How to Grow Strawberries in Pots

Pick a day-neutral variety

Day-neutral strawberries are the easiest type for containers. They fruit in their first season, bloom through most of the summer, and make few runners. Everbearers work too, with two main crops: one in June and one when late summer cools. June-bearers are a poor fit. They fruit once, make more runners, and normally need a full year in the ground before their first real crop.

Iowa State suggests the day-neutrals ‘Albion’, ‘Cabrillo’, ‘Everest’ and ‘Seascape’ and the everbearer ‘Ozark Beauty’ for containers in Iowa. Pink-flowered ornamental types such as the ‘Summerbreeze’ series and ‘Toscana’ are bred for pots and hanging baskets, but they produce less fruit.

Container size and shape

Strawberry roots are shallow, so width matters more than depth. Iowa State recommends a pot at least 12 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension sets the same 12-inch minimum for round pots and 24 inches for rectangular planters. It also finds that long, narrow containers produce more heavily than round ones.

Other options have trade-offs:

• Strawberry jars with side pockets fit more plants, but the top and upper pockets dry out faster than the bottom. Water from the top and into the pockets.
• Hanging baskets look good but dry out fast and overheat. Warm soil shrinks berries, especially on day-neutrals.
• Barrels of 50 to 55 gallons can hold about 70 plants around the sides, Kansas State says. Put them on casters so you can turn them toward the sun, and plan a watering system for the lower plants.

Choose light-colored containers. Utah State warns that dark pots heat the roots in summer sun. Good drainage is essential; Kansas State stresses it even for large barrels.

Planting

Use a good all-purpose potting mix. If it has no starter fertilizer, mix in an all-purpose fertilizer at label rates. For barrels and pyramids, Kansas State uses one part sand, one part peat moss or compost, and two parts garden soil.

In the North, Iowa State plants in early to mid-April and moves pots indoors if a freeze threatens. In Florida, UF/IFAS lists containers as an option for fall-planted strawberries, set out in the same fall window as garden beds.

Set each plant with its crown, where roots meet leaves, exactly at the soil surface. A buried crown rots and a high one dries out. Space plants about 8 inches apart and place the pot where it gets at least 6 hours of direct sun.

Water and feeding

Watering is where most potted strawberries fail. The roots are shallow and cannot tolerate drying out, and potting mix in a small pot dries quickly. Check daily and water whenever the surface is dry. In midsummer that can mean twice a day.

Feeding advice varies. Iowa State applies a water-soluble all-purpose fertilizer two or three times a season, ideally just after a flush of fruit. Texas A&M’s Russell Wallace, writing about soilless mixes, suggests water-soluble fertilizer twice a week along with daily watering.

Flowers, runners and heat

Pinch off the first flush of spring flowers so the plant can build roots before it starts fruiting. Remove runners as they appear. A dangling plantlet cannot root in midair and only draws energy from flowers and fruit. If you do grow June-bearers in a pot, Iowa State advises the opposite of garden practice: let them flower and fruit the first year, because overwintering them in a pot is rarely practical and runners do the plant no good there.

Day-neutrals stop flowering when temperatures pass about 80 to 85°F. Expect a lull in midsummer and a second flush when nights cool. Frequent watering keeps roots cooler, Utah State notes, and Texas A&M recommends shade cloth over strawberries during warm spells.

Expect less fruit than from the same plants in the ground. With day-neutrals in pots, Iowa State’s estimate is a handful of berries every few weeks.

Winter

In cold climates, the simplest plan is to compost the plants in fall and buy new ones in spring. Iowa State does not recommend overwintering potted strawberries. Soil in a pot does not insulate shallow roots the way garden soil does, and plants in pots are prone to disease. If you want to try, it suggests burying the container in the ground and covering it with at least 6 inches of straw, and even then losses are common.

Other extension services are more optimistic about larger containers. Kansas State protects barrels and pyramids with a ring of wire mesh 6 inches out from the plants, filled with straw in late fall and removed when leaves start growing in spring. University of Maryland suggests replacing container plants about every three years. Where winters are mild, potted plants follow the garden schedule: plant in fall, harvest in spring, and replace them when summer heat arrives.