How To Plant Strawberries In Hanging Baskets
I always love driving by houses in the springtime that have beautiful baskets of hanging flowers adorning their porches. In our household, however, we prioritize planting edible plants. A beautiful edible alternative to flowers are strawberries in hanging baskets.
The Benefits Of Planting Strawberries in Hanging Baskets
Space and Aesthetics
The most obvious benefit of planting strawberries in hanging baskets is space. Hanging planters allow you to grow strawberries no matter where you live – on porches or balconies in a neighborhood, an apartment, or as a beautiful way to liven up the porch on your homestead. You could even hang these strawberries inside in a sunny window. Strawberries are beautiful plants and as they grow they will hang out of the baskets with trailing vines, deep red fruit, and petite blossoms to create a gorgeous, edible addition to your front porch or balcony.
Pest and Disease Prevention
Planting your strawberries in a hanging basket off the ground protects them from slugs and snails, which were a huge problem when we grew our strawberries in raised beds. We also used to struggle with squirrels eating all of the berries before they were able to be picked. Planting our strawberries in hanging baskets right by the front door has made it much more difficult for the squirrels to access them.
Strawberries will also rot if they touch the soil, so allowing them to hang from hanging baskets is an excellent way to preserve the fruit until they are ready to be picked.
The small hanging planters provide better air circulation to help prevent fungal diseases. These baskets also drain well which helps prevent root rot since strawberries hate having wet feet. These factors alone make planting strawberries in hanging baskets an excellent choice for first time gardeners.
Easy Care
Planting your strawberries in hanging baskets prevents the need for weeding your strawberry beds. Hanging planters can be moved for better sun exposure if needed, leading to sweeter strawberries and a better yield.
How To Plant Strawberries In Hanging Baskets
We bought bare root Ozark Beauty strawberries from an Etsy shop called StrawberryIslandUS. I was so impressed with the quality of the plants. I’ve bought bare root plants from other shops before and usually a few plants don’t always survive. Not only did our strawberries survive from this shop, they are absolutely thriving. I highly recommend checking them out to see if they sell berries conducive to your grow zone
Soaking Your Roots
- Before planting your bare root strawberries, you’ll want to soak the roots to rehydrate them. I filled a couple of mason jars with water and put the roots down in the jars. I soak mine for 30 minutes to an hour. Do not soak your strawberry roots for longer than 2 hours or you risk developing root rot.
Planting The Berries
2. Start filling your hanging baskets with potting soil. I used these hanging baskets, which are the perfect size for 1 strawberry each.
3. Fan out the roots of your strawberry plants, pulling them apart if they are stuck or twisted together. The roots should be planted straight down in the hanging basket. If your roots are too long for your hanging basket, you can trim them with pruning snips. Remember, you want your roots to face straight down. They should be short enough that they do not curve into a “J” shape.
4. Continue filling your hanging basket with potting soil to cover the roots of your plants.
Soil Level – Do Not Bury The Crown!
5. This is the most important step to successfully planting strawberry plants. When filling your hanging baskets with soil, you want to cover the roots but you do not want the crown of the strawberry plant to be under the soil. The image below shows where the roots meet the crown. The soil level for your strawberry plants should be at the blue line in the image below. As you water your plants, if the soil begins to settle and expose the roots, you can always move your soil around to cover the roots back up, but you never want to bury any part of your crown with soil.
When your strawberries are fully planted, they should look like this, with the crown above the soil line.
Hanging And Watering Your Strawberries
6. Once your strawberries are planted, install hooks for hanging. You will immediately need to water them well. Because hanging baskets are small, you may need to water your strawberries daily to keep the soil moist.
Other Containers For Growing Strawberries
Hanging baskets are our favorite method for growing strawberries, but the steps for planting can also be used to plant your strawberries in other containers. In addition to our hanging baskets, we also have strawberries in regular planters and 3 gallon fabric grow bags.
Gardening With Littles
Our toddler loves berries and was so excited to help with these strawberry plants. Having the strawberries in hanging baskets on the porch makes it so convenient for our little helper to water his berries with his little watering can. I pull the plants off the hooks so he can reach them to water and he uses his montessori helper tower to pick the berries when they’re ripe.
Feedback
Did you grow your own strawberries in hanging planters this year? What was your favorite part of having fresh berries right outside your door? Let me know in the comments below!
Pin It For Later
