Growing strawberries
Growing strawberry plants is easy and fun, making it one of our most popular soft fruit plants. To help you get the best from your strawberries, here are some quick answers to some of your FAQs.
When to plant strawberries
When you buy strawberry plants, plant them as soon as you can during the spring. Bare root plants can be planted either in the spring or the autumn.
How to make strawberry plants produce more fruit
One way to get plenty of strawberries all summer long is to plant summer-cropping varieties along with so-called ever-bearers. Summer-cropping strawberry plants produce heavy harvests over a short two to three week period, and ever-bearers produce multiple smaller harvests from early summer right through to the autumn.
For best results, make sure you feed ground-planted strawberries with a high-potassium plant food – tomato feed is ideal – early in the spring. For container grown strawberries, fertilise every couple of weeks. You should water your plants regularly while they’re establishing and especially during dry spells. Avoid wetting the leaves too much because this encourages fungal attack.
When to renew strawberry plants
Strawberry plants crop best in years two and three, sometimes continuing to fruit well into year four. To ensure you’re replacing old plants before harvests diminish, plant runners in pots during year two or three so you have replacements ready to go into the ground on a rolling basis.
How to over winter strawberry plants
Strawberry plants are very hardy and will happily survive all but the very coldest winters with ease. Water logging can be problematic – if you’re worried about winter water levels in your garden, create a raised ridge of soil on which to plant your strawberries. Late frosts can damage strawberry blossoms, so keep an eye on the weather and make sure you have some horticultural fleece handy in case the temperature dips.
