Thank you, everyone, for the insightful replies. I don't have to have the plants in a hanging basket, but thought it would be better due to my limited space. I currently have a small vegetable and herb garden that is occupying some space. I think I might go the trellis route, especially if the plants do their best on a trellis. As for sunlight, the sun sets facing my patio. I usually start getting full sun light from about 2pm until the sun sets. My shade loving ivy hides behind a decorative palm tree type plant my roommate added to the garden. I would greatly appreciate suggestions towards other climbing plants that would do well in a trellis oriented container garden. I will have to wait until winter to plant the sweet pea.

Acid loving?? M.o.O?? here in Pakistan we have our soils (except for the Alpine region) mostly Alkaline reaction with Phosphate deficiency (the agriculture department regularly urges farmers to use phosphate fertilizers).. these plants perform exceptionally well here (all under full sun), they prefer a compact medium like clay (just like the one at river banks), drying out between watering and pruning (new blooms always appear on new shoots), they send long branches which take root where they touch the ground.... Mine are in ground and in pots too, during our mild winters they stop growing and become dormant, haven't watered those in ground since mid of August and both (in pots and ground) are still growing & blooming.. we daily pick flowers for our rooms and cars, the only fertilizer used was composted dairy manure in April and nothing else... GD prefers afternoon shade and a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer every third week with watering to bloom well, I have it in the pot only, will be planting it in the ground by next spring... Izhar

Personally, I like succulents in hanging baskets because they are fairly worry free. Some of the sedums look great as well as Semperviviums and Echeverias. Graptoveria is nice too, and Epiphyllums are a favorite although they do need some winter protection under an eave or something else. I also have a hardy orchid in a hanging basket, Dendrobium kingianum, that survived the freeze 2 winters ago admirably under an eave. Begonias, the big tuberous kind, are winter deciduous and the fibrous kind may not make it through winter. Impatiens will not make it either unless the winter is extremely mild and they have protection. wanda

Hi Sande and Yellow..hope you both had a nice 4th. Sande, do you have JB pamphlets or books? I think mine were lost or tossed when we moved here 20 yrs ago..Baker wrote one book I particularly liked, dedicated to house plants. I might look for a copy. Since they were published in the 70's they're probably out of print, so if I can't find a new copy, I'll hunt for used. I found two other out of print plant books, used, on Ebay. One was 1.00. What a bargain! The book's name is Hyponex, the first plant book I bought. This is my third copy..lol Sande, what did you use Listerine for on your outside plants? For insects? I think I read it's also supposed to prevent or cure fungus, especially roses. Not sure though. What is hydroton? Did your Sans make it? Is it mealy-free or did those creatures from hell win? I agree it's best discarding one plant than chancing other plants getting infested. Then again, I have some rare plants that would be difficult tossing. Therefore, I'd do everything in my power trying to save it.. Only if it was impossibly infested would it go. If cuttings were possible, I'd try that. Yellow, lol..did you really have the Mealy dream? Wow, if so, that IS weird. Your subconsious is hung-up on mealy, worrying non-stop. How many times did you find mealy on plants? After your experiments, it sounds like they're impossible to kill! I can't believe they lived in snow. Perhaps if you left them out longer than 1/2 hour they'd have died. What was the temp that day? You soaked in water? Were there entire bodies submersed or were their heads above water level? I wouldn't think it possible! They're like roaches. I've read roaches will survive a neucler war..how gross..Maybe mealy will too. If so, what will happen to plants nationwide? Will they all be devoured? I wonder if your plants had Soil Mealy..before using the clay pot, you better wash it out with bleach..scrub and rescrub. Soak overnight in soapy water. Also, check neighboring plants. Thank God my plants have been fairly insect=free over the years. In the last 4-5 years, the only plants that contracted mealy were two Purple Passions/Gynuras. One variegated. I tossed them. Last winter I won a succulent on Ebay..one arrived with a white coating which I assumed was Mealy..I used rubbing alcohol, but it died anyway..I'm not sure mealy was the culprit, it also looked like mold. I don't blame you for fearing them...ever see a magnified picture of mealy? They're disgusting..if they were large bugs I'd run away..lol. My biggest fear is spiders..I dont care how helpful they are, how they eat plant bugs..I'll treat plants without their help, thank you..lol..I fear the tiniest of spiders, even 1/4"..so you can imagine seeing a 3"+ spider..oh God have mercy..Sometimes when I order plants from Fl or Ca, I worry a big spider will be in the plant..over the years, I found different types of reptiles..I tried catching them, but they're fast. Last autumn, I found a coccoon in my Crown of Thorns..The only reason I discovered it was my Crown had 2 or 3 leaves left..I wondered, what the heck? I took the Crown to the sink and voila, the coccoon was living on this plant. We thought it was a butterfly, but it turned out to be a King Moth..lol. I took care of this little guy/gal until it left its home. He/she was huge. Bad ending so don't want to get into it, but I tried. Ohh, gotta go, I'll finish later..lol... Baker uses some rather odd stuff, including urine. LOL. If I recall, it's applied outdoors, possibly to keep certain wildlife away. On the other hand I learned a lot from him..Even recycling containers that come in handy at times. Since reading his book, I've become a pack rat. lol. He's even discussed saving and using water from humidifers, washing machines, and so much more.. It makes sense, it's a way to save $$ on needed supplies.