Flowering hanging baskets for shade


8 Best Hanging Basket Plants & Flowers for Shade

Growing plants and flowers in hanging baskets can brighten up an area and create more structure to the garden by lifting plants up off the ground.

When you are a plant addict like I am, being able to hang plants up in baskets not only creates interest in the backyard, but also makes extra special areas for more plants when all the ground and patio planters are full.

Using hanging baskets in the shade can be a huge advantage. We have seen it before, that once beautiful hanging basket that was lush and colorful that has been overexposed to the sun, wind, and weather. Shade can provide protection and help hanging baskets retain moisture.

Hanging baskets that aren’t protected from the heat and brightness of the sun can quickly dry up and wilt.

Hanging baskets thrive in the shade for good reason.

Hanging baskets in the shade gives many kinds of plants and flowers a fighting chance of retaining much needed moisture. A great way to take advantage of this is to explore using living baskets such as baskets made of moss. These are gorgeous and envelope your hanging basket plants in a wonderfully rich, moist backdrop.

Plants that thrive in shade often also require excellent drainage. This means they can be susceptible to problems such as root rot, fungi, and mildews. These problems can occur when planted in poor-draining soils. Putting them up in the air can make sure they get the air circulation and drainage they need.

Shaded areas may provide extra protection from wind and weather that can cause havoc on hanging baskets, drying them out, and damaging precious flowers and foliage.

It is true, shade-loving plants may come with their own set of challenges, but I can promise you; it is worth the challenge!

Another great perk to many shade loving plants and flowers is their unique leaf shapes, colors, and bright, glowing, almost iridescent flowers.

Hanging Baskets in the Shade: Best Practices

Your hanging plants and flowers are completely dependent on you. As the plants are far from the ground and may be exposed to dry, windy conditions, providing moisture-retaining soil, extra nutrition, and consistent water are of the upmost importance.

Plants growing in the ground might be able to source water from the surrounding area but hanging basket plants are completely dependent on us. We must always be kind, and ensure they have everything they need.

A quick note on shade

In areas of high humidity, a “shade plant” may tolerate full sun. Similarly, the same plant in dry conditions may become a shade-only plant. Finding ways to create extra humidity by using tools such as automatic irrigation can provide the extra moisture that some of the following plants may love, particularly if they are exposed to more than partial sun and/or dry and windy conditions.

1.

Fuchsia (Fuchsia ‘Tom Thumb’)

Stand Out Feature: Prolific, tear-drop shaped, vibrant fuchsia pink and purple flowers.

Description: Tom Thumb Fuchsia is the classic compact weeping shrub that is perfect for hanging baskets. The pendulous form is covered in unique blooms from late spring to frost. Fuchsia can be used as a stand alone focal point or combined with other shade-loving plants. Keep in mind, there are thousands of fuchsia cultivars to consider with diverse forms, sizes, shapes, and flower colors and styles.

Hardiness: Zone 8, 9, and 10.

Height and Spread: 2 1/2 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet wide.

Care: Moist, warm conditions protected from wind in shade or dappled sunlight. Fuchsias do not like being dried out or direct, hot sunlight.

2.

Western Bleeding Heart (Dicentra Formosa)

Stand Out Feature: Gorgeous pink/red, heart-shaped flowers dangling in rows from pendulous branches.

Description: The lacy foliage makes a fine backdrop to the arching stems from which heart-shaped blooms dangle for several weeks in late spring to early summer.

Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.

Height and Spread: 6 to 12 inches tall and 1 to 3 feet wide.

Care: Partial shade to dappled sunlight. Rich, high-quality potting soil. Western bleeding heart is of the more drought-tolerant bleeding heart cultivars, making it a safe choice for hanging in a basket. Spring is its time to shine so group it with other plants that can take over the show through summer and into autumn.

3.

Begonia (Begonia ‘Pendula White’)

Stand Out Feature: Clusters of large pendulous fragrant white flowers.

Description: Bring a bright white glow into the shade with this gorgeous white flowering showstopper. Flowers bloom from July to first frost with blossoms arising in clusters and hanging above deep green, waxy leaves.

Hardiness: Zone 11. Not frost hardy. Bulbs can be lifted and stored to replant the following year.

Height and Spread: 10 to 14 inches tall and wide.

