Growing Strawberries

Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Strawberries

By Catherine Boeckmann
Strawberries
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Strawberries are one of the easiest fruit to grow and great for beginners! Plus, they’re very rewarding because the taste is far more flavorful than what you’ll ever find in a grocery store. Why? The sugar in berries converts to starch soon after they’re picked. Learn more about growing strawberries in the home garden.

The best thing about strawberries is that they’re very easy to grow in almost all climates and soils across the United States and Canada—as long as you plant them in a location that gets full sun.

Strawberry plants come in three types:

  • June-bearing varieties bear fruit all at once, usually over a period of three weeks. Day-length sensitive, these varieties produce buds in the autumn, flowers, and fruits the following June, and runners during the long days of summer. Although called “June-bearing” or “June-bearers,” these strawberries bear earlier than June in warmer climates.
     
  • Everbearing varieties produce a big crop in spring, produce lightly in the summer, and then bear another crop in late summer/fall. These varieties form buds during the long days of summer and the short days of autumn. The summer-formed buds flower and fruit in autumn, and the autumn-formed buds fruit the following spring. 
     
  • Day-Neutral varieties produce fruit continuously through the season, until the first frost: Insensitive to day length, these varieties produce buds, fruits, and runners continuously if temperature remains between 35° and 85°F (1° to 30°C). Production is less than that of June-bearers.

For the home garden, we recommend June-bearers. Although you will have to wait a year for fruit harvesting, it will be well worth it.

Growing Strawberries From Planting to Harvest

See some really great tips on growing strawberries in this demonstration garden—and then read the guide below for more information on every stage from planting to harvesting!

Planting

When to Plant Strawberries

  • Plan to plant as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. See your local frost dates.
  • Establish new plants each year to keep berry quality high each season. Strawberry plants will produce runners (daughter plants) that will root and grow into new strawberry plants.
  • Buy disease-resistant plants from a reputable nursery, of a variety recommended in your area. Consult with the nursery you buy them from or with your state Cooperative Extension service for locally recommended varieties.

Spacing for Strawberries

Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site

  • Strawberry plants require 6-10 hours a day of direct sunlight, so choose your planting site accordingly.
  • Strawberries are tolerant of different soil types, although they prefer loamy soil that drains well. Ideally, begin working in aged manure or compost a couple months before planting. If you have clay soil, generally mix in 4 inches or more of compost, and rake the clay soil into raised mounds to further improve drainage. If your soil is sandy, simply cultivate lightly to remove weeds, and mix in a 1-inch layer of rich compost or rotted manure.
  • Soil pH should be between 5.5 and 7. If necessary, amend your soil in advance of planting. If soils in your area are naturally alkaline, it is best to grow strawberries in half-barrels or other large containers filled with compost-enriched potting soil.
  • The planting site must be well-drained. Raised beds are a particularly good option for strawberry plants.
  • Practice crop rotation for the most success. Unless you plan to amend your soil each year, do not plant in a site that recently had strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, or eggplant.

How to Plant Strawberries

  • Provide adequate space for sprawling. Set plants out 18 inches (1-½ feet) apart to leave room for runners and leave 4 feet between rows. Strawberries are sprawling plants. Seedlings will send out runners, which in turn will send out their own runners.
  • Make planting holes deep and wide enough to accommodate the entire root system without bending it. However, don’t plant too deep! The roots should be covered, but the crown should be right at the soil surface. It is very important that you do NOT bury the crown (central growing bud) of the plant or it could rot. The leaves, flowers, and fruit must be exposed to light and fresh air. 
  • To settle their roots into the soil, water plants well at the time of planting.
  • It is also possible to grow strawberries from last year’s runners. See this video to find out how. 

