Strawberry Plants in a Three-Tier Planter

Types

• Three-tiered planters for strawberries can be as simple as three terra-cotta pots of diminishing size, with the largest as the base and the next two stacked inside so that the smallest is on top. Each smaller pot is set on top of the soil of the larger container, with strawberry plants planted on the edges of the lower two and the center of the higher two. Built planters can be constructed against a wall so that the three tiers widen from the smaller top tier down to the third tier, or they can be built as a centerpiece for a garden, designed to function similarly to the stacked terra-cotta pots.

Advantages

• The three-tiered strawberry planters help keep the strawberries from touching the ground, instead giving them space to drape over the side of the tier. The vertical space they use means they don't need as much space between each plant, so more can be planted in a smaller horizontal space. Three tiers offer no more or less advantage than a two- or four-tiered system, but design teaches that objects in odd numbers tend to be more pleasing to the eye, and three tiers are simpler to construct than five tiers.

Drawbacks

• The smaller the root space, as in the case of the three stacked pots, the more often the plants contained will need water. The three-tiered strawberry planter may need special watering systems to ensure that the top tier of the planter gets plenty of water and does not dry out. If the tiers are particularly tall, then one side of the planter may cast too much shade and shade out some of the strawberries.

Considerations

• The orientation of the planter is important for strawberries. In southern climates, take advantage of the morning sun while allowing the tiers or the wall that the planter is built against to give the strawberries reprieve from afternoon sun. In northern climates, point the tiers toward the south to ensure the most sun and yield large crops of strawberries.