Care: Plant in rich, high-quality potting soil and keep moist. Protect from hot sun and wind.

4.

Lobelia (Lobelia erinus)

Stand Out Feature: Delicate trailing annual with fan-shaped flowers available in many shades of blue.

Description: A prolific bloomer April through June with more blooms in the autumn. This compact annual is an excellent companion plant in the hanging basket and can fill in space while other summer and fall performing plants grow to their full size.

Hardiness: Zone 10 to 11.

Height and Spread: 6 to 10 inches tall and 6 to 12 inches wide.

Care: Loves rich, moist, organic soils. Lobelia may give an extra fall bloom if it is cut back after its spring show.

5.

Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana)

Stand Out Feature: Incredible vibrant color choices.

Description: Small, compact plants of glossy green foliage covered in a plethora of vibrant flowers in ranges of pink, purple, lilac, red, orange, rose, white, and bicolors. They are continuous bloomers with a spectacular bright show from June to frost.

Hardiness: A tender perennial. Zone 10 to 11.

Height and Spread: 6 to 24 inches tall and wide.

Care: Generally low maintenance. Loves nutrient-rich soil and being consistently moist. Cutting back young plants will encourage bushier plants with more flowers.

6.

Monkey Flower (Mimulus ringens)

Stand Out Feature: Unusual, sometimes spotted, monkey-face, or snapdragon-like flower.

Description: Blooming from June to September in a range of colors, often in yellows, oranges and reds but can be found in lilac and purple colors also. Some varieties are upright, but some are trailing varieties perfect for hanging baskets.

Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.

Height and Spread: They grow 1 to 3 feet in height and spread up to a foot wide.

Care: Monkey flowers are wildflowers native to North America and found in bog-type environments. They will thrive in moist soil in the shade and do not like to dry out.

7.

Trailing Bacopa ‘Giant Snowflake’ (Sutera cordata)

Stand Out Feature: Overflowing trailing habit.

Description: The ultimate shade hanging basket companion. The giant white blooms begin in spring and keep coming on a beautiful backdrop of its own blue/green foliage.

Hardiness: Zones 9, 10, and 11.

Height and Spread: Grows under 6 inches high but spreads 2 to 4 feet.

Care: Loves extra nutrition due to its vigorous nature and prolific, long bloom time. No need to deadhead but trim any damaged stems.

8.

Coleus ‘Red Trailing Queen’ (Coleus scutellarioides)

Stand Out Feature: Dramatic bicolor foliage with contrasting borders and centers.

Description: Compact plants that are all about their foliage. Heart-shaped leaves are velvety. They are rose burgundy with white to green margins with a small light rose center. There are many color and shape varieties of coleus to choose from. This is just one example of an excellent shade-loving plant that makes an outstanding softened backdrop or spectacular center piece on its own.

Hardiness: Zone 11

Height and Spread: 1 to 1 ½ feet tall, spreading 1 to 3 feet.

Care: Plant in rich, moisture-retaining soil. Keep coleus evenly moist, pinching back young plants to encourage compact lush habit. Flower stalks can be trimmed to retain focus on the gorgeous foliage.

What are you putting in your basket?

Finding shade-loving plants that thrive in hanging baskets might seem like a challenge at first. The planning, planting, and maintaining of hanging baskets is ultimately a fulfilling experience in and of itself. Exploring the amazing options available and learning the special tricks to helping shade plants thrive in hanging baskets can create even more beautiful spaces in the backyard.

Top 10 Plants for Hanging Baskets in Shade

Last Updated on September 2, 2022

Looking for plants to grow in a hanging basket that will be hung in a shady location?

Whether you’re purchasing a hanging basket with plants already in it or putting together your own hanging basket, choosing plants for your hanging basket can be difficult — especially if the hanging basket will get little to no sunlight exposure.

In this article, we put together a list of some popular shade-loving plants that we have found to grow great in hanging baskets.

Keep in mind, this is just a sample of plants that work well for hanging baskets in shade. You have other options when it comes to shade-loving plants for your hanging basket; hopefully, this helps you get started.

Top 10 hanging basket plants for shade

Many plants will be able to survive in a hanging basket getting a lot of shade, but the below plants are especially likely to thrive in a shady environment.

