How to Grow Strawberries in Pots? Learn to Grow Strawberries Easily at Home

    For growing strawberries in pots, you need to pay attention to the choice of pots, soil and varieties, use proper cultivation techniques, carry out fertilizer and water management, seedling management, repotting, and mind the temperature and humidity.

    Method/Steps

    1.Choose pots, soil and varieties.For potted plants, ceramic pots with a rim diameter of 20-30 cm are preferable. Use soil with a high humus content for the potting mix. As for varieties, excellent everbearing strawberry cultivars such as 'European Four Seasons Red', 'Changhong No. 2' and '83-38' are good choices for potting. They can bloom and bear fruit multiple times throughout the year.

    2. Cultivation techniques.Potted strawberries can be planted in any season of the year. However, when lifting seedlings from the garden bed to pot them, it is best to do so in autumn. Choose vigorous seedlings, take plenty of soil with the roots when lifting them, remove old and damaged leaves, and trim the root system to about 10 cm. Let the roots spread out and plant them into the potting soil. The planting depth should follow the principle of not exposing the roots and not burying the crown. Firm the soil to secure the seedling in place, keeping the soil surface 3-4 cm below the rim of the pot. After planting, water thoroughly, place in a shaded spot for 3-5 days, then move to a spot with plenty of light.

    3. Fertilizer and water management.Everbearing strawberries bloom and bear fruit multiple times a year, consuming a lot of nutrients, so nutrient supplementation should be strengthened. You can use animal hooves, fish bones, poultry viscera, soybean cake, etc., add water and let them decompose and ferment, then brew them into liquid fertilizer, or apply a compound fertilizer as a top dressing. Generally, apply fertilizer once a week. For outdoor potted plants, water once in the morning and once in the evening each day. When watering, let the water warm up in the sun first; never water directly with well water or tap water.

    4.Seedling management.For potted strawberries, plant management should be strengthened.

    First: thin out flower buds, remove leaves and remove runners at the right time. That is, remove ineffective high-level flowers in appropriate amounts during the bud dispersal stage. Remove old leaves, damaged leaves, diseased leaves and excess runners to reduce nutrient consumption and improve fruit quality.

    Second: frame the fruit and shape it. That is, use wire or bamboo skewers to make fruit frames of different shapes, place them in the flower pot to prop up the fruit clusters, promote air circulation and light exposure for the fruit clusters, ensure even coloring of the fruit, prevent soil from contaminating the fruit, and reduce pest and disease damage. At the same time, runners can also be used for artistic shaping to increase ornamental value.

    Third: corresponding integrated control measures should be adopted to prevent and control pests and diseases.

    5. Repotting.After potted strawberries have borne fruit for 2 years, they should be repotted or given fresh potting soil after fruiting. When repotting, first take the plant out of the pot, cut off aged roots, dead roots and the lower aged rhizomes, then plant it into new potting soil.

    6. Temperature and humidity.Generally, potted strawberries require a temperature of 20-25°C, and the indoor temperature should be kept above 15°C in winter. The flower pot should be placed in a ventilated and sunny spot, and the potting soil should be kept moist at all times.