Kitchen Garden Forum

Hello

I brought some strawberry runners from the local garden centre at the weekend, and have put 8 or so into a strawberry pot (it's going to be a gift for my mum.

Now I'm abit worried about how it's going to get on from now until the last frost..... I live in london and have it positioned near the house, in a south facing garden. The weather forecast this week is pretty good (although tomorrow night is -3).
Do you think the plants are going to be ok by themselves, or do they need to be wrapped up at night?
In the next few weeks the pot will move to rural Essex, where things are abit cooler as well.

Any advice is welcome!

Hello acrylicspud, strawberries are hardy old plants, they are normally in beds in the open ground so they should be just fine in a strawberry pot.

Of course this is unless they have been forced and already covered in ripe strawberries.

Last autumn I potted up a number of strawberry runners in small pots for a friend which have been overwintered in a partially covered area exposed to normal winter temperatures. They've all survived perfectly healthily and seem to be pretty hardy plants. All my outdoor strawberry plants have also survived this winter's odd frosts and the one snowstorm we had so I think yours should be OK but if a heavy frost is forecast you can always cover them over with some fleece or even a large black bin liner.

Strawberries need chilling to fruit successfully, so it's generally a good idea to let them get a bit frosted at least. They really aren't tender at all.

Excellent. Thanks for all the info. That's good to know

I didn't want them ruined before I had a chance to give them to their new owner!

I've got enough to make 1 pot for myself, but am tempted to go back and get some more! Lot's of varieties to choose from as well.