How to Grow Strawberries in a Container

Growing strawberries (Fragaria X ananassa) in a container allows you to move them around outside to the best spots for catching the sun or to protect them from heavy winds or rain. Container growing also helps keep strawberries free of pests, diseases and weeds. Special containers for growing strawberries are called strawberry pots or strawberry jars. These are upright containers with holes in the sides, where the strawberries grow.

Strawberries are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 11, depending on the variety.

Strawberries grow well in a pot, planter, half whiskey barrel, window box, hanging basket or strawberry jar, but some containers are only suitable for certain types of strawberries. June-bearing and everbearing strawberries grow best in containers 16 to 18 inches wide or half-whiskey barrels, which provide plenty of room for their shallow root systems. To make the best use of space, plant strawberries at the edge of the container as well as in the middle, spacing them 6 inches apart.

A window box, hanging basket or strawberry jar provides effective growing conditions for day neutral and Alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca), which are hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9. Space the plants 6 inches apart in a window box or hanging basket, and place one plant in each hole in a strawberry jar.

June-bearing strawberries produce fruit in early summer, while everbearing strawberries produce in spring and late summer. Day neutral varieties bear regular flushes of fruit all season, and Alpine strawberries bear steadily spring through fall.

A container for strawberries must have drainage holes.

Growing in a container filled with general purpose potting soil in a spot that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight per day, strawberries need little care other than regular watering and fertilizing.

Strawberries in a container need frequent watering, especially during dry spells. When the soil surface is dry, slowly pour water into the container until it flows out of the drainage holes. In hot weather, strawberries may need water every day.

If the plants are in a strawberry jar, check each opening for signs of dry soil.

Fertilizing strawberries growing in a container helps the plants grow healthily and produce a good crop. A weak solution of organic fertilizer applied regularly provides a steady supply of plant nutrients.

Mix 1/2 teaspoon of a liquid into 6 cups of water and pour the solution over the soil surface until it flows through the drainage holes. Apply the solution every two weeks.

Replace water with fertilizer solution if the strawberries need watering.

Strawberries are hardy plants that can withstand frosts within their USDA hardiness zones, but freezing temperatures damage strawberry flowers, and damaged flowers don't develop into fruit. If frosts are forecast, move flowering strawberries in their container indoors to an unheated but frost-free area, and place them outdoors when temperatures rise above freezing.