Fill Your Hanging Baskets With A Tropical Creeping Plant That Hummingbirds Adore

You love a good hanging basket on your front porch and always have a beautiful display each summer. But this season you're looking for something a little extra, a unique flower that brings a bit of a show, and maybe go a step beyond the neighbor two doors down who always wins the garden of the year award. If you want a gorgeous hanging basket plant that hummingbirds absolutely love, you might want to consider a creeping fuchsia (Fuchsia procumbens).

Creeping fuchsia isn't just your run-of-the-mill fuchsia. You can definitely make your garden pop with this long-lasting, vibrant flowering plant. Native to the coast of New Zealand, its abundant green foliage has bright yellow tube-shaped flowers with bits of purple. Unlike most fuchsia flowers, these don't hang down like a bell, but rather face upward as they grow. Another fun fact: they have blue pollen.

One thing they do have in common with most other fuchsia varieties, though, is their ability to attract hummingbirds. So not only will these gorgeous, sprawling plants cascade over the ends of the hanging planter like a tropical waterfall of flowers, but your porch will buzz with hummingbirds fluttering about. Talk about putting on a show! Another unique thing about creeping fuchsia is that once the flowers bloom, they turn into big seed pods, which eventually grow into dark berries that birds love. Though they are edible for humans, too, we suggest letting the birds have them, as they don't have much flavor and can be a tad slimy.

Creeping fuchsia is a perennial that is hardy in zones 9 and 10. You can use the USDA Hardiness Zone Map to look up your zone and make sure you're in an appropriate place for the plants to thrive. Once you've confirmed that and have the hanging basket of your choosing, you're ready to go. If your basket is not lined, like say with an empty wire basket, go ahead and line it with material that will allow for adequate drainage, like burlap. Then fill the basket with potting mix, stopping ½ inch to 1 inch from the top rim. Dig a hole in the soil equal to the size of the nursery pot the fuchsia came in, so it will sit at about the same height in the hanging basket as it is in the original pot. Then, gently remove the plant from the pot and place it in the hole. Water the plant well once planted.

When deciding where to hang your planter basket, consider that they love full sun to partial shade. Another tip you need to know to successfully grow flowers in hanging baskets is how frequently to water them. You'll want to water your fuchsias as often as needed to keep the soil moist to the touch, while also ensuring that it's draining well. You can place a bucket under the hanging basket to catch the drainage, then reuse that water the next time the soil is looking thirsty. If your creeping fuchsia is creeping a bit too much, you can trim it back occasionally to keep it shaped as you like it.