Basket Plants
Read about Basket Plants in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Basket Plants. Under this term are included all those plants which, from their habit of growth and blooming and adaptabilities as to cultivation, have been found especially suitable for use in hanging-baskets. Figs. 475, 476. Most of the basket plants are dwarfish subjects of indeterminate growth, of gracefully dropping or vine- like habit, and are valued either for their grace, or for freedom and daintiness of bloom. Some of the plants used in baskets are of upright habit. These are either plants of naturally small stature, or are practically such for a season from a slow habit of growth. The suitability of these erect-growing plants for the purpose is determined, aside from their stature, by their freedom of bloom, beauty of foliage, striking form, or grace of habit. Such plants are used principally for filling the central part of the basket; whereas, plants of trailing habit are inserted near the sides—some to droop, others to twine upward on the cords or handle by which the basket is suspended. In addition to the long drooping or climbing plants, there are a number of half-erect habit, like the lobelia, sweet alyssum and russelia. These may droop somewhat, but are not of a truly vine-like habit. Some plants are more suitable than others for shad3'places; the selaginellas, are examples. Others thrive only with several hours of direct sunshine each day. The following list of common trade names embraces a number of the most important basket plants, arranged according to habit of growth and blooming. The list is, of course, not complete. Any list would need amending from year to year to suit individual taste and experience. Plants that withstand considerable shade are marked with an asterisk (*); those that will bear much shade are marked with two asterisks (**): 1. Plants of vine-like habit. a. Long-drooping.
b. Climbing. Maurandia, **Lygodium scandens, *Senecio scandens, Thunbergia, Cobaea scandens, Japanese Variegated Hop, Manettia bicolor, Lonicera Halliana, L. aurea var. reticulata. Clematis coccinea, Tropaeolum poregrinum, forms of Convolvulus. c. Short-drooping, or Half-erect.
2. Plants of upright habit. a. Low-growing. (1) Flowering Plants.—*Torenia, *Pansy, Cuphea platycentra, C. hyssopifolia, * Primula obconica. Dwarf Alyssum, Bellis perennis, Linum or Reinwardtia trigyna, Phlox Drummondii. Dutch bulbs. (2) Foliage Plants.—*Peperomia, *Begonia Rex, *Farfugium grande, Alternanthera, **Maidenhair Fern, Geraniums (especially Mine. Salleroi), *Isolepis gracilis (droops with age). b. Taller-growing. (1) Flowering.— Geraniums—Pelargonium, *Fuchsias, Petunias, *Begonias, Browallia, *Stevia serrata var. nana, Madagascar Periwinkle,* Nierembergia, *bantana, *Impatiens Sultana, Cuphea Llavea, Swainsona, Chrysanthemum frutescens, Salvias. (2) Foliage.—'Dusty Miller, *Crotons, *Palms, **Fern8, *Fancy Caladiums, Colcus, Achyranthes, **Aspidistra, *Cyperus alternifolius, *Dractena indivisa, *D. terminalis, Coccoloba platyclada. Some of the above plants make large subjects when growing in the open ground. Of such, only young or smaller plants are available for use in hanging-baskets. Ordinarily, several different sorts of plants are used for filling a basket. In some cases, however, a satisfactory basket is made by using but one kind of plant. A hanging- basket filled with sword fern (nephrolepis), for example, makes a handsome object. The soil used in hanging-baskets is simply good, common, florists' potting soil. This usually contains about 25 per cent of humus, and a small amount of sharp sand to make it porous. Prior to filling, wire baskets must be lined with moss. This is merely common woodland moss from rotting logs, or rich, damp soil. In filling baskets, a few drooping or climbing plants are disposed around the sides; then one or more upright-growing or half-erect plants, according to the size of the plants and basket, are planted in the center. Immediate effects require plants which have already made considerable growth. Florists usually carry a stock of suitable plants. In case seedlings or cuttings are grown for the purpose, it is usually best to start them in seed-pans or cutting-boxes, and transfer them later to the basket. Seeds may be sown or the cuttings started in the basket, but it is so long before they fill the basket that there is no advantage in it. A common mistake in arranging baskets is crowding, or filling them too full. Fewer plants will appear more graceful, growth will be more vigorous, and the basket will retain its grace and beauty for a longer time. Exercise vigilance and care in watering. After the roots have well filled the basket, watering is best done by dipping the basket in a tub or barrel of water, and allowing it to remain until it is well saturated. Dipping the basket in weak liquid manure once or twice a month will greatly promote vigor when the plants nave been long in the basket. These remarks also apply in a general way to vases and rustic stands. Baskets of many patterns are obtainable from florists and other dealers. The baskets most extensively used, are made of strong wire, woven into hemispherical or other forms. These are sometimes plain, and again of ornamental character. The better form has a flat bottom, or a stand, formed of wire, to support the basket in an upright position when it is not pendent. Another style is formed of rustic work. Here the vessel or plant basin is covered about the sides with rough bark or knotted roots. For this purpose the roots of the laurel are much used. Above the basket there is an arch or handle by which it is suspended. Again, earthenware vessels, to be suspended by wires, are offered for sale in a variety of shapes. Some of these are molded and painted in imitation of logs, and are known as "stick baskets" and "log baskets." Such baskets are often without provision for drainage. When this is the case, holes should be drilled at the lowest point in the bottom. A special form of basket is much used for orchids. It is made of square cedar slats in raft- or log-fashion. Fern- fiber and broken bits of brick, flower-pots or charcoal, are used for filling them. See also the article Vases.
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