Hello! I live in Colorado and we bought some plants a couple months ago to try and start container gardening. We started with 4 small strawberry plants (everbearing). Due to my raging ADHD, it took me a while to transfer from nursery container into their pots. They've been in their pot (that I now think was not the right size despite my googling) with soil (I have my own soil mix components for houseplants- this mix was a combo of coco coir, perlite, foxfarm potting soil, orchid bark) for about a month- with a grow light. I've been keeping them inside because unfortunately, Denver has been unprecedentedly hot and dry this summer and I fear they wouldn't survive out there, even with a slow "hardening" schedule. To say the least, they haven't been thriving. Only two of the four plants are "alive".
Plant/pic 1: Barely alive but with two new primary roots and some secondary/tertiary roots coming off of the black, hard primary roots. Those roots were hard and black when I potted them from their nursery pot, likely because I let them dry out too often then doused them. I suspect they're now rotting due to the pot being too large (9in diameter) and not draining/drying well since they're inside. It has lost all but one little new leaf.
Plant/pic 2: Has a similar situation with the black, warped primary roots, but several new healthy ones plus a lot of remaining little tertiary roots. It has many leaves still attached but some edges turning dark.
I've had a lot of experience with root rot in houseplants but this root system is new to me. My instinct would be to cut off all of the dark, hard roots and cut back the foliage proportionately- but that would remove all the maybe viable stringy roots attached to them. I'd dip in diluted hydrogen peroxide, rinse, then repot in a much smaller container, unsure what size though. I'd also add more perlite to promote better drainage.
Can I put them outside or will they burn to crisp? What size pot do I put them in?Are they even salvageable? Any advice very appreciated!
