If you overwinter hanging strawberries, you don't have to plant new strawberries every year. Pruning, fertilizer, winter protection is the recipe for success in a nutshell. You can read the coherent long version for strawberry hanging baskets and flower boxes in these instructions. This is how you get hanging strawberries through the winter.
How to care for hanging strawberries in winter?
To overwinter hanging strawberries successfully, cut off all hanging offshoots in autumn, fertilize the mother plant organically and protect it from frost with a wind-protected location, insulating pads and covering the substrate.
Overwintering hanging strawberries – How to do it in 3 steps
The hanging strawberry variety itself does not exist. In fact, these are strawberry varieties with extra long tendrils that dangle seductively from the balcony box or hanging basket with their sweet load. Everbearing monthly strawberries are best suited for this cultivation. As a result, hanging strawberries are just as hardy and perennial as you know from their counterparts in the garden. How to overwinter hanging strawberries on the balcony in three steps:
Pruning in autumn – How to prune correctly
A strong pruning sets the stage for trailing strawberries to cope with the rigors of winter. In the end, only the mother plant should remain. The hanging daughter tendrils do not overwinter. How to properly cut hanging strawberries before winter:
- Cut off all hanging offshoots
- Clean out dried leaves and flower remains
- Caution: Do not cut or damage the heart leaves of the mother plant
The best time for cutting is at the end of the harvest season, in November at the latest.
Fertilize the mother plant organically – this is how it works
An organic nutrient supply guarantees carefree snacking pleasure. For this reason, strawberries in the bed and on the balcony receive their main fertilization in autumn. In contrast to fast-acting, complete mineral fertilizers, natural fertilizers take some time until the nutrients are available to the plants. How to properly fertilize hanging strawberries:
- The best time is after the autumn pruning
- Fertilize trailing strawberries preferably liquid with worm tea (€16.00 on Amazon) or organic berry fertilizer
- Alternatively, fertilize strawberries on the balcony with worm compost or sifted compost soil
So that hanging strawberries can absorb the nutrients well, please pour in small sips. The trimmed mother plant only evaporates a small amount of water and should not go into hibernation with wet feet.
Winter protection for traffic lights and boxes – tips
In the last step before winter, hanging strawberries are protected from bitter frost. A change of location is advantageous so that the blazing winter sun does not dry out the plants. How to do it right:
- Move hanging strawberries to a shady, wind-protected location
- Place the box or bucket on an insulating surface, such as wood or Styrofoam
- Cover plant containers with fleece, bubble wrap or jute
- Cover the substrate with straw, bark mulch, autumn leaves or sawdust
The strawberry plant itself only receives a breathable fleece as frost protection at temperatures below -10° Celsius, which is removed again when temperatures rise.
Tip
After two to three winters, hanging strawberries are exhausted. Instead of buying a new strawberry plant, you can simply grow a young plant from cuttings. To do this, place a pot with substrate next to the plant container. Place a he althy, vital cutting on the soil, press the tendril and water. The connection to the mother plant is only severed when the offshoot has developed its own root system.
