Reusing coconut fiber hanging baskets

What's the best way to sanitize these? I have a dozen of them from last summer which I washed in hot water at summer's end but I'm reluctant to use detergents or bleach until I get advice from others who know how to best cleam them. I've got Impatiens impatiently waiting.

I think any kind of detergent you use is going to end up sticking to the fibers of the basket and be really hard to get rid of. If you cleaned it thoroughly with hot water and put fresh soil in it I bet it'll be fine. Unless you had some disease problems with the plants that you had in it last year, then I'd try the bleach even though I'm not sure what it'll do to the basket but otherwise you'd just have to throw it out so it's worth experimenting.

That's a really good question. I've never even considered cleaning mine. I just dumped the dirt and refilled them.

Did you have a disease or pest problem last year? What kind? Rather than soaking in bleach is it possible to treat the liner w/ whatever type of insecticide (or what-have-you) that would treat the problem? Depending on what you're dealing with, Neem Oil could be the answer to a lot of problems.

I tossed out a lot of my coco liners a while ago and went w/ sphagnum moss instead. It can be a bit of work to get a lot of pots lined in the beginning, but I liked the look much better. Just letting you know of another option if you're going to have to spend money.

Attaching pic of sphag moss lined basket from last year.

Hi Heatherjoy- thanks for the reply and I am wondering where you get peat liners, if they dry out faster (I am planting Impatiens) and if for say 12' baskets they are more or less expensive then coconut fiber? (The coconut fibers run about $3 each at walmart.)

When I did my baskets I couldn't find sphag peat liners so I just bought the bricks of sphag peat and lined them myself. I just did a Google search for sphagnum moss liner and got a ton of hits, so you can check that out.

I'd say they hold water about the same as coco liners. One great way to help with not having to water 3x a day is water crystals. If you've never used them or never heard of them here's a great info thread on them http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/697540/#new Right now there's also a co-op on DG for the crystals, w/ amazing prices...I think they are still available...it's linked from the post I linked.

If you go w/ sphag moss and you're going to line your own from the bricks let me know and I'll get you some info about how to do it. That'll save you some headaches.

Please do (pass on some info) By bricks I suume you mean the large rectagular bags that have been compressed? I have half of some sitting in my garage. Or is this something diefferent? The stuff i have turns to powder as soon as I stick a spade into it.

Sphagnum moss and Sphagnum PEAT moss are not the same. Sorry if I confused you, I should have been more clear. What you would want, specifically, is Long Fibered Sphagnum Moss. http://homeharvest.com/soilconditionerspeat.htm On this page the last product shown is Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss. See the difference?

This is most often used in orchid growing. I'm not into Orchids, so I don't know a lot about all that, but I"m sure some info can be found by looking at Orchid resources.

I've always bought my bricks at Lowe's or Home Depot. They weigh nothing, so if you would need to have them shipped to you it shouldn't cost much more than the weight of the box they are in.

Here's a supplier
http://www.orchid-supplies.com/orchid_moss.html


I had a link to a how-to for lining baskets but now I can't find it. grrr. I think you may be further ahead to just buy the liners rather than buying the bricks anyway. It's a lot of work. If you're really interested in doing it w/ the bricks I'll dig up some info though. LMK.

PS...always wear gloves when working w/ Sphag moss, it *can* contain a fungus than can cause an infection. Just a warning that you don't always see up front.

Thanks for the clarification and for what I think might be a very economical alternative to coconut liners, jusging from the price listed on the site you referenced. I will try Home Depot tonight or tomorrow as there's one here in town. That bag looks like a LOT of liners for only six bucks. Thanks again

Good luck! Let me know how it works out.

I would like to know the best way to transplant soil/pansies I recently planted in a hanging basket. The reason I ask is because I reused a coconut liner from last year. I guess it was too frayed, though it didn't look too bad to me. However, as soon as I hung it up, birds began tearing it apart (to use for their nests).
Should I cut the sides and ease soil/rootball out as best I can? Do I thoroughly water it before? Thank you in advance.

This thread is 9 yrs old. Your best bet would be to start a new thread, it will get more traffic. Good Luck!