You don't need your own garden to grow strawberries yourself. Theclimbing strawberry , which is very fertile and produces fruit until late autumn, is a hit on balconies and terraces, perfect for pot cultivation. Seegrowing a climbing strawberryin pots and whichvarieties of climbing strawberriesare the best for balcony cultivation in our climate.
Climbing strawberry grown in a pot on the terrace
Climbing strawberry - benefits and application
It is worth remembering thatstrawberries are not only tasty but also very he althy fruit They contain a lot of microelements (e.g. phosphorus, magnesium, calcium), a lot of vit. C and folic acid. Of course, the fruit we have grown and picked tastes best. And how wonderful it would be if they would grow on our balcony and climb up the balustrade or hang garlands from a pot!
There are more and more strawberry varieties for balcony cultivation . The advantage of this solution is also quite a lot. After all, even if we have a plot of land, we do not always have the opportunity to grow strawberries on it. Especially that they bear fruit for a short time, and for the rest of the season they do not look particularly attractive in the flower bed. On the other hand,climbing strawberries grown incontainers take up little space and are easy to pick. They ripen out of contact with the ground, so they rot less often and are usually clean. And we just have them always at hand. It is enough to go out to the balcony or terrace to taste their sweet fruits.
Few probably know that the strawberry was created in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century.from the crossing of two varieties of wild strawberries: virginian (Fragaria virginiana) and Chilean (Fragaria chiloensis). Since then, breeders have competed in creating better, more resistant and more fruitful varieties. The most valuable for gourmets are the desserts - large, sweet and juicy.
Actually, we could grow any kind in a container, but there are varieties that are especially suitable for this purpose, due to their specific properties. We can usually find them in the trade under the nameclimbing or dangling strawberriesHowever, no strawberries are climbing by themselves, which does not mean, of course, that we will not be satisfied with them. Usuallyas climbing strawberries are those varieties that repeat fruiting and create long, even over a meter long stolonsIn their case, the fruits appear not only on the bush, but also on hanging shoots. Fruit shoots may hang loosely from the containers, but we can also lead them in a climbing form.Then we have to tie the runners ourselves to the supports provided for this purpose (grates, balustrade rungs, nets, etc.), because, unlike vines, strawberries do not have their own attachment systems.
The firstclimbing strawberries start fruitingon the date appropriate for most strawberries, i.e. from May to June. The next one starts about a month after the end of the first harvest.
Climbing strawberry - planting
How to plant a climbing strawberry?
Strawberries grown in containers must be taken care of with special care, mainly due to the small amount of space and substrate available. The minimum diameter of the pot in which we can plant strawberries is 25-30 cm. It is also worth consideringwhat kind of soil for the climbing strawberrywill be the best. For planting plants, we choose humus land, to which we add compost or peat and a small amount of sand. Suitable soil pH is neutral or slightly acidic (pH 5.5 - 6.5).Strawberries do not like alkaline or too acidic soils.
When planting climbing strawberrieswe have to be careful not to cover them with soil, because the young leaves can get sick. Drainage is also necessary, as excess water lying at the bottom of the pot will cause the roots to rot. The cuttings are planted so that their roots are not folded back. This problem does not exist when we buy seedlings already planted in containers in spring.
When to plant a climbing strawberry?
The preferred time to plantclimbing strawberries is early spring. Strawberry varieties that repeat fruiting are generally quite susceptible to frost, so it makes sense for them to have a fairly long period of time to settle in the container well and firmly. During the winter, they should be carefully protected with thick non-woven fabric or straw mats. You should also remember to protect the plants with non-woven fabric against spring frosts. We must place the containers in a sunny position, because only then will we see large, juicy and sweet fruit.
Climbing strawberry - cultivation, care
The next condition necessary for the proper development and growthof climbing strawberriesis appropriate substrate moisture. We must take great care that the bushes do not dry out. If we have such an opportunity, we can use special irrigation systems, available in garden centers, but a pipe of the appropriate diameter driven into the ground, into which we will pour water, will also do its job well. It's also a good idea to mix the soil with the hydrogel before planting. It will help to maintain a constant soil moisture and protect plants against water shortage. We wrote more about the advantages and how to use hydrogels in the article how to use hydrogels. Additionally, we can cover the ground around the bushes with a layer of mulch, e.g. straw. In addition to preventing moisture loss, the mulch will stop the growth of weeds in strawberries.
Climbing strawberries grown on balconiesand terraces must be fertilized, because the amount of nutrients in the container is quite limited.It is best to use organic fertilizers at intervals of 1-2 months - the first dose about a month after planting, the last one at the end of August.
In the fall after the last harvest or in the early spring of the following year,climbing strawberriesrepeating fruiting, cut off the shoots which already fructified. It is a very important procedure in the care of climbing strawberries. The bushes bear the best fruit for 2-3 years after planting, then they should be replaced with the entire substrate for young seedlings.
Climbing strawberry - varieties
The most frequently recommendedclimbing strawberry varietiesrepeating fruiting are: 'Selva', 'Everest' (less tasty), 'Ostara', 'Evie II' (new variety), 'Albion' (very tasty fruit), 'Super Star' (creates exceptionally long stolons) and a bit more frost-resistant 'Temptation'.As a curiosity, we can also recommend the decorativestrawberry variety 'Pink Panda'It has beautiful, pink or dark pink flowers, appearing from May to autumn on many stolons.Of course, it also bears fruit, although they are smaller than most strawberries, but just as tasty and very aromatic.
As I mentioned at the beginning, every yearvarieties of climbing strawberries appear more and moreThese plants are characterized by even more tasty fruits and longer shoots. Breeders are also trying to create varieties that are more resistant to frost and disease of strawberries. Soclimbing-hanging strawberrieshave a bright future ahead of them, and carefully cared for, they will certainly repay us with delicious and plentiful fruit, and additionally they will be a very original and wonderful decoration of balconies and terraces .
Katarzyna Józefowicz
