It depends on how many strawberries you have to plant. I see them most often in a 10" hanging basket. You could plant 4 or 5 plants in that size.

I have been growing red alpines for around twenty years. Difficulty level starting plants from seed is similar to impatiens. Very fragile plants for the first few weeks but once they take off they are very hardy and grow fast. Plants started from seed will produce berries the first year, but later in the season when they have grown large enough. I really like alpines but sure wish the plants could be just a bit more productive.

Each year I transplant quantity 6 one-year-old alpine strawberry plants from the garden bed into a half barrel planter that has a shallow insert. Arrangement is one plant in the center and five around the outside. This number of plants ends up filling out the entire space, any more and they would be too thick and there could be disease issues such as powdery mildew. By the end of the season the crowns are easily three to four inches in diameter and the roots fill the entire barrel insert. At season's end I transplant the plants back into the garden bed and use new one year old plants next season.

Berry production on these six plants continues the entire length of the season, but there seems to be a slowdown during high summer. Harvest from the barrel averages around 15 strawberries every three days or so, ranging from 10 to 20 on any given harvest. Not a lot, but enough for fresh berries on the breakfast cereal every couple days. The strawberry flavor is very nice, far more flavorful than the insipid oversize monstrosities from the grocery store.

I do the barrel just to have some plants up by the house for decoration and for convenient picking of some nice clean berries. My main production comes from the bed in the garden, where I can harvest a pint or so every three days if the birds do not get them.

Needless to say, do not expect a huge amount of berries to harvest per plant at any given time, but you certainly will enjoy them.

Wishing the best!
-Tom

Unfortunately I can't grow them from year to year because I don't have a piece of land where they can be in an established spot; so for me, they'd have to be grown as an annual unfortunately.

I'd only be doing one strawberry plant per hanging planter; would an 8" hanging planter suffice or should I use something bigger?

If so, what size would you recommend for one plant per hanging basket?

Planting just one strawberry plant would be a waste of time. If you were really lucky you might get 2 berries off it. But if that is all you want then you can put 1 plant in a foam coffee cup to grow and it will do fine. An 8-10" hanging basket can easily hold 6-8 plants but again the production would be only a couple of handfuls so hardly worth the effort.

Strawberries are planted in large numbers to make it worthwhile production-wise. 25 plants would be a minimal planting for most.

And no, they do not have to be grown only as annuals. Many grow them in containers for years. Containers like Earthboxes make excellent strawberry planters and when properly protected during the winter the box bed can last for several years.

Dave

First year plants do not get very big so you could probably put several in one basket as others mention. First year production will be poor, and you will be stuck with that if you keep starting them fresh from seed every year.

If we are talking about the same plant variety, my second year and older plants have root balls around 8 inches diameter by 10 inches deep. Plants end up around 12 inches diameter and 10 inches tall. Will your container work for one established plant? Probably, but it is tight.

So it is likely that you will not be happy doing what you wanted to do. To get what you want you really need to use second year plants, which you say you can not do. Think outside the box: Is there someone that you know in the same area who has a garden you could transplant your strawberry plants into in fall and dig them up the next spring? Maybe even offer them a few strawberry plants as a thank-you. You could also grow several in your containers the first year and then re-pot them individually into 6 inch nursery pots for the winter, just give them enough time in fall to recover from being disturbed. You could also try wintering them over in your original containers and then doing a fresh re-potting the next spring, as they would need to be thinned anyway.

People around here love these plants, or rather, love the idea of these plants. I always get requests and give extras away. Happy to do it. But it never fails that in spite of my warnings I get comments back regarding how poor the berry production is. I always tell them that one or a few plants should be considered novelty ornamentals, that a person needs a bed for production (just like any type of strawberry but even more so for alpines), but they never seem to really hear what I am telling them.

-Tom

I saw a gentleman (who sold me some various veggies plants and elderberry trees,etc) have strawberry plants in between the slats of two leaning together pallets... like a letter A.
plus also he had the pallets probably wired or screwed together..., I assume too.
well anyway they looked healthy. Not sure what is return was in berries...
also I believe he had landcape fabric staple to the bak side of each pallet(i am sure) to hold in the soil and berry plants...I believe someone on this forum had some pics or saw such a setup in a magazine or a You tube video....
Just a saying
thanks yall

jeanwedding - That is actually quite an interesting idea. Not very natural looking but definitely functional. I personally would place boards under each box row rather than using just landscape fabric to hold in the soil, but it certainly would not be necessary to have all that extra work and expense.

A person could also place the pallets vertically in a chevron pattern by attaching the two pallets together on the vertical side. Running a horizontal brace, say a 1x4, between the two open ends would lock it together. Might be sun issues on the back side but would be easier picking all around.

I am tempted to try this next season just to test out the concept, as I know a few people who have space issues but would love to have strawberries.

Called "pallet gardening" there is lots of info on the web about it. Kind of a fad things for those with limited space at first it has caught on well and is even used to make in-ground beds if space permits. When laid flat on the ground no backing is required. Some lay them on cardboard, some on landscape fabric. But if you use boards they will need drain holes or will become water-logged. Of course not all plants will work in them but many things will.

How To Pallet Garden

Pics linked below give lots of ideas.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Pallet gardening