I have the same problem and last year I tried the Dragon Wing Begonia with great success. I used the pinkish salmon color but this year will try the red. They flourished as nothing else ever has and were beautiful. I do use the time release water pellets but still have to water quite a bit.

I have a similar situation on my front porch. I have two large pots of plants there that get only a few hours of morning sun.

What works for me is coleus (so many fabulous colors and varieties now) New Guinea Impatiens and sweet potato vine. The coleus gives height, the vines trail and the impatiens fill in the rest. Really pretty.

I like the nonstop tuberous begonias. In particular, mocha scarlet. Deep, velvety red flowers over purple foliage.

How about nasturtiums? There are some nice red varieties.

Last year my nonstop tuberous begonias got mildew badly. First time with that problem.

Have you seen the trailing coleus? I saw some online a while ago. They looked very nice. I will be looking for some this spring at the nurseries here and ordering them next year if I can't find any here.

Coleus, impatiens, ivy, and sweet potato vine are staples in my shade pot. I also use heucheras which have many colors and leaf shapes. Fuchsias do well in shade also. Early spring I use potted bulbs, branches of apple blossoms and pansies/violas later switching to the above. Fall I switch to flowering kale, grasses, snapdragons and a pumpkin, corn and/or gourds.

Regarding the drying problem, how about lining the cocomats with plastic, perhaps a piece of a grocery bag with a few holes punched in the bottom? You could trim the top off neatly at the soil line. You wouldn't lose so much moisture from the sides, but it would still drain.

I just read about a product called Magnimoist liners that are supposed to retain more moisture than coco mats. They're manufactured in Northfield, MN. check out www.thinkmint.com The board won't let me post it as a link.

Last summer I lined 2 of my wire hanging baskets with Magnimoist and they did beautifully. I tried side planting for the first time, so I was concerned that the extra plants in each basket would require me to water more than once a day. These liners are wonderful and worth the money. They held the right amount or water and released excess. As a matter of fact, by the end of the summer, one of my baskets became so huge with beautiful flowers & foliage that the shepherds hook I hung it on bent to the ground because of the weight from lush plants. This spring I will need to come up with another way hold the baskets since I plan to do side planting again & will definitely use the liners again. By the way, these liners are available at most nurseries.

I would have to agree with the Dragonwing Begonia contingent, they took a while to get a goin, but once they did they were fab. The only drawback is that they can be a bit on the messy side, dropping spent gooey flowers, but worth the cleanup for me, I have the same light situation at my front door. Helen.

I read a tip on here about the moisture for hanging baskets or container and you could simply line the pot with a disposable diaper- pull the inner lining off of it first- they contain the moisture retention gel. Do a search for diaper on this site and you will pull up directions.

I tried the diaper thing several years ago with HORRIBLE results, they hold too much moisture, and the plants rotted and molded and yuck!

Beware....

Helen.

Thanks for the MagniMoist tip, my baskets looked award winning

Couldn't agree more - Dragon Wing Begonia. I use it everyplace that nothing else grows.
gramma jan