds, art, houseplants, and high-quality silk flowers. Outdoors, they have their own beautiful gardens as the backdrop for the climate-appropriate plants they sell. Everything is eye candy. I think they sell only high-grade stuff, at premium prices. But everything is perfectly tended and healthy when sold at full price, unlike at other stores which can be hit or miss.

As far as the sphagnum, I had to use it to fill spaces between the plants between the wires. The root ball can be wider than the foliage and stems of the plant sticking out, plus where the root ball sits on the inside of the wire is a smaller circumference than the outside. So the moss fills the spaces between the stems. But I pack as many root balls as I can fit everywhere around the whole basket. Once the annuals grow a bit, you can't see much sphagnum (or coir I would imagine) but in the meantime, the sphagnum looks nice, especially with the driftwood.