Its easy to create a great looking pansy or viola basket like this - pansies and viola are both ideal plants for Spring.
The photos below are designed to be pretty self explanatory.
How ever we add our comments and share tips along the way.
Choose a good quality potting mix - we like one with a slow release fertilizer already included.
Miracle Grow has a good range of potting mixes - these are available from most garden centers or from the garden section in many larger stores.
As you are filling your hanging basket with potting mix - make sure you leave a 1-2 inch lip from the top of the soil to the top of your container.
This makes for a well which allows the water to drain through the soil vs having most of the water spilling or running over the top and not really soaking the soil.
Always add a good slow release fertilizer to the soil in your hanging basket - many slow release fertilizers say they have a 3 or 4 month release period. These are the best fertilizers to look for.
Now your ready to plant your plants into your hanging basket.
Gently prize them out of their trays and loosen and of the roots that appear tangled or matted. In some cases pansy's or violas roots can become very matted to-wards the bottom - if this is the case use a knife to cut a cross in the bottom of the root ball and this will encourage the roots to keep growing and give you a stronger plant.
A rigid chain makes life easy. Garden Squirrel offers these patent pending items - which are just great. Here you can see how the chain stays erect on its own allowing you to move and hanging your hanging basket with ease.
Once your hanging basket is planted, its time to give it a gentle watering. Try not to use water that is too cold as this will shock the plants.
Also avoid putting the plants that have been watered in a full sun situation as they are likely to burn. For the first few days, hanging them in a sheltered position, with lots of morning sun is an ideal approach.
The Angel Moss liners are used in this basket will swell once wet. There is no need to wet the liner prior to planting, the moss will expand on its own over the next few waterings.
Once you have planted and watered your hanging basket get ready to enjoy.
Happy gardening from us here at Garden Squirrel.
Garden Squirrel.com