One of the best ways to add big life and interest to your containers and hanging baskets is to add trailing plants that spill all over the sides of the planter – and today we feature six of the best spilling plants of all that can bring your containers and baskets to life like no other!
Long, flowing plants that spill over the edges of a potted plant or basket create a whole new look. Not only do they help to give additional depth and length with their foliage, they can also compliment the other plantings in the pot that grow above or around the container.
All of the plants below are more than capable of creating an amazing container plant all on their own, or, compliment the other plants growing in the pot as well. Even better, they are all popular enough to usually find ready to go transplants at your local garden center or nursery!
6 Great Trailing Plants To Use In Hanging Baskets & Containers
#1 – Silver Falls Dichondra
The unique color and trailing habits of Silver Falls Dichondra make it an incredible choice for hanging baskets and container plantings. Especially ones that grow in more shade than sun!
Silver Falls Dichondra features loads of compact greenish-silver circular leaves that spill over the edges of containers, extending three to four feet or more. The foliage has a somewhat translucent hue that makes it appear to almost shimmer in the daylight.
The plant is a great choice for shadier porches and patios. It pairs well when planted with impatiens, another shade loving annual. Together, the bright colors of the impatiens up top and the long trailing foliage of Dichondra meld together beautifully.
Silver Falls Dichondra will not tolerate lights frosts – so be careful with it early in the season. It will continue to grow in length all summer long – but can be easily trimmed back if need be.
#2 Sweet Potato Vines
If you are looking for a trailing plant with massive foliage power, then the sweet potato vine is for you! Although a relative to sweet potatoes that grow as a vegetable, sweet potato vines are ornamental varieties of the plant that grow incredibly long flowing vines filled with colorful leaves.
You can find sweet potato vine varieties in yellowish-green, light green, red, purple, purplish-black, or even bronze. And can they ever grow fast! Sweet potato vines take very little nutrients from the soil, but grow quickly, spreading their vines out over large areas in a flash.
Sweet potato vines add loads of interest and color as they cascade down over baskets and containers. They are wonderful for planting with other vertical growing flowering annuals. Together, the plants massive foliage and flower combos can be quite stunning.
Sweet potato vines can handle full sun, but their foliage performs best when grown in areas that receive some shade. The vines grow from tubers but you can also propagate new starts from cuttings. Most nurseries and plant stores carry small inexpensive starts in the spring.
The plants are annuals and will die if hit by a frost. But the good news is that you can take a few cuttings in the early fall and grow them as a houseplant over winter. Then, next spring, you can create new cuttings to plant outdoors – all for free!
#3 Calibrachoa – One Of The Best Trailing Plants Of All For Containers!
Calibrachoa, often called “Million Bells,” is the perfect spilling plant for containers because of its nonstop blooming habit and trailing growth. Once established, its stems naturally drape over the edges of pots and hanging baskets, creating a waterfall of color that lasts from spring through fall.
The small, petunia-like flowers come in nearly every color imaginable, allowing gardeners to match or contrast with upright and filler plants easily. Another reason calibrachoa shines in containers is its ability to stay compact yet full, offering lush growth without overtaking other plants. See our article: The Best Hanging Basket Plant Choice Of All – Calibrachoa!
It handles heat well and requires little maintenance aside from regular watering and feeding. Unlike traditional petunias, calibrachoa doesn’t usually need deadheading, making it ideal for busy gardeners who want beauty without the work.
Calibrachoa also plays well with a variety of container plants, making it a favorite in mixed designs. Whether paired with upright grasses, bold annuals, or other trailing varieties, it adds texture and movement to container displays.
#4 – The Beauty Of Black Eyed Susan Vine
Not to be confused with the perennial Black-Eyed Susan plant that grows in many flowerbeds – Black Eyed Susan vine is actually a tender perennial that hails from the tropics.
Although this vine is technically a perennial, it grows as an annual in most climates and is perfect for containers and hanging baskets. It can quite easily be grown from seed, either starting indoors, or planting directly into pots and planters once the temperature warms outside.
The vines fill with blooms and grow six to eight feet over the course of a growing season. Their soft, star-like petals bloom best when grown in full sun, but this durable plant handles partial sun as well.
What makes the Black Eyed Susan vine a great container plant is that it requires very little maintenance or nutrients to survive. That allows it to grow with flowering annuals in the same pot without worry of nutrient deficiencies. And even better – they grow easily from seed. Affiliate Link: Park Seed Black-Eyed Susan Vine Seeds, 2 Pack – 25 Seeds in Each Pack
Best of all, the trailing plant does not require deadheading to continue blooming all season long in your containers and hanging baskets. Talk about a low maintenance wonder plant!
#5 Wave Petunias
Along with calibrachoa, wave petunias (pictured at the top of the article) may be the most colorful of all of the trailing plants around. Wave petunias fill their long vining-style stems with a massive amount of blooms. And can they ever spill out and over the edges of containers to make a statement!
Much like the Black Eyed Susan vine, you do not have to deadhead old blooms. Even without removing spent blooms, the plant will keep producing loads of flowers. You can find varieties of wave petunias in red, white, blue, purple, pink and rose – making them perfect for pairing with other plants.
Wave petunias are actually wonderful all over the landscape. The sprawling habits make them perfect for filling large open flowerbed spaces.
#6 – Using Trailing Verbena Plants In Containers
Trailing verbena is perfect for providing loads of overflowing color for containers, window boxes and hanging baskets.
The long trailing clusters of flowers add big interest as they spill down and out over the side. The blooms of verbena are extremely bright. So bright that they are wonderful for attracting hummingbirds, making your baskets and containers even more enjoyable for viewing.
Trailing verbena is available in a wide variety of colors, ranging from white, purple, violet, red and more. Verbena is highly tolerable of hot and dry conditions – making it a perfect companion plant for growing in baskets and containers.
Verbena prefers full sun, and handles the heat of porches and patios that receive full sun. It also happens to be highly resistant to disease and pest attacks.
Here is to using some of the best trailing plants in your containers and hanging baskets this year!
This Is My Garden
Follow Our Facebook Page For Great Gardening Tips And Advice! This Is My Garden Facebook Page
This Is My Garden is a garden website created by gardeners, for gardeners. Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books and speaking for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. They publish three articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along!