Hanging baskets are a great way to make the most of your yard, porch, or balcony by giving it more depth, texture, and color. Here are some of our favorites annual hanging baskets for both sun and shade!.
When it comes to creating a stunning hanging basket display selecting plants that can prosper in full sun is key. While some flowering plants prefer partial shade or even full shade conditions the ones that really thrive in direct sunlight bring bold, vibrant beauty to your hanging baskets all season long.
If you have a spot that receives at least 5-6 hours of hot sun daily. these sun-loving hanging plants are perfect choices to create a cascade of colorful blooms
Petunias
Petunias are one of the most popular annuals for hanging baskets and for good reason – they bloom prolifically in full sun! With trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of purple, pink, red, yellow, white and bicolors, petunias offer season-long color. Some top varieties include:
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Supertunia® – Extra large blooms on trailing vines. Stays flowerful for months
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Wave Petunias – Heat and drought tolerant once established. Blooms early spring to frost.
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Surfinia® – Dense, mounding habit. Withstands rain and heat well.
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Million Bells® – Profuse trailing blooms. Thrives in heat and loves sun.
Petunias may need deadheading to encourage new blooms. Provide at least 6 hours of direct sun for best flowering.
Million Bells® (Calibrachoa)
Like a mini petunia on steroids, Million Bells offers crazy amounts of small, petunia-like blooms on fast growing, trailing stems. An exceptional choice for hanging in full sun, Million Bells stays blanketed in vibrant colors from spring through fall with little fuss. Super heat and drought tolerant.
Popular varieties include Superbells® and Can-CanTM. Fantastic for cascading over the edges of hanging baskets and window boxes. Thrives in hot, sunny spots. Deadhead to prolong bloom time.
Bougainvillea
For year-round color in warm climates, bougainvillea is a superb option for sun-drenched hanging baskets. Showy papery bracts in shades of pink, purple, orange, white and red give an eye-catching display. The vigorous, vining habit looks fantastic spilling over basket edges.
Provide full sun and well-drained soil. Protect from frost in cold zones. Drought tolerant once established. A real showstopper basket plant for hot sunny spots.
Portulaca (Moss Rose)
Heat and drought loving portulaca is a champion bloomer in full, baking sun. The succulent-like foliage stays fresh under intense sunlight while the colorful, rose-like blooms keep coming all season.
Great for hot, dry climates or poor soil. Thrives when other plants fizzle in heat and humidity. Blooms in neon shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, purple and white. Deadhead spent blooms to encourage continuous flowering.
Dragon Wing Begonia
The Dragon Wing begonia thrives in full sun unlike traditional wax begonias that need shade. Dragon Wing offers big clusters of flowers held above lush foliage. Gorgeous blooms in red, pink, white, orange and bicolors.
Dragon Wing keeps flowering spring through frost. Does well in heat and humidity. Very versatile – also grows well in partial shade. A fantastic filler plant for mixed baskets, window boxes and containers.
SunPatiens®
When even petunias and calibrachoa struggle in blistering sun, reach for SunPatiens. This tough impatiens withstands full sun and bounces back after rain and extreme heat stress.
Massive flowers in bright colors bloom spring to fall. Heat and humidity loving. Very resistant to disease. Low maintenance. The perfect impatiens for sun-drenched hanging baskets where traditional impatiens would fail.
More Full Sun Hanging Basket All-Stars:
- Lantana – Heat lover with clusters of flowers in bold tropical colors.
- Ivy Geraniums – Durable cascading blooms spring through fall.
- Verbena – Prolific umbels of flowers withstand sun and heat.
- Scaevola – Fan-shaped flowers blanket trailing stems.
- Sweet Potato Vine – Chartreuse or deep purple trailing foliage.
- Bacopa – Abundant little blooms on trailing vines.
- Thunbergia – Beautiful trailing vines with trumpet shaped blooms.
- Angelonia – Spikes of flowers resemble snapdragons. Tough in heat.
- Euphorbia – Bold foliage and long lasting chartreuse blooms.
Designing Sun-Loving Hanging Baskets
When designing a hanging basket for full sun, include a trailing plant to cascade over the edges as this is one of the signature looks for hanging baskets. Go for at least 3 types of plants – a trailer, a filler, and a thriller.
Some winning combinations for sun include:
- Supertunia®, Ivy Geraniums, & Bacopa
- Million Bells®, Portulaca, & Verbena
- Lantana, Scaevola, & Sweet Potato Vine
Aim for complementary colors and a variety of flower shapes and foliage textures. Plant tags will indicate sun preferences to help guide plant selection.
Caring for Sunny Hanging Baskets
The key to success with sunny hanging baskets is consistent moisture. Check baskets daily and water thoroughly anytime top inch of soil feels dry. Early morning is best to allow foliage to dry out during the day.