To jump to a specific plant on this list, click a link below:

  1. Begonias
  2. Fuchsia
  3. Coral Bells
  4. Ferns
  5. Hosta
  6. Creeping Jenny
  7. Coleus
  8. Impatiens
  9. Vinca
  10. Bacopa

1. Begonias

With the proper begonia plant care, these plants grow great in full shade (and full sun as well), making begonias a great choice for your hanging basket, no matter where it’ll be placed.

Certain varieties of begonias, such as Dragon Wing Begonias or BIG Begonias, grow to be very busy, making them great fillers for your pot. In fact, just 3 plants of these large begonia varieties will fill up the hanging basket.

Add in some vines or draping plants that can handle the shade and you’ll have a beautiful arrangement for your shade.

There are many advantages to growing begonia plants, especially in a hanging basket.

If you do choose to plant begonias in your hanging basket, you can check out our post on how often to water begonia plants.

2. Fuchsia

Fuchsia plants have beautiful and unique blooms that can droop over the side of the container they are planted in, making them a popular choice for hanging baskets.

These plants will need a lot of shade in order to keep from wilting or needing to be watered frequently. For this reason, they are great for a hanging basket that won’t get too much hot afternoon sun.

Looking for a plant to go with your fuchsia in a hanging basket? Try New Guinea impatiens as a companion plant.

Fuchsia plants branch out with vines and pretty blooms. For a 12″ hanging basket, we typically plant 3 trailing fuchsia plants for each pot.

Our top varieties for hanging baskets are:

3. Coral Bells

Coral Bells, also known as heucheras, are beautiful shade-loving plants.

Their bright foliage and unique leaves make them a great option for filling your hanging baskets in a shady spot.

4. Ferns

Ferns are a classic shade-loving plant that look stunning when grown in a hanging basket.

Many times these plants are grown under a porch or other shady area to add some style with their distinct green foliage.

Ferns are also easy-care. They typically don’t need to be trimmed and won’t need a lot of watering.

5. Hosta

Hosta is often grown in shady flower beds but can also grow well in a hanging basket for the shade.

6. Creeping Jenny

Creeping Jenny plants grow great in full sun or full shade.

These plants act as a “spiller” for your hanging basket. They are a popular choice for shade-loving hanging plants since they are easy-care, add color to the arrangement, and drape over the side of the basket.

Creeping jenny plants grow like a weed when planted in the landscape; however, in a hanging basket, other plants competing for the same soil typically help contain these plants.

Water Creepy Jenny plants moderately when growing them in a hanging basket.

7. Coleus

A coleus‘ bright foliage can make any shade hanging basket a beautiful display. Plant coleus with different varieties to really get a unique look.

Water coleus moderately when growing them in a hanging basket.

8. Impatiens

Impatiens are the ultimate shade plant.

Their bright flowers lighten up darker areas and they thrive with little sun. These plants will really branch out with the right growing conditions, including an adequate amount of watering.

New Guinea impatiens are another great plant (and cousin of impatiens) that can be used for shade-loving hanging baskets.

9. Vinca

While vinca is drought-resistant, it can also grow well in part to full shade.

With the proper watering, vinca plants are sure to brighten up your hanging basket in the shade with their colorful blooms.

10. Bacopa

Bacopa plants don’t mind some shade so they are great for shade hanging baskets.

With adequate watering, bacopa plants will produce beautiful little blooms that attract bumblebees and butterflies.

Conclusion

Whether you are sourcing plants for your own hanging basket or looking to buy a hanging basket, we hope this post was helpful.

There are many plants that will grow great in a hanging basket placed in a shady location. This list is a starting point to help you put together your perfect hanging basket:

  1. Begonias
  2. Fuchsia
  3. Coral Bells
  4. Ferns
  5. Hosta
  6. Creeping Jenny
  7. Coleus
  8. Impatiens
  9. Vinca
  10. Bacopa

If you live in Lancaster County, PA, or the surrounding areas, you can purchase shade-loving hanging plants from our greenhouses. Stop by from mid-March through May to browse our selection.

Vertical gardening in landscaping

Vertical gardening refers to the landscaping of the territory with climbing plants or clipped trees . This technique of landscape design has been known since ancient times, the first mention of the use of vines is contained in the description of one of the "seven wonders of the world" - the hanging gardens of the Assyrian ruler Semiramis (IX century BC), which looked like stepped terraces entwined with climbing roses.

