Growing strawberries at home is one of the easiest ways to enjoy fruit at its best. A ripe berry picked from a sunny container tastes very different from one that has spent days travelling to a supermarket. You can grow strawberries in a dedicated patch, along the edge of a border or in a pot on the patio. Success depends mainly on choosing healthy plants, planting them at the correct depth and keeping ripening fruit away from pests.
Choose the right kind of strawberry
Summer-fruiting strawberries produce their main crop over a relatively short period. By combining early, mid-season and late varieties, you can stretch the harvest over several weeks. Perpetual or everbearing varieties produce smaller flushes across a longer season, often into early autumn. Alpine strawberries make much smaller berries but are useful along paths and in containers.
Buy named, healthy plants from a reputable nursery. Many strawberry varieties are sold as bare-root runners when dormant or as potted plants during the growing season. Bare-root plants can look unimpressive on arrival; a small crown with roots is normal. Alpine strawberries can also be raised from seed, although buying a few established plants is usually quicker.
Where do strawberries grow best?
Choose a sunny position for the sweetest crops. Strawberries tolerate some shade, but heavy shade generally means fewer fruits and slower ripening. They prefer fertile soil that drains freely. In heavy clay, improve the planting area with well-rotted organic matter or grow in raised beds and containers.
Avoid a patch where old strawberry plants have struggled with root diseases. Good airflow between plants helps foliage dry after rain. Keep weeds under control before planting because removing deep-rooted weeds later is difficult without disturbing shallow strawberry roots.
When to plant strawberries
Spring and late summer to early autumn are useful planting periods in Britain. Late-summer planting allows roots to establish before the next fruiting season, while spring-planted strawberries may need careful watering as temperatures rise. Avoid planting bare-root runners into frozen or waterlogged ground.
If a new plant arrived during a spell of bad weather, keep its roots protected and follow the supplier's storage guidance until conditions improve. Potted plants bought in summer can be planted then, but they need consistent moisture while settling into their new position.
How to plant strawberry runners
Spread the roots gently into a hole large enough to accommodate them without folding them upwards. Set the crown—the central point where leaves emerge—level with the surrounding soil. This detail is crucial. Bury the crown too deeply and it can rot; leave the roots exposed and they may dry out.
Firm the soil lightly and water thoroughly. Allow about 35–40cm between ordinary garden strawberries, or follow the variety's instructions. A plant that looks small in March can produce substantial foliage by midsummer. Crowded plants are harder to pick and more prone to damp, unhealthy conditions.
Growing strawberries in pots and hanging baskets
Containers are ideal where garden soil is unsuitable or space is limited. Use a pot with drainage holes and fill it with peat-free multipurpose compost. Make sure there is enough room for roots and for watering without the compost washing over the edge.
Strawberries in baskets often need watering more frequently than those in garden soil, especially during warm, windy weather. Check the compost below its surface rather than relying on a fixed timetable. Water thoroughly when needed, then let excess water drain away. Never leave a decorative outer pot permanently full of water.
Place containers somewhere sunny but sheltered from extreme wind. If the compost dries completely, the crop may suffer just as fruit is beginning to swell.
Watering and feeding strawberry plants
Newly planted strawberries need watering through dry spells while roots establish. Established plants in the ground are more resilient, but their fruits develop best without repeated drought stress. Water around the roots where possible, particularly while berries are swelling.
Container strawberries have limited nutrients available in their compost. Feed according to a fertiliser's instructions when plants are actively growing and fruiting; a product suitable for fruiting crops is often used. More fertiliser is not a cure for poor light or waterlogged roots.
Mulch around plants to conserve soil moisture and keep weeds down. Leave crowns uncovered and avoid piling wet material against their bases.
Keeping strawberries clean and protecting the fruit
Strawberries lying directly on damp soil can rot or become muddy. Traditional straw mulch is one way to hold fruit away from the ground. Clean, suitable alternatives are available, but make sure the material doesn't trap excess moisture against the crown.
Birds quickly discover ripening berries. A fruit cage or carefully secured protective netting can protect the crop, but loose nets can entangle wildlife. Check protection regularly and ensure pollinating insects can reach flowers when they need to.
Slugs and snails may damage ripening fruit, particularly during wet weather. Remove rotten berries promptly, keep the growing area tidy and inspect plants regularly. Not every marked berry has the same cause: sun damage, mould and insect feeding can look quite different.
What to do with strawberry runners
Many summer-fruiting varieties send out long stems carrying tiny new plants. These are runners. You can use them to make replacements for ageing strawberry plants.
Set a small pot of compost beside the parent plant and pin a healthy runner plantlet gently against its surface. Keep it moist while roots develop. When the new plant has rooted well, cut the connecting stem and grow it on separately.
Removing runners from plants grown mainly for fruit can help direct their resources towards cropping. Once you have enough replacement plants, there's little reason to let every runner form a tangled carpet.
When and how to harvest strawberries
Pick fruit when it has developed the characteristic ripe colour of its variety and feels ready to eat. White or yellow-fruited varieties should not be judged by the red-strawberry rule. Taste a ripe example to learn the variety's best stage.
Harvest gently, taking the fruit with its small green calyx and a short piece of stalk where practical. Don't squeeze berries into a deep bucket; they bruise easily. Check plants regularly in warm weather because ripening can happen quickly.
Refrigerate fruit you won't eat immediately, and wash it shortly before use. Discard berries showing extensive mould rather than storing them with sound fruit.
Looking after plants after harvest
Once the main crop is over, remove dead or badly diseased foliage and tidy the bed. The precise treatment depends on the variety; perpetual strawberries continue flowering and should not be treated like a summer-fruiting patch that has completed its season.
Strawberry plants gradually become less productive. Replacing older plants with young, healthy runners helps maintain a reliable crop. Move new plantings to fresh ground where possible, particularly if the original patch has shown disease problems.
Why strawberries produce leaves but little fruit
Too much shade, poor pollination, drought during flowering and unsuitable feeding can all reduce the crop. Late frost can damage blossoms even though the plant's leaves survive. Cover flowering plants on freezing nights with suitable fleece, removing it when conditions improve.
If berries are malformed, poor pollination may be involved. A few odd-shaped fruits are normal, but repeated problems warrant checking growing conditions and whether insects can reach the flowers.
Your first strawberry patch
Start with six healthy plants, ideally two varieties with different fruiting times. Give them sunshine, space and good drainage. Keep crowns level with the soil, water during dry spells, protect the berries as they ripen and replace tired plants with new runners.
Further reading
Royal Horticultural Society: How to Grow Strawberries.