Well-drained, lightweight potting mix is ideal as it holds moisture but won’t get waterlogged. Fertilize every 2 weeks to support abundant blooming.
Regular deadheading of spent blooms keeps plants neat and encourages more flowers. Prune back any overgrown trailing stems. Watch for pests like aphids and treat promptly.
With a bit of effort to provide ideal growing conditions, you’ll be rewarded with spectacular hanging baskets bursting with lively blooms all season long!
Welcome Bold, Vibrant Color With Sun-Loving Hanging Plants
When searching for fabulous flowers that can bask in bright, hot sunlight for extended periods, look no further than this collection of luminous superstars. Their ability to soak up full sun while dazzling with lively blooms makes them ideal picks for hanging baskets in sunny spots. With a trailing plant incorporated to spill over basket edges, the result will be a breathtaking display – no shade required!
Hanging Baskets for Sun
GERANIUM
A summertime staple, geraniums are versatile and heat tolerant. They have a mounding or semi-trailing habit and are available in a variety of colors. They do best in full sun as long as you don’t let them dry out completely. They like morning sun and some afternoon shade. To encourage new, full blooms all summer, feed every 10-14 days and deadhead spent blooms.
DRAGONWING BEGONIAS
The number of Begonia varieties out there is truly astounding. One of our favorite full-sun varieties (that can also grow in part shade) is Dragonwing Begonia. This is a great plant for porch pots and combos, and it also looks great in a hanging basket. With blooms that will flower from spring through frost, it’s no wonder this is a timeless classic. Dragonwing Begonias can handle the heat, don’t mind not getting watered some days, have a nice branching habit, and don’t need to be pruned or deadheaded. Available in pink and red at Painters this season.
GIANT WAX BEGONIA – BRONZE LEAF OR GREEN LEAF
Another favorite Begonia, the Giant Wax Begonia, is a hybrid cross between wax and angel wing begonias. Its vigorous, bushy, and heavy-blooming. Due to its neater upright shape, it makes a great thriller addition to a combo pot or a full basket by itself. It appreciates full to partial sun and evenly moist soil, and will bloom spring through fall. Big color, big size, big impact!.
SCAEVOLA (FAN FLOWER)
This one-of-a-kind plant will keep you and your guests interested all summer long with its lovely trailing habit and lots of fan-shaped flowers. If you hang this plant from a tree, it will spill over the side and live up to its name, which is the Fairy Fan Flower. In a hot and humid climate this annual will offer blooms from early spring until first frost. Its thick stems make it even more resistant to drought, which makes it perfect for hanging baskets that dry out faster than pots. If you forget to water it for a few days, it will grow back. It doesn’t need to be pinched back and doesn’t need much fertilizer.
PETUNIAS
Petunias have always been a favorite in gardens. From early spring until the first frost, their big, bright blooms come in an endless range of colors. These plants are easy to take care of, but they don’t like it when they get dry, so on hot days they may need to be watered twice a day. While petunias can tolerate part sun they give off their best show in full sun. There are a huge number of varieties to pick from. The ones we usually grow are Cascadias (big flowers that cascade), Shockwaves (long bloom season, small, dense flowers that are more hardy in bad weather), and E3 Waves (vigorous and lush). The only question is which color will you pick?.
CALIBRACHOA (MILLION BELLS)
Calibrachoa, which is also known as Million Bells, is an annual plant that grows best in full sun and has a beautiful mounding and trailing growth habit. It comes in many colors and can bloom one or twice. The flowers look like those of its cousin, the petunia, but they are much smaller. What the flowers lack in size, they make up for in number. These bright blooms also attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your front porch or garden. The million bells like full sun to part sun, but they’ll bloom most when they have 6 hours of full sun. It’s possible for calibrachoas flowers to stay in bloom all summer long, even when it’s very hot outside. Keep their soil evenly moist but be wary of overwatering! Occasional feed helps too!.
PORTULACA (MOSS ROSES)
This flowering succulent that comes back every year has some of the brightest blooms in shades of pink, orange, yellow, and purple. It’s a great choice for people who like plants that don’t need much care. That’s why you should put this plant somewhere with full sun if you want to see the bright pops of color that open every morning. This plant can handle high temperatures and drought better than the other annuals on this list because it is a succulent. It also needs less watering. This low maintenance plant only requires water when the top 1/2-1″ is completely dry.
LANTANA
Lantana is a profuse flowering plant that will provide a long-lasting show of color. This beautiful plant is also a favorite of butterflies. It’s easy to grow and blooms best in full sun (6 hours a day). It can handle hot and dry conditions well, which makes it a great choice for a hanging basket. Regularly remove the spent flowers to encourage new ones to grow. If plants get too tall by midsummer, cut them back by up to a third.
Best Flowers for Full-Sun Hanging Baskets | Fairview Garden Center
FAQ
What hanging plant likes the heat?