Lianas in vertical gardening

Lianas are the most flexible of plants, they are equally indispensable both in urban conditions with monotonous dense buildings and an abundance of asphalt, and in small six-hundred plots, where there is always not enough space for planting the next acquisition. Creepers can inhabit a variety of tiers of the garden, rising to a height of up to 25 m, or, on the contrary, serve as ground cover plants. They have long flexible stems and, unlike trees and shrubs with a certain crown, are able to take the most intricate shapes in accordance with the structure of the support or the surface topography.

Among the vines there are annual and perennial plants, the latter are divided into herbaceous (the stems of which die off annually) and woody (the stems become woody and live for many years). The characteristic features of the vines are the slight thickness and flexibility of the stem, unable to maintain a vertical position without support, as well as the ability to grow intensively (up to 15 cm per day in some vines). Growth characteristics determine the high requirements of vines for soil fertility, moisture and light, but some feel better in partial shade (actinidia kolomikta, girlish grapes five-leafed, Chinese lemongrass, round-leaved wood pliers, Japanese Dioscorea) and even full shade (curly aconite, hops, large-leaved aristolochia, round-leaved wood pliers, bittersweet nightshade) . The most unpretentious and undemanding to the soil are golden honeysuckle, honeysuckle, Telman, Gekrotti, Dahurian moonseed, bittersweet nightshade, girlish grapes, fluffy calistegia .


Lianas are indispensable in the development of a new land plot, when construction work has not yet been completed, an orchard has not been planted, and there is no way to plant flower beds. The first thing to start with is hedge vines. It will always come in handy, no matter what material your fence is made of - wooden, stone or forged - in any case, the fence will acquire lightness and grace. A hedge is usually created from perennial woody vines, but if the goal is to quickly achieve a decorative effect, the choice will not be so great. Among the perennial vines suitable for use in the conditions of the Moscow region, there are few really fast-growing ones, for example, honeysuckle, large-leaved aristolochia, girlish grapes and Amur, from grassy - hops, fluffy calistegia . Other species grow rather slowly in our zone, especially in the first years. Therefore, at the first stage, you can use either annual vines, or combinations of different types, for example, non-flowering perennial vines with flowering annuals. girlish grapes with hops, morning glory or ornamental beans will look spectacular.

A climbing hedge can be used not only to mark the boundaries of the site, but also for separating functional areas - recreation area, utility area, vegetable garden or to create the so-called green rooms, very popular in regular French gardens. This purpose is served by garden screens (screens, trellises) , created from low vines on supports in the form of lattices made of wood, plastic nets, weaving from willow and walnut twigs. In creating such a screen, you can use one type of liana, for example, clematis, climbing roses, codonopsis clematis, foreign nasturtium, morning glory, adlumia, kobeyu . You can combine two varieties of climbing roses that are in harmony in color - white and pink, for example. And you can turn a long wall into a collection area clematis, princes, climbing roses or honeysuckle , not very correct in terms of color, but visual. A favorite technique of some English designers is the joint planting of climbing roses and clematis .

When choosing varietal clematis, do not try to get the most large-flowered or double - such forms are inferior in the abundance of flowering. It is better to choose varieties that have proven themselves in our zone, blooming profusely on the shoots of the current year - Gypsy Queen, Niobe, Ville de Lyon, Space Melody, or use species clematis - Tangut, vine-leaved, saw-leaved and their cultivars ; princes alpine, large-leaved, okhotsk, siberian , wintering without shelter and removal from support.

If the area of ​​​​the site allows, you can arrange the original screen in the form of a "rope alley". To do this, poles made of roughly processed wood are interconnected with sagging ropes (or chains) and twined with lianas, for example, climbing roses, as in the famous Bagatelle garden in France.

For a country-style garden figured pumpkin is good, forming lush greenery and very decorative fruits of various shapes. If you are lucky enough to purchase planting material, exotic representatives of the pumpkin family are also suitable for this purpose - annual anguria, momordica, melotria or perennial tladianta, growing in a season to a height of 5-6 m and dying off for the winter. Or legumes - dolichos, ornamental and asparagus beans, peas .

