Suggestions for hanging baskets

I have some hanging baskets that currently hold vinca minor variegata. I want to put up some more hanging baskets to cover the old cedar fence a bit more, something that will drape down, can handle part shade and is pretty hardy. I like the periwinkle because it stays nice looking all year and has longer blooming flowers, and would prefer something that looks nice all year round, or at least most of the year, as the fence is there all year! The hanging baskets I have now are absolutely horrible at water retention.. so any advice for what types of baskets I should get in addition to these would be great as well.

Thanks!

I would say the first thing you need is plastic pots and deeper than what you have. Then go to Furney's or one of the other nurseries over there and ask them about year-round plants to put in them for your area. It would be pretty difficult for anyone on here to suggest those type of plants for your area.

I must say, you are lucky with the Vincas. I had those when I lived where you are and good grief they even came up in the lawn. I had them everywhere. Be careful of them. If they get in your landscape they are very invasive.

Oh I live SO close to Furneys! I am in there all the time checking what is in bloom! Although I was thinking about trying on here to see if anyone had suggestions that were something I had not yet considered! Funny, when I had talked to my favorite employee at Furneys about the vinca minor in the hanging baskets he said basically the same thing as you did! Although, I actually did not buy the periwinkle, I removed it from a planter box in the ground in the front of our house (as you can see in the picture, this was taken from the king county website, where the photo was taken a couple years before we got the house). For some reason it never grew very well in the planter box on the ground.. and looked horrible.. I moved it to the planters on the fence just to fill them for the time being, but it seems if I decide to neglect them it keeps them at bay, where if I water them then they fill out more. Only 1 sprout keeps coming up, which is actually outside the ground planter box, but the area is mostly cement and packed gravel so I think the poor conditions prevent it from going further until I pull it. I certainly don't plan on putting them in the ground though! I have had to pull out enough ivy to never want a fast growing "ground cover" again! I don't think they will spread if they are kept in a planter box though?

I have a number of the planters and hanging baskets with the coir lining...and agree, it dries out very fast. To slow that down, I use plastic to layer between the soil and the coir lining. Cut a piece to fit the planter, put in place and poke a few small holes in the plastic for drainage.The plastic slows evaporation from the wind and sun as the coir does not hold moisture well.

For summer color, I would fill them with petunias, calibrachoas, and annual Coreopsis , those run the spectrum of colors. In the winter I would use the cool weather annuals like pansies, snapdragons, annual dianthus. They handle cooler weather. You could also, with deeper containers, use chrysanthemums....they stay green and bloom in late spring and again in the fall. You might want to consider some of the succulents...many are used to form "living walls" there are a number that are both heat/drought tolerant and cold hardy.

http://www.plantdelights.com/Living-Walls/products/1018/#.UcMXE5xi024

http://www.littleprinceoforegon.com/brightgreen-living-walls-plants.php

Poo, Moon's suggestion of the pansies is good, but even in Seattle I don't know about winter for them. I think you should maybe look around that area in the winter to get some ideas. It is really difficult for anyone to make suggestions for someone in a different climate, especially like yours. Oregon folks might be able to help. There is a thread on here for Pacific NW people and I think it has mostly people on it in your area and also Oregon coast. You might try them. They are very Knowledgeable folks. The more I think about it, the more I think they are your best bet. Good luck.

Do some more research to see if these will work in your zones, but here are some ideas:
Part shade, hanging, year round leaves or flowers:

Asparagus such as sprengeri compacta
Lysmachia nummularia
Lithodora diffusa (more sun)
Fuchsia (probably spring and summer only, but might be worth it!)
Viola- any of several varieties. Not much of a fence cover, but lots of color, and some are a bit trailing. At least they would hang over the edge of the pot.
Geranium- true Gerenium, not Pelargonium. Some may trail a bit. Many are invasive, if they escape the container.
Lamium maculatum- several leaf colors and flower colors.
Mentha pulgeum- Pennyroyal
Satureja douglasii- Yerba buena
Campanula, trailing types

More vine type of plants can get larger, but that larger leaf mass will call for larger root mass, and might do better planted in the ground and allowed to climb the fence.

Well, the Seattle area does have winter too, even colder than you all think. Plants, most plants, have to have at least 50 degrees or they go dormant. Fuchias go dormant in Seattle in the winter, Lamium would be invasive like the Vincas, I have violas here that are taking over and we are a lot colder than Seattle. They do go dormant here tho. Geraniums would go dormant in Seattle.

Don't know about the rest so you might check them. But the above I am pretty much sure of. You probably already know those Poo. Altho, if you can control Vinca, you might be able to Lamium too. But, I don't know about winter in Seattle with it. And, it is pretty. Even blooms, but the leaves are very pretty. If you want to try it, I can send you some starts but not for a while. I can't do a whole lot right now. Also, there are different kinds of Lamium I think.

See? local people know the conditions better.
Around here, Lamium and Geraniums are evergreen, though they slow down a lot in the winter.

Another point: Containers get a lot colder than the ground in the winter, and a lot hotter in the summer. So whatever is marginal in your area might work in the ground but not in containers that are up in the air like that.

I'm sorry, I should not have said that fuchsias and geraniums go dormant in Seattle in the winter. They die in the winter. I don't know about Lamium in Seattle. It goes dormant here, but comes back like Gang Busters here.

Diana you are so right about the containers being colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. I have lost peony trees and Lace Leaf Maple tree in the winter here. They did just fine in Seattle. Seattle is zone 8 and I am zone 5.

I have a few things that have spent extended time in pots, though sometimes dormant. Dwarf snapdragons stay evergreen here in winter usually, blooming when they do. Tradescantia zebrina is visible except at the coldest times. Gibasis geniculata (Tahitian bridal veil) keeps showing up in its' permanent hanging pot, along with Callisia repens.

Still think Furneys and other local nurseries your best bet. They should be able to help you.