Instructions for Strawberry Pyramid Planting

A strawberry pyramid or tower makes growing strawberries possible even in tiny garden spaces. The layers of strawberry plants stack upward in planting “shelves” to save space and to make berries easy to reach for tending and harvesting. Choose short-day, or spring-bearing, varieties if you want a main berry harvest in late spring. Day-neutral varieties, also known as everbearing, provide garden interest as well as regular berry harvests for several months. You can grow strawberries in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 to 10.

Pyramid Type

Strawberry pyramids create a pleasing ornamental display in the garden by raising the visual focus above ground-level, showing off the blossoms and fruits against the dark green foliage. One type of pyramid resembles a round or square tiered cake, with a large base layer of plants and two or three increasingly smaller layers stacked on top. Wooden-pyramids or towers may have a bottom layer that rests on the ground and a framework of planter boxes above it, or they may be stand-alone planter boxes with a tiered arrangement. You can outfit pyramids and towers with drip irrigation or small sprinkler systems to improve watering efficiency. The planting area of each tier should be at least 8 inches wide and 8 inches deep.


Position a strawberry pyramid in full sun, or so that the plants on each side receive at least six hours of full sun daily. Because the north side of a pyramid will be shaded, orient the planter so that a corner points north. This allows all the edges to receive some full sun during part of the day. Establish a balanced visual effect by leveling the horizontal edges of each layer of the pyramid or tower. If the pyramid will be located on a slope, take leveling into account during the planning stage.


Fill the layers of the pyramid with rich compost mixed with clean sandy loam or sand and peat, tamping down the soil in each layer. Strawberry plants are susceptible to soil-borne diseases such as verticillium wilt, which may be present in regular garden soil or in soil that previously was used to grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other members of the Solanaceae family. Strawberries flourish in soil with a wide pH range of 5.5 to 7.5. Mix in a balanced organic fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 5-5-5 to help the plants develop healthy foliage, roots and fruits. Diluted water-soluble fertilizer may be used weekly during regular irrigation.


Several varieties of strawberries thrive in USDA zones 8 to 10. Plant popular spring-bearing cultivars “Chandler,” “Camarosa” and “Douglas” from early October through mid-November. Common everbearing cultivars have various planting times: plant “Selva” no earlier than mid-September, transplant “Fern” as early as possible in the spring, and “Irvine” and “Hecker” are winter-planted varieties. During normal seasonal growth, the plants develop runners that produce baby plants that you can use to renew your pyramid and maintain fruit production.

Plant Depth

To set new strawberry plants at the proper depth, make small mounds of soil along the planting rows of the pyramid at about 12-inch intervals. Place the crown of each strawberry plant on top of a mound, spreading the roots down the sides of the mound. Cover the roots with soil up to the crown, making sure that you cover no more than half of the crown with soil. Check the soil level after the initial watering, and reposition plants that become buried or dislodged.