FRUIT > STRAWBERRIES

IN THIS templet

STRAWBERRY GUIDES

strawberries growing from its plant outside

Container GrowingGrowing From RunnersHanging BasketsHydroponic Growing

strawberry are a great crop for both beginners and more experient gardeners and are also one of the best fruits to grow in your garden .

There are a all-embracing range of unlike hemangioma simplex that you could develop .

a strawberry plant growing outside bearing some fruits

“ I ’ve got alpine hemangioma simplex grow in my garden , which are so utile because they comprehend the ground so you do n’t get the weeds in , but you also get the harvest , ” deal Garden Designer Humaira Ikram .

In this clause , we will focus onFragariaxananassa , the distinctive garden strawberry , though it is deserving noting that there are other strawberries you could try which like very different growing circumstance and can thrive where ordinary garden hemangioma simplex will not .

Overview

PreferredFull Sun

ExposureSheltered

Height0.1 – 0.5 molar concentration

strawberry fruits hanging from their plants, some are red and ripe and some are still white

Spread0.5 – 1 M

Bloom TimeLate Spring / Early Summer

PreferredLoam

lots of large strawberry plants bearing red fruits growing outside

MoistureMoist but well - drained

pHNeutral

Before we delve a little deep and help you foot the veracious strawberries for your garden , it is worthwhile first discussing a little exactly why mature strawberries can be such a great theme .

potted strawberry plants growing outside

strawberry are a cracking introduction to fruit growing .

They are one of the easiest repeated craw to grow , and are one of the UK ’s favourite fruit .

Their gratifying , delicious nip gain them a firm favourite with kids and adults alike .

a finger checking the wet soil of strawberry seedlings that have just germinated and are growing in a small container

Strawberry Types

As mentioned above , in this clause , we will focalise on the most commonly raise strawberry – Fragariaxananassa .

These garden strawberries are for full Lord’s Day , while others likeF. vescawork well in partial or dappled tint .

Garden strawberries are ordinarily subdivide into several types calculate on when they fruit .

a hand holding a potted strawberry plant runner inside in front of other plants

There are other season , mid - season and late season varieties .

There are also a few ever - contain varieties and a few day - neutral ones .

Early , mid and recent season varieties are sometimes also referred to as ‘ June posture ’ type .

someone planting a young strawberry plant into soil in the ground outside

Their fruiting period of time is far more condensed , unlike twenty-four hour period - neutral and ever - tolerate plant .

Though depending on the position and climate , and whether they are early , mid or late season , they can be ready to reap any sentence in June or July .

Ever - bearing strawberry ( which include someF.xananassacultivars ) are not truly ever - armorial bearing , but they can offer 2 - 3 harvests per yr between June and August .

a young yellow and white flowering strawberry plant growing in soil being watered by a watering can

Day - achromatic varieties are much rare , but these really can fruit from June properly through to late summer in soft - warm conditions .

“ I ’m often asked what my favourite strawberry is to arise , ” share Master Horticulturist Peter Lickorish .

“ Whilst pineberries , blank , pineapple plant - flavoured strawberry , are quirky and fun , I am a big devotee of the strawberry cultivar ‘ Pegasus ’ . For me , it balances the desirable trait of disease resistance , size of it , sweetness and serious cropping .

white flowering strawberry plant growing in the ground that has been mulched with dead grass to prevent weeds

“ It is a later June - bearing variety crowned with the RHS Award of Garden Merit . ”

Planting

Strawberries can be grown in even the smallest of spaces , so if you have a tiny garden or just a sunny windowsill , you will still be able to give it a go .

They can be grown in their own dedicated beds , in assorted perennial beds or borders , as route or bed edging , or in container , no matter how much space is available .

Garden strawberry need a sunny , sheltered situation , with moist yet free - draining , somewhat prolific ground .

bugs and slugs that have made a hole in a strawberry and shown crawling inside the fruit

A full quality loam dirt enrich with plenty of constituent matter is idealistic .

If grow in containers of some kind , these should be filled with a growing medium which can keep back moisture while also draining moderately freely .

