Gardening enthusiasts would absolutely love to have one or two fruits in their home garden(s).
Strawberries aren’t known for their size, but they are abundant in antioxidants, fibers, and vitamins.
Even better, strawberries are low calorie, cholesterol free, sodium free, and fat free.
Strawberries are great for:
- low blood pressure,
- healthy hearts and
- protection against cancer.
If you are concerned about not having enough space for a garden at home, you can grow them in a hanging basket or pot for a real strawberry garden.
Hanging baskets don’t take up much space and literally become beautiful decorations (and edible, too) for your home/gardens.
You could suspend them anywhere and instantly create a beautiful green space!
If you plant them properly, you will be delighted to harvest your fruit every season.
You can suspend hanging baskets in your garden, at your porch, and even at your front of your house.
And don’t forget the balconies or any trees you have around your home will create perfect places for hanging plants.
WE ARE GOING TO HELP – Where ever you decide to grow your strawberries grow, just make sure that you are providing the correct conditions to have a healthy plant.
Do strawberries grow well in hanging baskets?
If you provide the plant with proper growing conditions, strawberries will grow very well in hanging baskets.
Choose appropriate varieties that are productive in small areas and will handle all types of weather.
Use a nice nutrient rich potting soil. Make sure to hang the baskets in areas that are sunny and where the air temperature stays relatively cool.
You may want to slide the baskets for the optimal sun exposure when necessary.
Because of the height of the plants, crop diseases, pests, and animals can not reach them.
When it is time to harvest, it will be the optimal height for you.
How big should a hanging basket be for strawberries?
A hanging basket that is a safe size for strawberry plants is 13 inches wide and 8 inches deep.
You will be able to plant 2 or 3 stems in this hanging basket.
By spacing the plants out in a hanging basket, you will give them adequate space for the roots, along with preventing the plants from falling out and getting to large to continue growing in the hanging basket.
When planting young new rooted young strawberry backs in, you should get them as deep as you can into the soil mix.
However, make sure the new succulent stems, and crown, is above the soil so the plants have the ability to crawl out and eventually produce strawberries.
The running rule is, you can’t have a hanging basket too large, if you have the growing area available.
If you cram your young strawberry plants into a too little hanging basket, they will die due to lack of water, nutrients and light.
For you, if you are a gardener who prefers a smaller hanging basket than just tend to all needs of the plants in the smallest basket, you will water them more often.
Which strawberry plants are best for hanging baskets?
There are two varieties of strawberries that will perform great in the hanging basket: day-neutral and alpine strawberry plants.
The day-neutral strawberry plants will yield sweet-eating strawberries for the whole growing season from June to the end of fall.
Day-neutral strawberries are not perennials so they flower and fruit throughout the entire growing season while the perennial strawberry plant flowers and fruits over a period of approximately 3 weeks!
If the average temperatures hover near 65 degrees Fahrenheit you will have plenty of fruit.
Some day-neutral varieties are: San Andreas, Albions, Evie-11, Seascape, Monterey, and Portola.
On average, each plant will provide you with approximately 1 pound of great tasting fruit.
For the best fruit yield: make sure you have enough room between the plants (at least 12-18 inches) and cut back the runners and properly water, and keep on the sunny side, proper soil, and nutrients you will have plenty of strawberries to eat!
Alpine strawberry plants will fruit in the shade (June to October).
Even if the berries are small, the cream berries have a ton of flavor!
They are also descendants of the wild berries but are taking on popularity for gardeners today to place in baskets and pots.
The alpine strawberry plant is small and usually does not produce runners like the strawberry plants.
They are hardy in rough weather and will survive even if they have a less than 5 hour full sun in a given day.
For note: they like rich soil that is shallow and calm, they are mostly grown from seeds (make sure you let your seeds germinate before adding to the basket!).
Types of hanging baskets for strawberries
You have the option of making hanging baskets for your strawberries, or if you like, you can buy them online from many shops that sell garden supplies.
You will also find hanging baskets for strawberries are for sale on the gardening aisle of most large retailers in virtually every state.
DIY hanging baskets for strawberries
There are numerous sizes, styles, and materials for strawberry planters that you can put together yourself.
You may also design your hanging containers with things you have in and around your home that can be recycled.
In addition to saving you money, you can create a one-of-a-kind and crafty planter from something that you would have otherwise thrown in the trash.
This is also the best way to be environmentally conscious.
You can hang only plastic containers for hanging strawberry baskets; or you can hang other items such as an old fruit wicker basket along with a laundry basket, or with bins.
After you cut the plastic containers, you can attach them to already hanging containers, where you will also cut vin holes at the bottom for good soil drainage, and then attach the rope or wire to hook them up.
You may even paint your containers with different touches to freshen things up, or decorative paint for a nice touch around the home
For those who like to be crafty, you can also weave your baskets out of pine, straw, or any softwood splint.
Alternatively, you could also make clay pots in various shapes and sizes to replace baskets.
Clay pots, however, are heavy and delicate when used for hanging plants, so you want to be certain that the anchor they hang from is solid enough to hold them and that the rope or wire they are held from is tightly connected around the pot.
Store-bought hanging baskets for strawberries
You can find hanging baskets for strawberries in any local garden store.
You can immediately figure out the number and size based on how many plants you want in your garden and/or home.
