Which plants are best for a hanging basket?
The 11 Best Fruit Baskets for Gifting in 2023
Think rustic baskets overflowing with fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate truffles, and award-winning wines.
Rochelle Bilow is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, and the former social media manager at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines. She has also worked as a cook on a small farm in Central New York and a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. Her first book, a food and farming memoir titled The Call of the Farm, was published in 2014. Her second book, a romance novel set in Scotland, will be published in February 2023.
Published on February 23, 2023
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A fruit basket is a classic way of sending gratitude, thanks, or just a “thinking of you” gift. Although we love a traditional arrangement bursting with fresh fruits and citrus, the best fruit baskets have come a long way. Today’s options are curated with an eye toward seasonality — think stone fruits in the late summer and berries in the spring — and sustainability.
And while there’s a lot to love about biting into a piece of perfectly ripe fruit, we especially like baskets that inspire creative cooking with unique picks and supplemental items, like chocolate truffles, artisanal jams, nuts, olive oils, and award-winning wine pairings. Half the fun of shopping for a fruit basket is finding the perfect one for your recipient, so we’ve rounded up creative, unexpected, and high-value options in a variety of categories.
Whether you’re looking for the best fruit basket for a tropical fruit lover, chocolate lover, or oenophile, these items will all deliver with panache.
Our Top Picks
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Best Overall
Harry & David Classic Favorites Gift Box
- This gift box is customizable, so you can add a wide variety of wines, snacks, and more.
- Items may be substituted without warning due to unusual supply issues.
Harry & David has excellent name recognition and a sterling reputation when it comes to fruit baskets. They’re well-known for their perfectly ripe boxes of pears, but this “little bit of everything” arrangement includes those beloved pears plus a savory relish, chocolate-covered cherries and chocolate truffles, artisan crackers, sharp cheddar cheese, and the irresistibly snackable Moose Munch. It’s just the right amount of salty, sweet, and special — and under $100 with the basic shipping option.
Price at time of publish: $79.99 plus shipping
- Estimated Shipping Time: 5-8 days; add $19.99 for exact-day shipping; add $24.99 for Saturday shipping
- Availability: Nationwide
Best Value
1-800 Flowers Premier Orchard Fruit Gift Basket
- This basket is simple and elegant and comes with a reusable wicker basket.
- Presentation is more subdued than website photo for shipping efficiency.
The 1-800 Flowers brand is best known for its speedy delivery of floral bouquets, but keep clicking, and you’ll find an underrated yet highly valued section of the website: fruit gift baskets and other edible baskets. This curated mix is for true fruit lovers — no chocolate or cheese to distract them! — and includes a mix of pears, apples, oranges, and tropical fruits (mangos, kiwis, and dried fruits). Choose from two sizes, pick a delivery date, and all your giftee will need to do is slice and enjoy.
Price at time of publish: $85 plus shipping
- Estimated Shipping Time: 5-8 business days; add $4.99 for expedited shipping; add $9.99 for Saturday shipping
- Availability: Nationwide
Begonia x tuberhybrida
Begonia x tuberhybrida varieties produce huge flowers
Image: Pre-planted Begonia x tuberhybrida ‘Apricot Shade Improved’ basket from Thompson & Morgan
Begonia x tuberhybrida plants are shade tolerant, so a great basket choice for the darker side of the house. These Begonias produce huge blooms, often with exciting double rows of petals and impressive picotee detailing. Fill your basket with Begonia x tuberhybrida plug plants and hang it under cover for a week or two to allow your plants to establish. These Begonias bloom in any weather throughout summer.
Go for Begonia x tuberhybrida ‘Non-stop Mocca’ for its lovely dark foliage and different coloured blooms or choose Begonia x tuberhybrida ‘Majestic Mixed’ for giant double blooms that reach up to 20cm across.
Fuchsias
New Fuchsia ‘Eruption’ is the perfect hanging basket perennial
Image: Fuchsia ‘Eruption’ from Thompson & Morgan
Fuchsias make fantastic hanging basket plants! In fact, compact trailing varieties display their huge blooms to best advantage from below. Excellent value for money, these semi-hardy perennials provide an extravagant show for many years, provided they’re overwintered in a frost-free place.
Try Fuchsia Giant-Flowered Collection with blooms up to 10cm across, or Fuchsia ‘Eruption’ for a dramatic blaze of slender, fiery pink flowers from trailing stems.
Petunias
Petunia ‘Amore™ Queen of Hearts’ flowers throughout the summer
Image: Petunia ‘Amore™ Queen of Hearts’ from Thompson & Morgan
Petunias have it all – large blooms, a lovely scent, lush foliage and a fantastic mix of trailing and compact habits. With bold block colours and fun picotee flowers, Petunias put on a fantastic show in hanging baskets all throughout the summer.
Petunia ‘Back to Black’ is a new variety with striking, velvety black blooms that reach a height and spread of 30cm. For something brighter, try the extra special Petunia ‘Amore™ Queen of Hearts’ which features five clear red love hearts against a background of pure yellow.
