How to Plant, Grow and Care Strawberries

Wondering how to grow strawberries in planters? Here’s the trick you need to know! Suppose you love fresh strawberries but don’t want to pay a high price for a bunch of small strawberries. Why not start to grow strawberries in planters at your home? 

Strawberries are easy to grow, requiring less time to get a crop. You can also start growing strawberries in planters and hanging baskets as a beginner.

With strawberries, you get a plant with pretty foliage and flowers. Moreover, you can produce any strawberries when grown in planters.

In general, strawberries have a quick growing habit, and growing in planters is an inexpensive way to brighten up your space. So in this article, we’ve explained all about planting, growing, and harvesting the strawberry plant. 

But, before that, we would like to dive into a few topics such as reasons to choose planters for strawberries, varieties, and how to choose planters. These things will help you to grow strawberries in planters in an easy way.  

Btw, do you love growing fruits at home? Well, why not check how to grow pomegranates at home? Trust us, it is pretty easy.

Grow Strawberries in Planters

Do you know strawberries tend to have small root systems? Is that why they grow well in planters?

Here are a few reasons that will help you to know why you should grow strawberries in planters. Have a look! 

1. Takes Less Space

Strawberries are incredibly easy to cultivate and have a compact habit. So it requires a limited space to yield.

2. Very Convenient

You can have a convenient space to grow your strawberries plant for easy picking. 

3. Pest and Diseases

Growing strawberries in a planter can help you cut down on most of the pest problems and bacterial diseases.

Moreover, it protects the plant from unwanted garden chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides

4. Asthetic Value

There are different varieties of strawberries that produce flowers and fruits. They look like miniature roses, which look appealing and taste delicious. 

Well, we believe these reasons are enough to convince anyone to grow strawberries in planters? What do you think? Will you grow strawberries in planters?

If yes, let’s check the next section that will help you to choose the right kind of planters to grow strawberries. 

How to Choose Planters

One of the advantages of growing strawberries in a planter is that the ripening fruit doesn’t fall onto the ground. Here are a few factors to consider while choosing the right planter. 

1. Good Drainage

While choosing a planter, always look for good drainage holes as poor drainage will lead to root rot and fungal disease.

Choose a planter with several drainage holes at the bottom or multiple holes throughout the planter. 

2. Type of Planter Material

There are different types of planter materials like terracotta light-colored and synthetic planters to grow strawberries.

Synthetic and light-colored planters will keep the roots cooler and retain moisture.

Terracotta and metal planters may look aesthetic with their appearance. But plants will dry out much faster in these planters.

So if you choose to grow June-bearing strawberries, it’s best to plant in a wood-framed raised bed rather than in a pot. 

Also Read: How to Choose Succulent Pots the Right Way

That’s how you can choose the right planter to grow strawberries that ensure a healthy plant with lots of fruits. 

Varieties of Strawberries

Strawberries are an ideal crop that can be grown in planters. There are different varieties of strawberries that produce fruits more prolifically than others.

Some produce fruits once a year while others yield in months. So each variety has certain specific needs; here are some varieties of strawberries to consider for your planter garden. 

1. Alpine Strawberries

Alpine strawberries are pint-sized fruits smaller than regular strawberries. But it tastes like an intense pineapple strawberry flavor.

These varieties can be grown in planters to persist for many years. 

2. Day-neutral Strawberries

This type of variety in strawberries produces a good crop throughout the growing season, from late spring to autumn.

Moreover, Day-neutral strawberries prefer cooler temperatures. They produce smaller fruits than June-bearing and everbearing strawberries. 

3. June-bearing Strawberries

These June-bearing strawberries produce large sweet berries once a year during spring or early summer. They are popular among home gardeners as it is easy to grow and harvest in a planter.

You can grow June-bearing strawberries in the early, mid, or late season to extend the harvest season. 

4. Ever-bearing Strawberries

Though everbearing strawberries provide a good amount of fruit in the growing season. They don’t produce fruit as much as the June-bearing types.

These plants seem to be less winter hardy than other types of strawberries. 

These are some of the varieties of strawberries that you can grow. It would be advisable to choose one according to the climate you live in.

However, almost most of them are easy to grow in planters so that should not worry you. Fancy growing dragon fruits? Grow dragon fruits from cuttings using this guide.

How to Grow Strawberries

Fragaria × ananassa

Till now, you have learned about varieties of strawberries that you can grow and the reasons why you should choose planters to do so. It is time for you to learn how to grow strawberries in planters. 

For your ease, we have tried to cover every aspect of growing strawberries in planters in a step-by-step guide.

This will help you to grow strawberries in planters without any external help and can be easily done by new gardeners. 

Equipments and Materials You’ll Need

• Watering can
• Garden trowel
• Strawberry crowns or seedlings
• Planting container
• Potting mix
• Liquid fertilizer

Step-Wise Guide to Grow Strawberries

So, without wasting any time further, have a look at our guide on how to grow strawberries in planters. 

Also Read: How to Plant a Mango Seed

Step 1. Plant Bare-root Crowns or Transplants

Choose to plant strawberries from either bare-root crowns or transplants. If you choose bare-root crowns, it will take time to establish the crowning leaves.

