The 6 Best Strawberry Varieties for Hanging Baskets

Strawberries are one of the best fruits for hanging baskets — the plants trail naturally, the fruit hangs clear of the ground and away from slugs, and a well-planted basket will produce a useful harvest through the summer without taking up any garden bed space at all.

The catch is that not every variety takes to basket life. What you're after is a compact plant with a trailing habit, decent disease resistance, and ideally a long cropping season so you're picking for months rather than weeks. These six are the ones I keep coming back to.

Loran

Loran was bred specifically for containers, and it's one of the very few strawberries that's genuinely runnerless. That matters more than it sounds, because in a basket every runner a plant throws is energy stolen from the fruit. With Loran you get none of that fuss.

The plants are tidy and compact with dark green foliage, and they'll give you medium-sized berries with good flavour right through from June to September. The pink flowers are a real bonus too, so the basket looks pretty even before a single berry has formed. If you can't be doing with runner management, this is the one.

Flamenco

Flamenco is one of the most productive everbearers going, and it takes to basket culture beautifully. Expect large, glossy, sweet berries from July right through to the first frosts in October. It's a heavy cropper with superb flavour, which is a combination you don't always get.

It does throw a moderate number of runners, but here's the thing: in a basket that's actually a plus. They cascade over the side and will themselves flower and fruit, so what would be a nuisance in a bed becomes part of the display.

Toscana

Toscana is grown as much for the look of it as the eating. Instead of the usual white blooms it produces deep pink flowers, and a basket of it in full flower is a stunning thing. It crops June to October, with moderate runners and medium-sized, sweet berries that carry a proper strawberry flavour. Highly ornamental, this one.

Mara des Bois

Mara des Bois earns its place for one reason and one reason only: flavour. When you're only going to get a handful of berries from a basket, they had better be worth the wait, and these are. They have a wild strawberry intensity that, in my experience, leaves most modern varieties standing. It crops June to October and does throw moderate to many runners, but I'd put up with a good deal more than that for fruit this good.

Alpine Strawberries

If you like your berries tiny and intensely flavoured, alpine strawberries are perfect for baskets. They form neat little mounds, rarely bother sending out runners, and crop continuously from June to October. I'm especially fond of the white-fruited sorts such as White Soul, which work beautifully and have the happy advantage that the birds tend to leave them well alone.

Cambridge Favourite

A traditional choice, and one that works surprisingly well up high. Cambridge Favourite gives a reliable crop of sweet berries in June and July, and its many runners trail naturally over the edge. Its real virtue, though, is that it's bulletproof: it'll forgive you the odd missed watering and shrug off conditions that would sulk a fussier variety. If you're new to this, start here.

Hanging Basket Growing Tips

A few things I've learned that make all the difference. Go for a basket at least 30cm across, and bigger if you can manage it, because the small ones dry out before you've turned your back. Fill it with multipurpose compost mixed with perlite, and work in some slow-release fertiliser and water-retaining gel crystals while you're at it. Plant three to four per 30cm basket.

The single most important job is watering. Baskets dry out fast, so that means daily in summer and twice a day in a heatwave, without fail. From flowering onwards, feed fortnightly with a liquid tomato feed. Hang the basket in full sun but sheltered from wind, and there you have it.

The best part is that a hanging basket is naturally slug-proof, which takes one of the biggest strawberry headaches off the table entirely. The only thing you may need to guard against is birds, so net if they start helping themselves. Other than that, sit back and enjoy the harvest.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many strawberry plants go in a hanging basket?

Three plants in a standard 35cm basket is a comfortable fit — enough to give a good yield without the plants competing too heavily for water and nutrients. In a larger 40cm basket you can fit four. Use one central plant and two or three around the edge so the runners cascade outwards over the rim.

How often do hanging basket strawberries need watering?

Daily in warm weather, sometimes twice daily when it is very hot. Hanging baskets dry out much faster than ground-level beds because of the airflow around them. A water-retaining gel mixed into the compost at planting helps, but it does not replace consistent watering. Under-watered plants produce small, dry fruit and are more susceptible to spider mite.

What compost is best for strawberry hanging baskets?

A peat-free multipurpose compost with added perlite gives the best balance of moisture retention and drainage. Avoid heavy loam-based composts, which compact over a season and hold too much water around the roots. My guide to strawberry soil and compost mixes covers the options for containers and hanging baskets in detail.

Do hanging basket strawberries still need protection from pests?

Mostly no for slugs, but birds can still reach hanging baskets and aphids can appear on any strawberry. A simple net draped over the basket when fruit is ripening solves the bird problem. For a full overview of what threatens strawberries and how to deal with it, my strawberry pest guide covers every common culprit. The complete growing guide is the place to start if you are new to growing strawberries.