The blooming season may have passed its zenith, but fall hanging baskets are all about rich tones, contrasting textures, and long-lasting durability.
Fall is a beautiful time of year, with leaves changing color and cooler weather arriving. While summer annuals fade away, you can keep your hanging baskets looking fabulous by switching to plants that thrive in autumn’s cooler conditions. The right fall hanging basket plants will give you weeks of color to welcome guests and complement your autumn decor.
In this article, I’ll share 11 of the very best options to create stunning hanging baskets this fall. These champs deliver color through frost and chill, often right up till winter’s first snowfall. Read on for tips, tricks and top plant picks to inspire your fall hanging container designs.
Why Go For Fall Hanging Baskets?
Hanging baskets make it easy to decorate for fall. Display them on porches patios balconies, above front doors or alongside steps. When you choose plants that relish cooler temperatures, fall hanging baskets will outshine summertime versions with months of carefree beauty.
As summer annuals fade out, colorful autumn baskets take over to bridge the gap until it’s time for holiday greenery They infuse outdoor areas and entrances with vibrant fall hues that welcome guests You’ll enjoy their brightness and live color against autumn backdrops of falling leaves.
Top Plant Picks for Stunning Fall Hanging Baskets
Here are 11 can’t-miss options that thrive in autumn’s chill while delivering a sensational floral display:
1. Ornamental Kale and Cabbage
These cool weather-loving plants are prized for their gorgeous rosette foliage in shades of cream, pink, white and purple. Frilly, ruffled leaves become even more vivid in fall’s cooler temperatures. Toss them in mixed baskets or showcase on their own for unique texture and fall color.
2. Pansies and Violas
No fall basket would be complete without these flowering superstars. Pansies and violas bloom abundantly in shades of yellow, purple, blue, white and more right up till freezing temps arrive. New trailing types add gorgeous draping color.
3. Flowering Kale
Another beauty grown for its stunning leaves, flowering kale brings uniqueness to autumn displays. Look for kinds like ‘Color Up’ and ‘Colorburst’ featuring pink, purple and white foliage.
4. Cyclamen
Cyclamen’s dainty blooms inspired by butterflies give a charming touch to fall containers. These tuberous perennials produce flowers in white, pink, red and purple atop attractively marbled and patterned foliage. They keep blooming lightly into winter in warmer zones.
5. Garden Mums
These autumn icons come in a fantastic range of fall shades like yellow, burnt orange, burgundy, purple and bronze. Select mounded varieties that will combine beautifully with trailing ivy or pansies. Display mum baskets prominently to enjoy their seasonal blooms.
6. Ornamental Grasses
For delightful movement and texture, add ornamental grasses like millet, carex, pennisetum and stipa. Their slender blades rustle attractively in fall breezes and create lovely contrasts in texture and form.
7. Snapdragon
A traditional autumn favorite, snapdragons bloom prolifically in cool conditions with spikes of ruffled flowers. New trailing types add gorgeous draping color and fragance. Plant them with pansies and kale for sensational fall displays.
8. Ornamental Peppers
Peppers shimmer with glossy black, purple or red fruits that won’t fade as temperatures drop. Try varieties like ‘Black Pearl’, ‘Midnight Fire’ and ‘Sangria’ for stunning contrast alongside autumn-blooming flowers.
9. Dusty Miller
Grown for its striking silver-white foliage, dusty miller makes an ideal thriller plant for fall. It contrasts beautifully with the crimson leaves of ornamental peppers or rich hues of pansies and kale.
10. Flowering Cabbage
Similar to kale, flowering cabbage delivers unique color with pink, white and purple rosettes. Combine with pumpkins, gourds and fall blooms for on-theme appeal. Its colors become richer as temperatures cool.
11. Hardy Hibiscus
In warmer zones, hardy hibiscus blooms right into autumn with huge, tropical-looking flowers. It survives winters in zones 5 to 10, lighting up fall baskets with color. Plant it with ivy and violas for months of beauty.
Designing Stunning Fall Hanging Basket Displays
Creating a sensational fall hanging basket display is easy if you follow a few simple tips:
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Include “thrillers” like ornamental grasses or trailing ivy for draping structure.
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Add mid-level “filler” plants such as pansies, violas and flowering kale.
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Incorporate “spillers” like trailing snapdragons or cyclamen.
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Use baskets in colors that complement your autumn decor.
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Group multiple baskets together for big impact.
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Display where their vibrant colors will attract attention.
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Shift indoor hanging baskets onto covered porches or patios to extend enjoyment.
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Water regularly as fall wind and sun dry baskets faster.
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Move indoors or protect from hard freezes below 25° Fahrenheit.
Welcome Autumn in Style with Fabulous Fall Hanging Baskets
Fall hanging baskets let you decorate for the season with beautiful flowers and foliage that handle dropping temperatures with ease. Use them abundantly to create stunning displays sure to turn heads.
With the right plant choices, proper care and creative combinations, your autumn hanging baskets will keep their gorgeous colors right up until winter’s first snowflakes fall. So take advantage of cooler weather and get your fall hanging basket planting on!
Bringing The Outdoors In
The landscape and gardens may be frosted over or tormented by icy winds and cold temperatures, but a hanging basket can hang out inside until the skies clear.
Elevate the Fall Celebrations
All the advantages of growing hanging baskets through spring and summer are virtually doubled in stunning fall hanging baskets.
The gardens have been put to bed but the embellishments and architectural structure that hanging baskets provide can continue through fall. Some may even last through winter in warm places.
A stunning fall hanging basket will be thoroughly enjoyed when planning and planting your favorite spring-blooming bulbs that are planted in fall as well as planting the best perennials to plant in fall.
Fall blooming perennials can inspire a theme or color choices for incredible coordinated fall hanging baskets as well.
Hanging Baskets & Fall Plants! #horsham #gardencenter #gardening #flowers #shopping
FAQ
What is a good fall hanging plant?
What are Good Fall Flowers for Hanging Baskets? Mums – Often called Chrysanthemums, their fiery hues perfectly match fallen leaves. They also make a stunning display when grouped together with sunflowers and autumn leaves. Liven up any space with this unexpected burst of color.
What do you put in a hanging basket in October?
- Ivy – this is a great foliage plant that hangs down to give your hanging basket a bit of depth.
- Heathers – these hardy plants grow upwards to give your basket some height.
- Miniature firs – these are another perfect plant to give your basket some green height.
What plants can you put in hanging baskets for winter?
Other good cool-season hanging basket plants include pansies, dianthus, grape hyacinth, Tete a Tete and other miniature daffodils, parsley, sedums, chives and garlic chives, small snapdragons, and, when the weather is less hard-freezy, lettuces and nasturtiums.
What is the best low-maintenance plant for hanging baskets?
Succulents are always popular, especially those that cascade over the rim of a hanging basket. They’re low-maintenance plants. Most are perennial (long-lived).