Growing Strawberries

Low-growing, perennial strawberry plants can be a colorful and rewarding addition to virtually any home garden. The most commonly grown strawberry plant, by commercial and home growers alike, is Fragaria x ananassa, also known as the garden strawberry. This desirable species of strawberry plant is a complex hybrid species that grows between 4 to 6 inches in height. Nearly all commercial strawberry growers use it in their farming operations. 

Plant Form – Strawberry plants consist of leaves, roots, a crown, runners and daughter plants. Plants spread by stolons, also known as runners.  Runners develop from axillary leaf buds, stretching the plant horizontally. The crown, also known as the mother plant, is where leaves and axillary buds are formed. Daughter plants form at every other node of the runners. Daughter plants are maintained by the runners until they form an independent root system. Once their roots are fully formed, the runners dry up, leaving a completely separate new clone plant. The sweet edible part of the strawberry is actually an accessory fruit, composed largely of swollen receptacle tissue. The real fruit are achenes, which are the small black dots that cover the outer surface. Strawberry fruit ripens anywhere from 20 to 50 days following pollination. When this occurs depends largely on where strawberries are planted. Strawberries grow practically everywhere in the United States, ranging from USDA hardiness zones 2 through 11. Strawberries generally fruit when night temperatures are greater than 50 degrees and day temperatures are less than 80 degrees.

Site Selection – Strawberries thrive in well-drained, sandy loam soil with a high degree of organic matter. The site should receive full sunlight at least 6 hours per day.  Ideally, the soil should have a very gradual slope for better drainage and a pH between 5.8 and 6.2.

Planting - Plants should be set with the middle of the crown level with the top of the soil. In Florida, strawberry plants are generally treated like an annual. New plants are planted ever growing season because of likely pest build-up. In more northern locations, strawberries will likely last around 3 years. Never plant strawberries after the beginning of August. The tender plants are likely to die from frost damage.

Harvest - Strawberries are tender fruit that bruise easily, so they are best hand-picked. Select only berries that are at least three-quarters red and allow the rest to remain in the plant to ripen. If berries are for immediate consumption, select only berries that are completely red. Keep in mind, berries will turn red after being picked, but they will not sweeten off the wine.  Remove any unripened berries to reduce pest infestation or disease outbreak.

References

University of Florida Okeechobee County Extension Service; Strawberry Gardening; Dan Culbert; Nov. 2004

University of Illinois Extension: Growing Strawberries

University of Minnesota Extension; Commercial Strawberry Production in Minnesota; Emily Hoover, et al.; 1990

Strawberry Plants.org: Strawberry Plant

Height of a Strawberry Plant; ehow