How to Grow Strawberries in Pots and Hanging Baskets
Updated June 2026
Off the ground means cleaner fruit, fewer slugs and easy picking. Strawberries love a pot.
Strawberries are one of the best container crops there is. Grown in pots, troughs or hanging baskets they stay clean, ripen away from slugs and snails, and are right at hand for picking. A sunny balcony rail of strawberries is an easy win.
Containers that suit strawberries
Strawberries have shallow roots, so they do not need depth, just room to spread. Hanging baskets, troughs, wide pots and purpose-made strawberry planters with side pockets all work. Allow about 20 cm per plant. Hanging baskets are ideal because the fruit dangles clean and out of reach of pests.
Planting
Use a quality potting mix with compost and good drainage. Plant so the crown, where the leaves meet the roots, sits right at the soil surface, not buried (which rots it) and not exposed (which dries it out). Place in full sun for the sweetest fruit, though they tolerate a little afternoon shade in hot regions.
Water, feed and runners
Keep the mix evenly moist, as containers dry fast and strawberries are shallow-rooted, but avoid wetting the crown and fruit constantly, which invites rot. Feed every week or two with a high-potassium feed (a tomato fertiliser is perfect) once flowering starts, for sweet, plentiful fruit. Plants send out runners, baby plants on stems, which you can pot up to make new plants or trim off to keep the parent productive.
Protecting the fruit
Up off the ground you already avoid most slugs and snails. Birds are the main remaining threat, so drape netting over pots and baskets as the fruit colours. Pick strawberries fully ripe, they do not sweeten further once picked.
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Open the App →Frequently Asked Questions
Do strawberries grow well in pots?
Very well. Strawberries have shallow roots and do not need deep soil, so pots, troughs and hanging baskets all suit them. Off the ground the fruit stays clean and away from slugs and snails, and picking is easy.
How many strawberries can I plant in a pot?
Allow about 20 cm per plant. A standard hanging basket suits three to five plants, and a long trough takes one every 20 cm. Crowding reduces airflow and fruit size, so do not overplant.
How deep does a pot need to be for strawberries?
Not very, because the roots are shallow. A pot 15 to 20 cm deep is enough. Width and surface area matter more than depth, which is why wide troughs and baskets work so well.
How do I get sweeter strawberries in containers?
Give them full sun, keep watering steady, and feed every week or two with a high-potassium fertiliser such as a tomato feed once flowering starts. Pick the fruit fully ripe, as it will not sweeten after picking.
What do I do with strawberry runners?
Runners are baby plants on long stems. Pot them up to grow free new plants, which is handy because strawberries crop best for two to three years before declining. Trim runners off if you would rather the parent put its energy into fruit.
See also: How to Grow Strawberries
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