You must also think about the hanging space you have available to figure out how many and what size to buy.
Hanging baskets at garden stores come in these materials:
- Metal
- Plastic
- Ceramic
- Fabric
- fiber/straw materials
The chains that are supplied to connect the baskets are zinc-coated so they don’t rust.
They are strong and will last for years of seasons without being replaced. They come in many aesthetically pleasing colors, sizes, designs, and shapes to suit your home decor.
Here is a partial list of some hanging planters available on Amazon that are a great price point and also very aesthetically pleasing in your home.
Best Hanging Baskets For Strawberries
Foraineam Self-Watering Hanging Planter
Rugged and stylish, these baskets are sturdy and will hold 3 plants! They come in a variety of colors!
They also have drainage holes, and have directions for installation, so you just put them together.
Wizdar Hanging Planters Basket
Constructed from coconut fiber, they hang from lovely black iron chains. They’re assembled easily and hang up well.
The outer soft fiber material allows for soil drainage. however, they’re small, and can only handle one strawberry plant apiece.
Foraineam Ceramic Hanging Planter
These trendy and elegant ceramic hanging baskets are available in an appealing white color.
They come in a nice medium size that is big enough to plant 2 strawberry plants.
These hanging baskets also have a drainage hole for draining excess water properly. You can hang them indoor or outdoor where you have enough light for your strawberries..
How do you make a strawberry hanging basket?
In order to create a hanging basket for strawberry planting, you will need several materials listed below:
- Your selection of basket for hanging
- Polythene pot liner
- Soil
- Water
Steps for planting strawberry plants in a hanging basket:
Step 1
First, take a polythene bag, or liner, and cut it to tightly fit around the basket. Make sure the liner is secure and tucked neatly around the basket.
Then, poke some holes in the bottom of the liner for drainage.
Step 2
To begin, grab a polythene bag, or liner, and cut it so it fits around the basket tightly. Make sure that the liner fits snugly tucked in around the basket’s top.
Then stab a few holes into the bottom of the liner so that the water can drain.
Step 3
It’s time to transplant your strawberry plants into the ground. If you have two or more plants, make sure to plant them spaced out around the edges of the basket or growth pot.
Step 4
Be sure to thoroughly water the soil around the plants until, as indicated, water drains from the holes in the bottom of the basket.
Once it has drained excess water, display the basket in an area with some direct sunlight and adequate air circulation.
Within a week or two you will notice your plants set flowers and you will soon begin the pollination process as soon as the plants are healthy.
The plants are healthy and configured correctly, and will typically start producing small strawberries immediately after flowering.
When the fruit starts to produce abundantly, be sure to cut the runners off! As long as you planted baby runners after they have established themselves, they should sprout into new strawberry plants.
Do strawberries grow better hanging?
You have the option to grow strawberries in either a planter on the ground or by hanging them.
If you’ve chosen the hanging option, you have to ensure that you’ve allocated enough time for them since there is minimization of garden space.
Strawberries like to hang based on sun exposure and fresh air.
Use new soil with plenty of nutrients. If you space your strawberry plants apart enough, they will thrive together.
Keep the alpine type of strawberries away from hot sun exposure and wind too long.
If you keep your strawberries growing healthly, then the viable options for planting every year for new crops exist.
How to care for hanging strawberry plants
The same as strawberries planted in the ground in a garden, the strawberries planted in hanging baskets require the proper attention and care.
Here are a few tips to care for your hanging basket strawberries correctly:
- Strawberries like soil with great drainage from the day you plant them The roots will become rotten if the drainage is poor and the strawberry plants will die. Check that your baskets have enough drain holes in the bottom for excess water drainage. The soil in the baskets is also protected from pests and diseases that can harm crops since they are off the ground.
- Strawberries also require an adequate amount of sun. With the exception of the Alpine varieties of strawberries that like to remain shaded, day-neutral strawberries thrive best in direct sunlight for over 5 hours during the day. They the sun will the produce healthy strawberry plants that will more than likely yield large juicy strawberries.
- Make sure that there is good air circulation in your baskets. Do not overcrowd the strawberry plants because they will be too moist and that will cause them to die.
- Check on the status of your strawberry baskets and plants each day. Make sure that the leaves are still green, and not infected with bugs or pests. You should also check the moisture levels in the soil so that it is moist, but not too wet.
- Applying fertilizer to your strawberry plant every few weeks can get the soil and the leaves replenished with nutrients, and increase the vitality of your strawberry plants.
- In winter you may also want to move the strawberry plants inside, or to a warmed protected area so that they will not freeze.
- You will want to trim the runners of the strawberry plants. Trimming the runners will help the strawberry plants to fruit well, but you can always replant the runners with new conditions to create new crops.
Do hanging strawberries come back every year?
If you are growing strawberries in a container, they will indeed come back every year.
If they are cared properly, there strawberry plants will produce every year for approximately four years.
There is no need to plant again.
As long as they are nourished properly with space, and health are met, they will produce fruit annually.
The total number produced will depend on the health of the plants.
Conclusion
To ensure a successful hanging basket of berries, select the correct variety for your zone.
And, don’t forget to love your bunnies with the care ideas we shared with you.
Find strawberry gardening forums or connect with other bunny basket folk, which will generate plenty of great ideas for your hanging baskets to flourish all season.