Plug Plants for Hanging Baskets and Containers

Plug plants for hanging baskets and containers are a great addition to the gardener’s growing resources.

Many of us enjoy a summer display of bedding plants in hanging baskets and patio containers. It can be satisfying to grow your own floral displays from seed, but not everyone has the indoor space of greenhouse or windowsills to grow sufficient quantities. Or indeed, always has the time to do so.

Purchasing plug plants and growing these on takes up less space and is still an economical and satisfying method for creating a spectacular floral bedding display at little cost. And although we’re looking at ornamental flowering plants for seasonal display here, vegetable and salad plug plants are also available.

Which size of plug plant is best?

There is no one answer here. It depends on the sizes available for the plants you want and, crucially, how much space you have – those 200 babies soon grow and take up more room in your greenhouse or on your windowsill. Choosing larger plugs may be a more sensible option.

The sizes vary from little fingernail size through to what is virtually a small garden ready plant. generally speaking, the larger the plug, the less care it will need before being planted in to hanging baskets and containers and going out into your garden.

Plug plants are readily available from garden centres, plant nurseries and on line March – May. But they can be ordered in advance from January, to be delivered when they reach a particular size, usually from April.

lavender mini plug plants, comparing size to my thumb

pelargonium plug plants, geraniums, bedding, container plants, hanging baskets

What to do with the baby plants

The really tiny plug plants for hanging baskets and containers may need to be pricked out initially into a seed tray rather than pots. This enables you to give them root and foliage room whilst not taking up too much space in the greenhouse.

However, you will need to transplant them into pots when they’ve grown because as tender plants they won’t be able to go outside until there is no chance of frosts. With larger plug pants and some of the smaller ones, depending on the variety, you can plant up into pots straight away. See the video below for a one-handed example (guess who had mislaid the phone stand!)

Remember –

some plants do better in smaller individual pots to reduce root disturbance, rather than sharing
the plants will still need frost protection
when buying plug plants in person, check for a good root system. That way you know you’re getting a healthy plant that will quickly grow on and flower this summer

Plug plants for hanging baskets – getting them ready for the garden

When they have grown sufficiently, the plants will potentially need to be transplanted into bigger pots and then slowly hardened off before planting into hanging baskets and their final pots outside.

‘Hardening off’ can be seen as a nuisance but it is worthwhile doing as it acclimatises the plant, reducing the shock of a sudden change. Thereby resulting in less interference in the plant’s growth as it has become used to being outside and so grows enthusiastically rather than being ‘checked’.

Two methods for hardening off plants

Firstly, a frequently used and suggested method. On a basic level, this involves putting your many plants in their pots outside in the morning and bringing them back in overnight. But it can also involve halfway houses of cold frames with a lid closed overnight then gradually left more open.

However another method of hardening off is to plant up your container or hanging basket with the plug plants and move that in and out rather than many smaller pots in a drip tray.

Both ways work well, it is matter of personal choice, and when it suits you to plant up your container!

How many plug plants do you need?

Which brings us onto the question of how many plug plants you’ll need for a patio pot. As it is a seasonal floral display expected to last for 4 – 6 months, you would put in more plug plants per hanging basket or container than you would do for a permanent planting scheme.

The advantage of packing them in tightly is that the plants will give you lots and lots of flowers. A rough guide is one plant per inch of hanging basket diameter. This would mean you would need 12 plants to a 12” or 30 cm hanging basket. However, stronger growing plants such as pelargoniums and fuchsias do need more room, so half the amount; roughly 6 to a 12” / 30 cm hanging basket.

A 12” pot or patio container can look well filled with 8 rather than 12 plants. But again, if you’re using pelargoniums or fuchsias, then fewer plants will be needed, I would say 5 – 6 should be plenty.

For large containers, you may need as many as 20 plants, depending on the type and how full a display is needed.

Garden Designer Tip

Remember that not all these bedding plants will need a deep root run if you’re only keeping them for a short season. A good trick when using a large or deep container is to create an inner platform on which you can stand shallower containers or pots. The platform can be as simple as upturned pots with a large gravel tray resting on them.

Plug plants for hanging baskets and containers

Growing all these flowers yourself from plug plants can be very satisfying as well as economical. It certainly allows you to be extravagant and have billowing floral delights all around you. For some ideas for hanging basket containers and different plants to grow in them, why not have a read of our container gardening blogs below?

More ideas and gardening advice can be found in other Plews Potting Shed blogs (including those below) and our monthly Tipsheet . You could come and find us on Instagram – @plewsgd Pinterest and Facebook too.

And on that note, you can have a peek at my garden in the (new) Instagram account @spitfiresandslowworms

And if you’d like some personal help, we offer a mix of practical sessions and theory in our bespoke Gardening Lessons and Courses. There’s a blog link below plus a pdf download with more info