Creepers planted near the walls of buildings not only decorate the building, but also protect the walls from excess moisture and overheating, prevent dust from penetrating inside, create a favorable microclimate, purify the air and saturate it with oxygen and phytoncides.

There are creepers with large, different in structure or color leaves, decorated with fruits at the end of the season, allowing you to get the effect of a living tapestry when decorating walls:


Amur grape has two types of leaves - whole and 3-5-lobed, acquiring a beautiful purple color by autumn. In September - October, delicious blue-black berries ripen in racemes up to 25 cm long.

Parthenocissus has large palmately dissected leaves, which have a bright raspberry-violet color in autumn. This vine is able to attach to any surface, up to glass (f. engelmanii). Gives an annual growth of up to 3 m and covers up to 20 m in adulthood 2 vertical surface.

There are also winter-hardy varieties of cultural grapes suitable for growing in the conditions of the Moscow region on the southern walls of houses or fences. Some can even winter without shelter - "Alpha", "Guna", "Zilga", "Isabella", it is enough to remove them from the support and put them on the ground.

Actinidia kolomikta is a chameleon plant, when blooming its leaves are bronze, then green, after flowering they are covered with large pink spots, then turn crimson. It blooms with white fragrant flowers and gives very tasty healthy fruits with a high content of vitamin C. There are productive fruit varieties that give up to 5 kg of berries per plant. Able to grow to the height of a two-story house (10-15 m).

Another species - actinidia polygamous , during flowering and fruiting has a silver-green shade of foliage, before flowering it is covered with white spots, and turns yellow by autumn. But this species is less winter-hardy in our zone. Yes, and orange fruits, reminiscent of peppers with a pointed nose, do not always have time to ripen.

Round-leaved tree plier can decorate the entrance to the house with its large leathery, bright yellow leaves in autumn, and decorative yellow-orange fruits. This powerful fast-growing vine rises to a height of 10-12 m.

Light, full romantics, cascades from curly honeysuckles and climbed roses , Clematis, Allegana Blacks and Raspberry Western , Aconite and Sweet-meslines of sweet-mesh. stairs to the house.

In addition to screens and trellises, there are many other garden structures for vertical gardening - these can be the simplest garlands , columns, obelisks, pyramids , various in the form of archs and pergoles , arbors and Pavilions , almost forgotten Gazoe (or Belvederes ). Here you can show your imagination, taking into account, of course, the biological characteristics of each plant - the requirements for illumination, the method of attachment to the support. A pergola or arch can be the dominant flower garden, or it can adjoin the house, decorating the entrance. A series of such structures can accompany the passage from one part of the garden to another, close ugly places in the garden from view.

Other supports for vines can be used - retaining walls, stone structures, figured wire supports and even garden sculpture. And, on the contrary, the simplest ones are a stone, a dried tree or a high stump. Some creepers will successfully grow in the crown of aging trees - short-tailed clematis, Siberian prince. Moonseed Dahurian will fill the spaces between trees and shrubs. Green curtains of vines serve as an excellent backdrop for planting perennials. It is good if the created vertical is supported by several plants with tall inflorescences - delphinium, liatris, foxglove, buzulnik, veronicastrum, mullein, loosestrife. A little further away, for contrast, it is desirable to place perennials with a loose, falling apart habit - cuffs, daylilies, wormwood, catnip.

The range of vines for vertical gardening can be expanded with a substitution crop, which is suitable for non-wintering buckwheat in our country , Kampsis rooting and large-flowered, Japanese spindle tree rooting, Jasmine-like trachelospermum, ivy . It is only necessary to provide conditions for the winter maintenance of plants - a bright room with a temperature of +5 ... +12 0 C, moderate moisture and additional illumination in early spring. In summer, the containers are placed in the garden, on the balcony or terrace, the lashes are attached with a cord or clips to the support.

Container plants in vertical gardening

Vertical gardening with ampelous plants is in great fashion today. These can be boxes, hanging planters made of plastic or coconut fiber, which will decorate a balcony, window openings, a porch at the entrance to a house, a terrace, an arbor, a lamppost. Standing high flowerpots can serve as a vertical accent in one of the corners of the garden or decorate the patio.

