How to line a hanging basket

Sit yourself down with a brew, love, and I will show you how to line a hanging basket so it holds its shape and keeps a bit of moisture where the roots want it. It is one of those little jobs that first-timers fret themselves silly over, and there is really no need. I have lined more baskets than I have had hot dinners, judged the classes at our show since 1998, and once you grasp what the liner is actually for, you will never squint at one in the shop again.

Why a Liner Matters More Than You Think

A wire basket is open by design. Lovely for drainage and air, hopeless at holding anything in. The liner does the real graft: it stops your compost or display material tumbling straight through the mesh, and a good one slows the water so the whole thing does not dry to a crisp by lunchtime. Get the liner right and every other job gets easier. Get it wrong and you will be out there with the can twice a day come July, muttering.

The Royal Horticultural Society has a clear note on hanging basket care if you want the fuller picture, but the steps below are what I actually do, tea in hand.

The Liner Types, Plainly

• Coco (coir) liners - my everyday choice. Natural, tidy, holds moisture nicely and looks handsome peeking through a wire frame. Have a look at our round coco hanging basket liners.
• Moss-style liners - the traditional cottage look, soft edges, wants a touch more watering.
• Foam and felt liners - grand for holding water, less pretty on show, ideal where the basket sits high and nobody sees the sides.
• Preformed rigid liners - fuss-free, drop straight in, kind to a nervous first-timer.

You can weigh them up in our liners collection. Buying a basket at the same time? The classic wire basket with coco liner comes as a matched pair and saves you squinting at sizes.

Lining It, Step by Step

Here is the method I teach every anxious beginner at the show. A two-brew job at most, and that is if you dawdle.

1. Rest the basket in a bucket or a big pot. It steadies the frame while you work and saves your back bending.
2. Sit the liner in dry. A coco or preformed liner drops straight in. Press it gently to the shape of the frame so there are no gaps sulking at the base.
3. Trim only if you must. Better a whisker too big, folded down neat, than cut too short with a draughty gap at the rim.
4. Add a moisture-saving layer if you fancy. A circle cut from an old compost bag, a few holes pierced for drainage, sat in the base, holds water beautifully. My little secret for a basket that copes with a hot spell.
5. Fill and firm. Add your compost or display material a bit at a time, firming as you go so nothing settles into a hollow on you later.

That is genuinely the lot. No mystery, no special tools, no reason to feel daft.

A Word on What Goes Inside

Now, I cannot abide a website that is not straight with you, so here it is. We sell the baskets, the liners and ready-made artificial displays, not living plants. Lining a basket for real bedding? You will buy your plants from a nursery and the hardware from us. Would you sooner have colour that never wilts on you? Our artificial displays arrive lined and finished. Either road, the lining know-how above is the same. For choosing what to trail over the edge, my full guide to hanging plants for baskets covers it, and Gardeners' World has some lovely planting combinations worth a browse. Or start with a bare frame from the hanging baskets range.

FAQ

What is the best liner for a hanging basket? For most people a coco (coir) liner is the best all-rounder. It holds moisture well, looks natural through a wire frame and fits the common basket sizes without much trimming. Foam or felt liners hold water even better and are worth it for high or hard-to-reach baskets where looks matter less.

How do I stop my hanging basket drying out? Line it well and add a moisture-holding layer in the base, such as a pierced circle of old compost bag. A liner that holds water, combined with firming the fill as you go, makes a real difference. Larger baskets also dry out more slowly than small ones, simply because they hold more.

Do I need to line an artificial hanging basket? Our ready-made artificial baskets arrive already lined and finished, so there's nothing to do but hang them. If you're building your own display in a bare frame, then yes, a liner keeps everything neat and in place.

About the author Marjorie Ellwood — Fifty years, same trowel, still smiling Marjorie ran a bedding-plant nursery outside Harrogate for over thirty years before handing it to her daughter. She has judged hanging-basket classes at the local horticultural show since 1998 and once kept a fuchsia alive through three house moves. These days she writes from a greenhouse that smells permanently of tomato leaves. Writing for The Hanging Basket Co.