Growing strawberries as potted plants yields a really good crop of fruit

Strawberry leaves are deep green, the flowers are pure white, and the fruit is bright red. Grown in a pot on a balcony, it can purify the air, decorate the setting, and still produce fine fruit to taste, which is why it is so well loved and is a balcony flower well worth promoting widely.

Grow strawberries as "potted plants", and gardening fans can place them on east-facing, south-facing, and west-facing balconies for care. Because they are moderate in height, they can be placed on all kinds of balconies, large and small. During their vigorous growth stage, it is best to put the plants in a spot that receives at least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day.

For potted strawberries, a loose, fertile sandy loam is suitable as the growing medium. If conditions allow, gardening fans can mix one made from leaf mold, fine sand, and garden soil at a ratio of 1:1:2 by volume. Strawberry plants are moderate in height but grow in a creeping manner, so a medium-sized flower pot is usually chosen for planting them out.

Strawberries like a moist soil environment and are not drought-tolerant. The potting soil is best kept often in a slightly moist, slightly dry state, especially during the flowering and fruiting periods, when they must not be allowed to suffer drought, otherwise not only will there be fewer flowers, but the fruit will also easily be misshapen.

In addition to applying about 25 grams of chicken manure and the like at the bottom of the pot as a base fertilizer when planting out, gardening fans should also top-dress once every 10 days during the vigorous growth stage with a dilute liquid fertilizer specially for fruits and vegetables that is rich in phosphorus and potassium, generally diluted 500 times, and simply water it onto the strawberry roots.

Strawberries like a environment with ample sunlight and are slightly shade-tolerant. Keeping the environment ventilated is extremely beneficial for the rapid growth of strawberries. They like warmth by nature and grow well within a temperature range of 15°C~25°C, and the overwintering temperature should not be lower than 0°C.

Potted strawberries often grow quite a few runners. In order for the plants to flower well and bear good fruit, the number of runners must be kept within a certain range. Usually keeping 2~3 runners per plant is enough, and excess runners should be cut off early to avoid consuming the nutrients within the plant.

Strawberries are perennial plants with easy care and rapid growth. Their best ornamental period can reach 2~3 years after the seedlings are planted out, but when cultivated on a balcony, the plants should be renewed every year, otherwise old plants grow poorly and bear little fruit. Without repotting, continuous cultivation should not exceed 1 year.