Grow Strawberries in a Pot

Strawberries have shallow roots, so it is easy to grow them in pots, both indoors and out. You can place your strawberry plants on a balcony, patio, or indoors in front of a sunny window.

Steps

Using Starter Plants

  1. Buy strawberry plants from your local nursery. Make sure they don’t have brown leaves and that they look healthy and green.
  2. Choose a potting container with drainage holes for your strawberry plants. Although you can buy special strawberry pots that have multiple openings, it is not necessary. Strawberries can grow and produce fruit in any container that has good soil and gets enough sunlight.
  3. Fill your pot 2/3 full of potting mix. Your strawberry pot should have at least an 18” diameter. Even though strawberries have shallow roots, they do produce runners that need some space to extend.
  4. Water the soil until the water starts to drain from the bottom of the pot. Then make 5 or 6 mounds of soil about 1” (25.4 mm) tall. Space the mounds at least 6” (152.4 mm) apart so the runners will have room to roam. The mounds themselves shouldn’t be more than 3” (76.2 mm) wide.
  5. Gently lift your strawberry plants from their nursery pots. If necessary, cut the pot with scissors if the plant is wedged in too tightly. Carefully shake off the extra soil while separating the delicate roots with your fingers.
  6. Fill a bucket or other container with water. Soak the strawberry roots for an hour, so they can absorb enough to keep them hydrated.
  7. Remove the plants from the soaking water and set a plant on top of each soil mound. Arrange the roots so they extend down the sides of the mounds.
  8. Fill the pot with more soil, bringing the soil to the plant’s crown. The stems emerge from the crown, so don’t bury it under the soil.
  9. Water the plants thoroughly. Use a sprinkler can so you do not erode the soil. Continue to water gently until the pot begins to drain. (Add more soil if necessary—the thorough watering will often collapse air pockets and reduce the soil level.)

Starting Strawberry Plants from Seed

  1. Purchase seeds at your local nursery. Once you have filled your planter with soil and watered it thoroughly:
    • Use your finger to make 1/4" (6 mm) depressions in the soil, spacing the holes 6” (152.4 mm) apart.
    • Place 3 seeds in each hole. The seeds are small; some people use tweezers to transfer the seeds from the package to the soil.
    • Cover the seeds. Tamper down the soil over each seed hole. You can simply press your finger over the soil. Don't push too hard because that can cause the soil to compact and the seeds will have to struggle to emerge.
  2. Use plastic wrap to cover the top of the planter. This will keep the soil moist while the seeds germinate.
  3. Place the planter in a sunny location. The strawberries will benefit from a warm spot with plenty of light. Put your planter near a radiator or other heat source during the winter.
  4. Water the seeds. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Check the soil daily to make sure it doesn't dry out.
  5. Remove the plastic wrap from the planter when the seeds have sprouted. Once the seedlings reach the top of the plastic, they will need room to keep growing, so don't leave the plastic on. The soil will dry out more quickly when it is uncovered, so check for dryness every day.
  6. Thin the strawberry plants after the seeds have sprouted. Do this by pinching or snipping off the smallest plants. Leave about 6” (152.4 mm) between the remaining plants.



Tips

  • Birds love strawberries as much as you do. If your fruits are getting eaten by our feathered friends, drape netting over the plants or carefully arrange a large piece of chicken wire over the pot, in a dome or bell shape, without constricting the plant.
  • Most strawberry plants will stop producing fruit after 3 to 4 years.
  • Adding a few pinches of coffee grounds to the soil will boost the nitrogen level; add coffee grounds if the leaves of plant are pale green.
  • Harvest your fruit as soon as it is ripe; strawberries that sit on top of the soil too long will rot.
  • If you plant your strawberries in a hanging basket or strawberry pot, remember to rotate the container often so the plants on the backside get enough sunlight.
  • Make sure the pot is big enough for the plant. If you can see roots poking out the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot, it is time to move your plant to a bigger home.
  • It's easy to overwater a strawberry plant in a pot. Don't feel defeated if your plant doesn't survive. Just get a new one and try again next year!
  • Your strawberries don’t necessarily have to be fully red to be ripe. The best indicator of ripeness is taste. If they are firm and sweet, they are ready to pick.
  • Most strawberry plants benefit from a time-release fertilizer; you can buy potting soil with the fertilizer already mixed in, or you can buy the fertilizer separately and add it to the soil.
  • Strawberries thrive in soil that has a pH between 5.3 and 6.5, so select a potting soil with that ratio. It’s a good idea to keep your soil rich by adding a handful of compost to the container once a month.

Things You’ll Need

  • Planting pot or hanging basket
  • Starter plants or strawberry seeds
  • Potting soil
  • Time-release fertilizer
  • Plastic wrap (if starting from seed)

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