In comparison, if you choose transplants, they will grow quickly and look pretty in planters. The strawberry plant doesn’t like to grow in crowded conditions.

So you can plant three strawberry plants per square foot of soil. So that the soil retains its fair shallow moisture.

In addition to this strawberry plant needs a hole in the planter, as long as it doesn’t taper the surface. You can also grow pineapples using the same technique.

Step 2. Add Soil

Strawberries prefer loose, loamy soil that will hold the moisture and drain any excess water in the soil. So make sure to use a planter with a good drainage hole. 

Prepare soil using the techniques mentioned in our post.

Step 3. Plant The Strawberries

Your strawberry plants need to be spaced at least a few distances apart. And make sure you plant the crown of the strawberry just above the soil surface.

Make a small mold in the potting soil, then spread the roots over the mold. Cover the roots up to the crown with the potting mix and water the soil well.

Step 4. Put the Planter in an Appropriate Place

Next, you need to pick a spot and place the planter at a location that receives at least 8-12 hours of sunlight per day to give plants enough sunlight.

If the sun is coming from only one direction, rotate the container every three to four days for the plants to grow evenly.

Also, make sure your plant is protected from pests and insects, as strawberry plants attract insects, birds, and rodents. So keep them protected with fencing and netting. 

Step 5. Water Them Timely

Ensure your strawberry plant has damp, loamy soil to provide the best environment for the fruits to form. Suppose the soil is dry about 1 inch below the surface, water the plant.

Moreover, please don’t allow your strawberry plant to remain in the soggy soil as it will lead to root rot.

Generally, the soil in planters drys out quicker than the soil on the ground. So during summer, water your planter daily. 

Step 6. Add some Fertilizers

Most of the planter plants get benefitted from supplemental feeding. As the strawberry plant grows well in the planter, you can feed your strawberry plant with a liquid fertilizer every three to four weeks.

Make sure you feed a balanced fertilizer to your strawberry plant in the fall as well. As the plants begin forming perennial buds within the crown, they will turn into flowers and fruits in the next harvest. 

Step 7. Provide Protection in Winters

Protect your strawberry plant from being left out in freezing temperatures during winter. However, strawberries produce best if they go dormant in water.

However, you can move your planter to an unheated spot or a deck for winter protection. Then water the soil when it becomes excessively dry.

You can also cover the plant with shredded leaves or mulch up around the planter to protect it from the weather.

That is it, this is how you can grow strawberries in planters easily and efficiently to have a good crop. 

Annual or Perennial: Which One to Choose?

One of the best ways to enjoy growing strawberry plants is during annuals. You can remove the plants after fruiting or at the end of the summer.

Then you can look forward to starting fresh next year. If you prefer to keep it extended for a long time, then continue to fertilize after harvest.

Next, snip off the runners appearing to develop the plant. Then trim plants back at the center, leaving young leaves at the crown. 

During a mild winter, you can mulch well with a straw or shredded leaves to shelter the plants. Place the planter close to the house’s exterior to create a warm atmosphere.

Plants can also be grown under plastic row cover, so you can water the soil only when necessary.

If you sustain the strawberry plants well during winter, your plants will have a delightful harvest during the second year. 

How to Care for Strawberry Plant

Here are a few tips for caring for your strawberry plant to produce juicy strawberries during harvest.

So let’s find the tips below that will help you to care for your strawberries plants in planters. 

• Strawberry plants need a lot of sunlight. So find a spot that receives morning sun. 

• If you have them in planters, it is good to move them around to take advantage of changing sunlight. 

• Strawberry plants require daily watering during summer. As they are thirsty plants, it’s best to water them in the morning.

• Avoid wetting the soil as it will lead to root rot and prevent the leaves from pest disease. 

• Protect the plants from extreme weather conditions like wind and winter. Please note even if plants need a lot of sunlight to thrive.

• Don’t expose yourself to direct midday sunlight, thus it will damage the leaves. 

• Make sure the planter has enough drainage holes. 

• To produce a juicy yield, the plants need enough energy. So feed your plants with a balanced fertilizer every three to four weeks.

• Too much fertilizer will stimulate runner production and reduce fruit yield. 

How to Pick Strawberries

Picking strawberries is not as easy a task as you think. There’s a lot that goes behind how to pick the strawberries.

Here are a few tips to help you harvest the right strawberries. Have a look!

1. When your strawberry fruit turns dark bright red, it’s time to pick it up because the flavour tastes best during this time.

2. You can also pick them when they turn orangish-red. It will last longer and you can also freeze it. But fresh-cut strawberries taste better.

3. To prevent the strawberries from diseases, cut it along with the green petals that join the fruit to the stem, improving their conservation time. 

Grow Strawberries in Planters

This is it! This is how you can grow strawberries in planters following our step-to-step guide. 

Strawberries are easier plants to grow in planters as they demand less attention given their compact and quick-growing condition.

If you are a beginner in gardening, you can start to grow this exotic plant at home.

So I hope these tips and guides for growing strawberries in a planter have been useful to you. So are you planning to grow strawberries this season? Let us know in the comments below. 

---

FAQs