By Karen Weir-Jimerson
Hanging plants offer vertical appeal to indoor spaces. Here are seven creative ways to display plants that like to trail and climb.
1 Choose trailing species
Some plants are destined to trail. Perhaps the two most well-known hanging plants are pothos and philodendron. See the differences between varieties here. Both produce long stems covered with heart-shape leaves that hang (or climb). Encourage hanging plants simply by allowing them to do their thing. If you like these plants to be more bushy, trim back tendrils which allows the plant to build more bulk.
2 Suspend hanging baskets from the ceiling
Lots of plants are sold in hanging baskets, so all you have to do is hang them up in your home. Ta-da! An uninspiring corner can be lushed up with a hanging fern. Open sunny spots can welcome a hanging basket. Use a strong hook from the ceiling to hang your plant. Hang plants in low traffic areas so as your plant extends in length, tendrils won’t grab people as they walk by.
3 Create “green” curtains using a wall bracket
Hang a plant from a wall bracket over a window to create green curtains and a beautiful lush view from inside your home all the time. Light-loving plants will flourish in a window and you’ll be rewarded with lovely lush foliage as the plant grows and tendrils downward. English ivy trails over the sides of a pot, forming long tresses of foliage. Hoya (aka wax plant) comes in a wide variety of leaf types. They are vigorous trailers that create curtains of glossy foliage. See hoya care tips here.
4 Use a macrame hanger
You don’t need a plant that tendrils in order to hang it up. Macrame and twine hangers allow you to hang up any type of plant, regardless of whether the foliage actually hangs downward. Consider all types of plants for this, including sharing plant, succulents, cactus, and snake plant. If you can fit the pot into a macrame hanger, you can hang it up.
5 Display on a pedestal
Another way to show off the charms of tendrilling plants is to set them on a pedestal and allow their foliage to cascade down. You can find plant pedestals in all types of styles: classic Greek columns, filigreed Victorian plant stands, on minimalist rustic stools. Arrowhead plant sprouts aerial roots from the stems that cascade. See how elevating a plant on a shelf is a beautiful idea.
6 Set into footed planters
Popular in today’s modern decor are footed planters that elevate a plant. Even large floor plants can rise to the occasion when lifted from the floor. Footed planters are also ideal for raising the profile of a trailing potted plant from a tabletop or living room side table. Choose footed planters for displaying the beautiful variegated foliage of columnea, whose pendulous stems swoop and cascade.
7 Encourage roaming
As the tendrils of some hanging plants get longer, you can drape them across window sills or porch railings. Philodendron and pothos grow long, leaf-covered stems, then spread out for yards and yards. Be creative! Training them across porch railings. Give them a leg up spindles on a staircase. Discover more design inspiration using vines.