What can be planted there? Along with the well-known ampelous varieties of pelargonium, fuchsia, begonia, petunia, lobelia, nasturtium , many new plants for vertical gardening have appeared: hybrid forms of petunias - surfinia, calibrachoa, fortunia ; not yet common bacopa, diascia, nolana, bidens, scaevola . Ipomoea, bindweed, quamoclites, cardiospermums are increasingly used in hanging baskets . Combinations of several types of plants with different leaf plasticity, contrasting or, conversely, close coloring of flowers can be very effective. But you should not allow excessive variegation, it is better to limit yourself to 2-3 shades. An excellent addition to brightly flowering plants will be dichondra with silvery leaves or more familiar as indoor plants ivy or variegated chlorophytum , as well as low-growing varieties amaranth with long hanging inflorescences of red, pink or green.

When growing plants in containers, supports can also be used. They are easy to make from wire in the shape of a ball, heart or a simple figurine. On such a support, or ivy will be comfortable. Winged Thunbergia can be content even with a low pole stuck in the center of the flowerpot.

New in container vertical gardening are hanging flower towers and vertical flower beds , which are containers with plants arranged in tiers. Vertical flower beds can be made of concrete, plastic or stainless steel. Such structures are more often used in urban landscaping, but if you manage to organically fit a bulky flower bed into your garden, it will be possible to create unique vertical compositions from annuals every year.

Container plants must be drought and wind resistant. Since they have to develop in a limited amount of substrate, special requirements are imposed on its quality: it must be sufficiently moisture-absorbing and rich in nutrients. Moisture capacity can be increased by adding loam, as well as adding hydrogel or zeolite. Mineral fertilizers are best applied at planting in the form of long-acting granules, otherwise they will have to be given in liquid form on a weekly basis. Organic fertilizers should not be carried away - some plants, developing a large vegetative mass, bloom worse.

Trimmed trees in vertical gardening

In addition to vines, trees and shrubs with a given crown shape successfully perform the function of vertical space exploration.

With trellis hedges, you can create no less decorative living walls than vines. They are single-row plantings of tree crops, formed on supports - trellises by targeted shearing in the form of a narrow wall. The best material for a trellis fence are willows, pears, apple trees, elms, laxative buckthorn, hawthorn, raspberries.

However, the most classic method of forming an artificial plant shape is topiary (curly) cutting trees and shrubs. For topiary shearing in our area, elms, lindens, Tatar, red and field maples, mountain ash, bird cherry, apple berry, hawthorn, viburnum, privet, three-lobed almond, golden currant, barberry, honeysuckle can be used. Of the conifers - thuja western, common junipers, tall, virginian, yew berry. To create complex figures, tree species with small leaves and dense branching are selected; boxwood, widely used in European and southern countries, meets these requirements in the best way. In our country, the dense and plastic, but not stable boxwood, is mainly replaced by the western thuja and its forms.

Recently, the classic topiary art all over the world is giving way to a new direction - the creation of figures from annuals or vines on a wire frame. You can also use some perennials, for example, stonecrops, juveniles, cereals. In the difficult climatic conditions of our country, this direction is very promising, as it allows you to get the result quickly, regardless of the vagaries of nature.

Another way out is to create verticals using decorative forms of trees and shrubs with a self-forming crown - pyramidal, columnar, conical, umbrella-shaped, as well as standard and weeping forms. Based on books:
L.I. Uleiskaya "Vertical gardening" - M., 2001
T.D. Shikanyan "ABC of landscape design" - M., 2006
Z.Ya. Ivanova "Exotic creepers" - M., 2005
L.V. Zavadskaya "Vertical gardening" - M., 2005
L.S. Plotnikova "Lianas" - M., 2005
Journal "Garden
& Sadik", No. 5, 2006

Growing viola on the balcony and in the garden: caring for the viola meet beginner amateur flower growers. Viola flowers look like bright summer butterflies, with wings of red, blue, yellow, white, black shades.

Some varieties planted in groups resemble funny faces from afar. If you look at such a flower close up, you can clearly see in its center a bright yellow eye, framed by strokes-cilia. For this similarity among the people, some violas (or, to be more precise, tricolor violets and Wittrock violas) are called pansies.

To get started, to grow such a miracle on a balcony or in the garden, you need to purchase seedlings or grow a viola from seeds yourself. And then, in order for the viola to bloom and delight you all summer and autumn, learn how to properly care for it. All the nuances about growing viola on the balcony and in the garden, read on.

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