Hanging basket plants are a charming and space-saving way to beautify your porch, patio, or garden, especially when filled with plants that thrive in shade. Not all areas benefit from direct sunlight, and finding the right flora for low-light conditions can be a delightful challenge.
Shade-loving plants in hanging baskets not only enhance the aesthetic of dimly lit spaces but also bring a lush, vibrant life to corners that sunlight seldom touches.
This guide will introduce you to the best plants for hanging baskets in the shade, ensuring your shaded spaces flourish with greenery and blooms that are both beautiful and suited to their environment.
Best Plants for Hanging Baskets in Shade
1. Coral Bells
Coral bells is a hanging basket plant, you can plant them in the ground or in containers. They’ll do well in either situation. Coral Bells can be grown indoors as houseplants. Coral Bells are perennials that live only around three to four years.
While coral bells can survive in the sun, they do best in partial shade, especially if the weather is warm. All you need is a shady spot, some moist, rich soil, and about an inch of water a week, and these plants are good to go.
2. Hostas
Hostas are Perfect Hanging Baskets plant. Hostas are a unique alternative from more traditional shade-loving hanging basket plants. With leaves that naturally spill down over the sides from their own weight, they fill out baskets quickly.
Most hostas grow best in part shade, although some varieties can tolerate a little direct sunshine. Hostas’ spikey white to lavender blooms beckon bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, but, unfortunately, their leafy green foliage is a tasty treat for deer and rabbits.
Hostas don’t need a huge amount of water, but if their roots dry out too much, it can be very difficult to rehydrate them. Hostas are not particularly fussy about soil conditions, but they will do better in less rich mixes.
3. Creeping Jenny Plants
Creeping jenny can also be grown in hanging baskets, is a super popular houseplant. The creeping jenny plants are great fillers and have bright yellow-colored leaves as well.
It prefers full sun and well-draining, moist soil, but the soil can be acid, alkaline, or neutral. It can grow in partial shade but not as fast as in full sun. The leaves turn a golden yellow in full sun and a pale green in partially shady areas.
In spring or mid-summer, small, yellow, creeping jenny stunning flowers brighten up the evergreen foliage. Because they spread easily and need little care, creeping jenny plants are considered invasive in some areas. Fungal infections, sunburn, pests, and overwatering can cause brown spots on Creeping Jenny.
4. Ferns
Ferns can live indoors with proper light, humidity, and water. Give them indirect light near a north- or east-facing window. Too much sun can scald the leaves.
Fern in a hanging container generally does well with morning sunlight but needs afternoon shade. Indoor ferns in hanging baskets usually do best in bright, indirect light. Most ferns appreciate humidity, and the bathroom is an ideal spot for ferns in hanging baskets.
Give your ferns a good, deep soaking, and then let them dry lightly before the next watering. Be careful not to overwater your ferns. Purifies the air and improves the quality of the environment.
5. Begonias
It makes a beautiful hanging basket, they’re excellent houseplants. It has been very effective to cure liver problems, digestive anomalies, body inflammation and fungal infections.
Most tuberous varieties will produce bright colors of flowers from mid-summer, often in June. Hanging begonias perform best when they get bright but indirect light, like on the front porch, particularly in the morning.
They risk being burned if allowed to be in the hot midday or afternoon sun. Keep the begonia hanging basket in a warm, semi-shaded area. Keep the soil continuously damp, but do not saturate it.
6. Fuschia
The trailing or cascading Fuchsia varieties, with weak stems that flop and branch freely, are great selections for beautiful hanging baskets for front doors and outdoor spaces. They grow happily in the garden centers, pot or hanging planter. They prefer morning sun and afternoon dappled shade.
Provide a dark, cool, but frost-free place, such as a basement or garage, and water plants only when the soil is dry to the touch. Bring outdoors in spring when all danger of frost is past, and plants begin to show new growth.
Fuchsias have lovely, dainty flowers that make beautiful hanging baskets from late spring to early winter.
7. Chenille plant
Chenille plants are a gorgeous and unique option for your hanging baskets. Named for the French word “chenille” or “caterpillar. Its exotic deep red flowers look like strands of chenille yarn.
Chenille is a hardy plant that can handle full sun in the morning. It does best when it has afternoon shade during hot summers. It needs moist soil.
Grow it in a greenhouse or place it near a south-facing window where it will receive ample year-round light. It is an excellent option for shade in a hanging basket and is also commonly used as a houseplant.
8. Coleus Plant
Coleus can be combined with other hanging basket plants in containers or garden beds, providing a striking contrast to flowering plants or green foliage. Its small tubular flowers attract bees and butterflies.
They like warm soils with decent drainage baskets and are not happy in overly dry conditions. Coleus will grow in full sun to afternoon shade, but their colors are most vivid in full sun. Be careful not to overwater.
9. Bleeding Heart
It works as best hanging plant. It is a vigorous grower when provided with sufficient water and fertilizer. This plant needs direct sun in order to bloom well; a sunny window may be sufficient. Bleeding Heart Vine is a fun tropical plant which is a large, spreading vine with large clusters of white bracts from which deep red stunning flowers emerge.
Unlike many other flowers, they bloom for several weeks, as opposed to year-round. To ensure these beautiful flowers live as long as possible, you have to plant them in shade, full sun can cause them to die quickly. Some varieties make great fresh-cut flowers lasting about 2 weeks in a vase.
Conclusion
Hanging baskets plants thrive best in shady areas because it protects them from the harsh direct sunlight that can lead to water loss, leaf burn, and stress. Shaded environments help these plants maintain green leaves,vibrant colors, lush foliage, and continuous blooms by providing a cooler and more stable environment in summer season. This encourages healthy growth and longevity.
Additionally, many popular hanging basket plants are naturally understory species that are adapted to lower light levels, making shade an ideal condition for them to flourish by choosing to place hanging baskets in light shade. Gardeners can ensure their plants remain healthy and beautiful, enhancing both the aesthetic and environmental quality of their spaces.
Choosing the right hanging plants can transform your shaded areas into lush green spaces. From DIY hanging basket plant options to the best hanging plants for low-light conditions, there are plenty of beautiful shade-tolerant choices to consider.
