For a winter hanging basket, start with hardy violas or trailing ‘Cool Wave’ pansies, then add a little small-leaved ivy around the rim. These give a useful mix of flowers and foliage without making the basket heavy with large shrubs.
Hang it where it receives good daylight and some shelter from strong wind. Flowering slows in hard cold, so the leaves and shape need to look good too. If you would rather hang a finished display, a pre-planted ‘Ice Babies’ viola basket is the simplest buying route.
Best for a neat, colourful basket: winter violas
Violas suit smaller baskets and mixed displays where you want a compact mound of flowers. ‘Sorbet XP’ is a good choice for this shape. Its small blooms sit close to the foliage rather than looking oversized on a modest basket.
Use garden-ready plants for autumn planting. They are easier to arrange into a finished display than tiny plugs, and you can judge the rootballs before deciding how many fit. Set them close enough to look settled while leaving room to firm compost between the roots.
Choose one colour family for a calm doorstep display, or a mixed pack if you enjoy a livelier effect. Keep the basket low enough to remove faded flowers comfortably. A basket you cannot reach soon accumulates wet petals and dead leaves.
Best for spilling over the sides: ‘Cool Wave’ pansies
‘Cool Wave’ pansies have a spreading, gently cascading habit. Choose them when the basket will be seen from below and you want flowers to soften its outline. Upright bedding pansies can make a lovely top display, but they will not give the same trailing shape.
Arrange the young plants near the outer part of the basket, directing their growth towards the rim. Allow their stems room to spread as spring growth begins. A small amount of ivy is enough; packing both vigorous trailers into every gap can hide the flowers.
The trailing display builds as the plants grow. Planting a basket in cool autumn weather will not produce the long flower-covered curtain shown in a mature spring photograph overnight. Good light and regular deadheading help keep the plants productive as conditions improve.
View garden-ready ‘Cool Wave Mix’ pansies at Thompson & Morgan
Best for evergreen trailing foliage: ivy ‘Glacier’
Variegated ivy keeps a basket looking planted when flowers are sparse. ‘Glacier’ brings cream-edged leaves that stand out against purple violas or darker pansies.
Buy small plants that can be tucked around the rim without squeezing out most of the compost. Two modest trailing shoots can be more useful than a large climbing specimen with a rootball that fills half the basket. Trim shoots that hang across doors or catch on people passing.
When you empty the winter basket, ivy can be potted separately and reused. Check its roots before putting it straight into another mixed display: an established plant may need more space than it did when first bought.
View small ‘Glacier’ ivy plants at Thompson & Morgan
Best when you want the planting done: an ‘Ice Babies’ basket
A pre-planted basket is convenient if you need one or two displays and would otherwise buy spare plants, a liner and a bag of compost. The ‘Ice Babies’ option comes in a 20cm basket, so it suits a modest entrance rather than a large wall needing a substantial feature.
Each basket contains a single viola variety. Treat photographs of mixed colours as examples of the range, rather than expecting every pictured colour in one basket. Check the description and hanging fittings supplied before ordering.
Unpack promptly, check the compost and water if needed. Hang it in good light, within easy reach. A planted basket still needs deadheading and moisture checks, especially under a porch where rain misses it.
Build a basket that is easy to look after
For a DIY basket, choose a sound frame and a liner that holds the compost securely while allowing drainage. Wet compost is heavy, so use a bracket and fixings suitable for the loaded basket and the wall. Take it down during severe wind if it swings dangerously.
A good peat-free multipurpose compost suits seasonal violas and pansies. Fill around the rootballs, firm lightly and leave a little space below the rim for watering. The winter container compost guide explains why a heavy mature-shrub mix is usually unnecessary here.
Water must be able to leave containers after soaking the roots. Check the liner and base. A solid outer bowl needs a drainage route; rainwater should not collect beneath the rootballs.
Start with established plants while there is still some autumn warmth. If you are planting late, buy a display that already looks reasonably full. Small plants make little progress in the darkest weeks.
Keep flowers coming into spring
Feel the compost before watering. A basket can dry out in wind even in cool weather, while one in persistent rain may remain wet for days. When it needs water, apply it gently across the surface and let the excess drain.
Pinch off faded flowers and their little seed pods, then remove yellow leaves. Feed according to the compost and fertiliser instructions as active growth resumes; adding extra feed to cold, saturated compost will not make plants grow faster.
Deep shade gives a poorer flower display. If the doorway receives very little daylight, a floor-standing foliage container may be more successful. The winter pot plant guide includes skimmia and heuchera options.
For further planting and maintenance guidance, see RHS hanging baskets. The Cool Wave breeder’s growing information describes the series’ spreading habit.