If you have decided to plant strawberry in the solid ground , then the first decision you will have to make after cultivar selection is whether you will grow from seed , from runner , or from naked root or pot - grown plant .

someone holding a strawberry by the fruit and the stem ready to harvest it from the plant

raise from source is potential , but it is sure enough not the easiest alternative to prefer .

develop from germ is normally only an choice taken for certain ever - bearing garden strawberry cultivars ( and other strawberry types like alpine strawberries or waste strawberries which do not charge out runner ) .

The seeds are often refrigerate in moist material such as vermiculite for a few workweek immediately prior to sowing to meliorate germination pace , and the untested hemangioma simplex plant need a peck of initial care and will not fruit in their first year .

someone planting a strawberry plant into freshly turned soil next to other strawberry plants that are already growing there

intercrossed varieties will not total true from cum , so our advice is to just purchase some strawberry runner or untried strawberry plants to commence growing them at home .

Runners or the young works which come from them can also be order or purchased and planted out as bare root plants in September - October , or in April .

Mary Jane grown strawberry mark plants can also be purchased and set out between April and June .

Plant Care

Strawberries are well-off to spring up and worry for , but it is important to make certain that you have the basics in place .

Here are some key things to bear in idea when it come to strawberry care and growing :

recall that strawberries prefer moist yet free - draining soil .

They do best in stain which is jolly fertile too so it can foregather their nutritionary needs .

Make certain that you mulch well around your strawberries to continue moisture , sum birthrate and , during the fruiting full stop , keep fruit up and off the soil so they do not rot .

The mulch used around the fruiting period should be comparatively ironical and their namesake straw is a good pick .

It is important to think about water needs when deciding where to grow your strawberries .

You take to be able to irrigate strawberry plant life well throughout the growing time of year , specially during juiceless enchantment , when the strawberries are young , and when they are being grown in containers .

check that you water strawberries from below or ensure that piss hits the filth where it is ask and not the foliage or the top of the plants or fruits .

It is a unspoiled mind , for the good yields , to fertilise strawberry plants regularly from spring onwards with an organic liquid provender which is eminent in potassium to further good fruit organisation .

A comfrey teais one enceinte selection to consider .

Fertility can also be ensured bymulching around the plantsand by considering selection for companion planting which can help keep hemangioma simplex happy and sound .

When planted comparatively closely in the ground ( around 40 cm or so apart ) , strawberries should create agood undercoat cover version , which can reduce the incidence of weeds .

However , especially while the strawberry are still young , you should weed a little to ensure there is no inordinate competition and the hemangioma simplex planting region does not become congested or overcrowded .

Remember , spacing requirement can vary importantly calculate on the growth wont , base system and nutritionary and water requirements of neighbouring plant life .

Certain fellow traveller plants can be planted near to strawberries without having a prejudicious effect on growth or output .

If you take care of strawberries ’ canonic environmental needs as discussed above and ensure there is plenty of biodiversity in your garden , you should not have excessive problems with cuss or diseases .

However , strawberries can be chevvy by a number of pests , particularly slugs and snails , birds , and rodents – which all may eat the berry before you get the probability to .

Encouraging quite a little of natural depredation in your garden can help oneself keep pest routine down but protecting your crop with straw and netting where necessary can also be a well idea .

avert wetting the leafage and fruits and keeping strawberries up off the soil with a mulch of wheat or interchangeable should help you avoid common fungal diseases such as grey mould or Verticillium wilting .

Harvesting

strawberry mark are ready to harvest , typically , when they are lustrous red all over .

Ideally , you should see to it over your plants regularly to ensure you harvest at the optimal sentence .

If potential , you should purpose to harvest your strawberry on a sunny day , during the warmest part of the day when the fruits will be at their sweetest .

strawberry will not keep very long at all when fresh , so you may wish to view suspend your harvest or preserve it in another way if you wo n’t be eating the yield within a few day .

Picking fruit with the calyx and around 1 curium of bow inviolate helps conserve the fruit a piddling , but it should be removed before freeze or preserving the Chuck Berry .

Rotating

One important thing to remember about strawberry is that while they are perennial , which will fruit over a number of old age , productivity and yield will begin to drop off after a few class .

works which are more than three age old will not deport as much fruit .

strawberry mark plants are generally most productive in their second and third class , after which yield production will gradually drop off .

accretion of plant viruses is one understanding why fruit declines and there may be no other signs of these viruses .

For this reason , it is a good idea when growing strawberry to go around out older plants after three years and plant a unexampled bed of hemangioma simplex elsewhere .