Strawberries need at least 8 hours of full sun each day, and they prefer slightly acidic soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.8. The plants won't bear as heavily as more intensively managed plants, but they will still produce delicious berries, year after year. In all areas, strawberries can be allowed to grow into a vibrant green ground cover that requires little maintenance. Growing strawberries doesn't have to entail so much work, though. (In Florida and other warm, humid coastal areas, many are grown as cool weather annuals.) Once a planting is established, simply lift your healthiest plants each September, and replant them in a freshly renovated site. Containers can be replanted in late summer and moved to a cool, protected place such as an unheated garage during the coldest months.įrom zone 7 southward, strawberries can be planted in fall. Even though it may look like little is going on with strawberries in September, the plants are busy during the fall months developing the latent buds that will grow into next spring's flowers.įrom zone 6 northward, strawberries are best planted in spring so they will be well-rooted by the following winter. When kept weeded and lightly watered, most parent plants – and their offspring – perk up and grow again for a while in the fall. (Some varieties of strawberries produce few to no runners.)Įxhausted from producing fruit and offspring, strawberries typically take a second rest period during summer's second half. These types of strawberries produce more fruit if you clip off most of the runners, allowing each plant to produce no more than 3 daughter plants each summer. Those runners often root themselves nearby yet remain attached to the mother plant. After bearing fruit (as early as February in Florida, or June farther north), many types of strawberries produce numerous runners with baby plants at the tips. Like most hardy perennials, strawberries die back in winter and start growing vigorously as the soil warms in spring. Success with strawberries asks that you understand their life cycle. Harvest ripe strawberries in the cool of morning and refrigerate them right away.Promote excellent fruit production by keeping plants fed with a continuous-release fertilizer.Give plants 1 to 1.5 inches of water weekly, and avoid wetting the leaves.Consider a premium bagged potting mix for growing in containers. Give your native soil a boost by mixing in several inches of aged compost or other rich organic matter.Strawberries can be grown in a variety of ways, but make sure they get 8 or more hours of sun and are planted in slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.8. Give strawberries room for runners by planting them 18 inches apart.In-ground gardens, raised beds, and containers are all excellent growing areas.
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