Want perennials that look good both in hanging baskets and in garden arrangements? Check the botanical beauties out!
If you don’t have much floor space and want to introduce plants on a patio, balcony, or in your small yard, then check out these trailing perennials for hanging baskets and plant arrangements for an evergreen display of colors!
Best Trailing Perennials for Hanging Baskets and Plant Arrangements
Note: This list is inclusive of short-lived perennials and biennials. We have mentioned the exact USDA zones in which these plants can be grown as perennials.
1. Fuchsia
Botanical Name: Fuchsia magellanica
USDA Zones: 6-9 (Perennial)
This perennial thrives in hanging baskets and can be an excellent addition to small or large gardens. Select trailing fuchsias for hanging baskets.
2. Dianthus
Botanical Name: Dianthus
USDA Zones: 3-9 (Perennial)
All dianthus or carnation varieties can be grown in hanging baskets. The flower stems give it a good spread in hanging planters when blooms droop down.
3. Ivy
Botanical Name: Hedera helix
USDA Zones: 4-11 (Perennial)
This evergreen perennial comprises many varieties that trail beautifully in hanging baskets. English ivy is the most popular one, loved for its unlobed foliage and blooms.
4. Geranium Rozanne
Botanical Name: Geranium Rozanne
USDA Zones: 5-8 (Perennial)
This hardy geranium looks gorgeous, with purple blooms contrasting against the deep green tendrils that flood beautifully down around the basket.
5. Viola
Botanical Name: Viola spp.
USDA Zones: 3-8 (Short-living perennial)
Sweet-scented, tiny violas look gorgeous in hanging baskets. Choose varieties like ‘Panola Pink Shades’ (V. x wittrockiana) and ‘Plentifall Frost’.
6. Million Bells
Botanical Name: Calibrachoa
USDA Zones: 9-11 (Perennial in mild climates)
The trailing habit makes a million bells an ideal choice for hanging baskets—it grows slowly, giving a cascading look over the rims of the planter with colorful blooms.
7. Nasturtium
Botanical Name: Tropaeolum
USDA Zones: 9-11 (Perennial)
This summer-flowering perennial looks stunning when grown in almost anything – containers, hanging planters, and in the garden, thanks to its bright blooms and lush green leaves. Read more about nasturtium benefits and uses here.
8. Coral Bells
Botanical Name: Heuchera
USDA Zones: 4-9 (Perennial)
Coral bells make a beautiful addition to hanging baskets with bright and patterned foliage to shaded areas of your garden.
9. Impatiens
Botanical Name: Impatiens walleriana
USDA Zones: 10-11 (Perennial)
This shade-loving perennial comes in a wide range of pretty hues, including pink, purple, red, orange, and white. The colorful blooms spill beautifully over the sides of the container.
10. Creeping Jenny
Botanical Name: Lysimachia nummularia
USDA Zones: 4-9
Also known as moneywort, this perennial has bright tiny yellow blooms and coin-like leaves. You can grow it as a spiller in hanging baskets.
11. Moss Rose
Botanical Name: Portulaca
USDA Zones: 3-9 (Perennial)
This easy-to-grow plant shows off cylindrical green leaves and colorful blooms and makes a great addition to hanging baskets. It is easy to grow and can survive with minimal care.
12. Black-Eyed Susan Vine
Botanical Name: Thunbergia alata
USDA Zones: 10-11 (Tender Short-living Perennial)
Black-eyed Susan vine covers the pot beautifully and cascades from hanging baskets. ‘Goldstrum’ is a true perennial and comes back every year.
13. Morning Glory
Botanical Name: Ipomoea purpurea
USDA Zones: 2-8 (Annual), 9-11 (Perennial)
Several morning glory varieties can be grown in hanging baskets as they trail beautifully down over the planter for an attractive display.
14. Coleus
Botanical Name: Coleus scutellarioides
USDA Zones: 10-11 (Herbaceous Perennial)
This fast-growing plant grows fast and comes in a range of textures, colors, designs, and shapes. Choose the best variety for hanging baskets or plant arrangements here.
15. Ferns
Botanical Name: Tracheophyta
USDA Zones: 2-11 (Perennial)
The lacy evergreen fronds look terrific in hanging planters. For a dash of color, you can also grow Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), but it’s not the end, we have a big list of perennial ferns to grow.
16. Sedums
Botanical Name: Sedum
USDA Zones: 3-11 (Perennial)
‘Alice Evans’ trails beautifully from hanging baskets displaying rosettes of green, thick, pointed, fleshy leaves that look like individual blooms.
17. Bougainvillea
Botanical Name: Bougainvillea
USDA Zones: 9-11 (Perennial)
Bougainvillea looks pretty in hanging baskets with colorful blooms in pink and white hues. It can tolerate light freeze, but deep freeze can kill the roots—move it indoors in winter.
18. Bacopa
Botanical Name: Bacopa monnieri
USDA Zones: 8-11 (Perennial)
This pretty perennial trails down beautifully with tiny white or blue blooms and green leaves. Pick ‘Snowtopia’ for white flowers and ‘Bluetopia’ for blue or mixed shows.
19. Trailing Jade
Botanical Name: Peperomia Rotundifolia
USDA Zones: 10a-11b (Perennial)
The thin trailing stems of this epiphyte perennial succulent trail up to 12 inches long with many small green round leaves. Grow it in partially shaded, well-lit areas.
20. Silver Falls Dichondra
Botanical Name: ‘Silver Falls’ Dichondra argentea
USDA Zones: 8-10 (Perennial)
This trailing heat and drought plant with small, round leaves mimics miniature water lily pads. It grows well in full sun to partial shade.
21. Trailing Vinca
Botanical Name: Catharanthus Roseus
USDA Zones: 10-11 (Perennial)
This evergreen subshrub is admired for its glossy green leaves and red, pink, white, and rose-colored blooms. Vinca likes full sun but can withstand partial shade.
22. Lamb’s Ear
Botanical Name: Stachys byzantina
USDA Zones: 4a-9a (Perennial)
This sun-loving perennial is a good candidate for hanging baskets; the thick fuzzy leaves have their own charm. Grow it in evenly moist to dry soil in full sun to partial shade.
23. Cup and Saucer Vine
Botanical Name: Cobaea scandens
USDA Zones: 10-11 (Perennial)
The lightweight, thin, oblong leaves with bell or cup-shaped purple blooms look pretty in hanging planters. Grow this strong, woody perennial vine in moist, well-draining soil.
