Foliage Hanging Baskets

No matter where you hang them, foliage hanging baskets can bring a sense of serenity and beauty to your indoor and outdoor spaces. Select a single plant or a combination of plants with unique foliage. Consider the foliage color, texture and shape. The Inch Plant (Tradescantia zebrina) has stripped purplish-green leaves with a silvery sheen to them and purple undersides. Not only does this plant have attractive leaves, but it is also fast-growing with trailing stems. Leaf nodes on the stems are said to be 1-inch apart; hence, the common name Inch Plant. Each segment is capable of producing a new plant, so it is easily started from cuttings. Other varieties of Inch Plants have solid green leaves or green variegated leaves. One of my favorite foliage hanging basket plants is the Airplane Plant, also known as the Spider Plant. It has linear leaves that are green or white striped. Its flowering stems bare loose panicles of small, white, starry flowers. Plantlets are formed at the flowering nodes making an interesting, graceful, cascading habit. Don’t be afraid to mix any of these plants, with others, to create a foliage basket combination. I am Eddie Smith, and I will see you next time on Southern Gardening.