How To Make a Moss-Lined Hanging Basket

Beautiful hanging baskets are within your reach, whether you garden in a compact city setting or on a sprawling country acreage. Their small proportions eliminate traditional chores like digging and weeding, and they bring down to size the major task of watering and grooming. Best of all, hanging baskets create a big impact. They quickly become a colorful part of your home, a cheerful reflection of you.

Making a moss-lined hanging basket is easy:

1. Begin with an empty wire frame basket. A 12" basket is the most popular size; however, both smaller and larger sizes are available from your garden center.
2. Moisten several handfuls of Mosser Lee's Long-Fibered Sphagnum Moss by immersing them thoroughly in a bucket of water. Always wear gloves when handling moss, plants and soils.
3. Squeeze out the excess water and begin stuffing the moss into the basket, starting with the bottom and working toward the top. Firmly press the wet sphagnum moss between the wires or rungs of the basket. The moss should be at least two inches thick with no gaps or the soil may leak out.
4. At the top of the basket, place additional handfuls of moss over the top rung of the basket and squeeze the wet moss around the top edge. When you have done this correctly, the top wire rung will be completely surrounded by the moss.
5. Attach a wire or chain hanger to the rim of the basket. Make sure that the hanger is sturdy enough to hold the weight of the basket when it is completely saturated with water.
6. Partially fill the inside of the basket with a potting mix.
7. The basket is now ready to be planted. Choose your plants for their color, keeping in mind that some will have to be trimmed as they continue to grow (see How to Care for Hanging Baskets). Plant the basket by transplanting plants in the soil on top (adding potting mix between the plants) or push plant plugs through the soft moss around the sides of the basket with a dibble. The plants pushed in through the sides will root and anchor themselves in the soil.
8. Add a time release fertilizer and water the basket well.