 

Care

How to Grow Strawberries

  • Keep strawberry beds mulched to reduce water needs and weed invasion. Any type of mulch—from black plastic to pine straw to shredded leaves—will keep the soil moist and the plants clean. Read more about mulching.
  • Be diligent about weeding. Weed by hand, especially in the first months after planting.
  • Moisture is incredibly important to strawberries due to their shallow roots. Water adequately, about one inch per square foot per week. Strawberry plants need a lot of water when the runners and flowers are developing and again in the late summer, when the plants are fully mature and gearing up for winter dormancy.
  • Fertilize with all-purpose granules for strong growth. In warm weather, berries ripen about 30 days after blossoms are fertilized.
  • In the first year, pick off blossoms to discourage strawberry plants from fruiting. If not allowed to bear fruit, they will spend their food reserves on developing healthy roots instead, which is a good thing. The yields will be much greater in the second year.
  • Eliminate runner plants as needed. First and second generations produce higher yields. Try to keep daughter plants spaced about 10 inches apart.
  • Row covers are a good option for protecting blossoms and fruit from birds.

Strawberries. Photo by Yuriy S./Getty Images
Photo by Yuriy S./Getty Images

Winter Care of Strawberries

Strawberry plants are perennial. They are naturally cold hardy and will survive mildly freezing temperatures. So, if your area has mild winters, little care is needed.

In regions where the temperature regularly drops into the low twenties (Fahrenheit), strawberries will be in their dormant stage. It’s best to provide some winter protection:

  • When the growing season is over, mow or cut foliage down to one inch. This can be done after the first couple of frosts, or when air temps reach 20°F (-6°C).
  • Mulch plants about 4 inches deep with straw, pine needles, or other organic material.
  • In even colder regions, more insulating mulch should be added.  
  • Natural precipitation should appropriately maintain sufficient soil moisture.  
  • Remove mulch in early spring, after the danger of frost has passed.

Pests/Diseases

Pest-Beating Tips

  • Keeping beds weed-free and using a gritty mulch can deter slugs and bugs. Spread sand over the strawberry bed to deter slugs. (This also works well for lettuce.) Pine needles also foil slug and pill-bug damage.
  • For bigger bugs such as Japanese beetles, spray your plants with puréed garlic and neem seed oil. 
  • When birds threaten your strawberries, position balloons with scare-eyes above the beds and use reflective Mylar bird tape to deter them. 

Harvest/Storage

How to Harvest Strawberries

  • Fruit is typically ready for harvesting 4-6 weeks after blossoming.
  • Harvest only fully red (ripe) berries, and pick every three days.
  • Cut by the stem; do not pull the berry or you could damage the plant.
  • For June-bearer strawberries, the harvest will last up to 3 weeks. You should have an abundance of berries, depending on the variety.

How to Store Strawberries

  • Store unwashed berries in the refrigerator for 3–5 days.
  • Strawberries can be frozen whole for about 2 months.
  • Watch our video on How to Make Strawberry Preserves!

Strawberry Bed. Photo by Ben Shuchunke/Getty Images
Photo by Ben Shuchunke/Getty Images

Recommended Varieties

Try planting more than one variety. Each will respond differently to conditions, and you will have a range of different fruits to enjoy.

  • ‘Northeaster’ is best suited for the northeastern US and southeastern Canada. Fruit has strong flavor and aroma.
  • ‘Sable’ is hardy to zone 3, early season, great flavor.
  • ‘Primetime’ is a mild-flavored, disease-resistant variety, best adapted to the Mid-Atlantic.
  • ‘Cardinal’ is a good variety to try in the South.
  • ‘Camarosa’ is a good variety to try on the West Coast.
  • ‘Tristar’ is a day-neutral variety that’s very well-suited for hanging baskets.

Learn more about choosing and growing different strawberry varieties.

Wit & Wisdom

Why Are Strawberries Called Strawberries? 

One theory is that woodland pickers strung them on pieces of straw to carry them to market. Others believe that the surface of the fruit looks as if it’s embedded with bits of straw. Still others think that the name comes from the Old English word meaning “to strew,” because the plant’s runners stray in all directions and look as if they are strewn on the ground.

The June full Moon is called the Strawberry Moon because when this Moon appeared, it signaled that it was time to start gathering ripening fruit.

Recipes

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Reader Comments

Leave a Comment

How exiting to have a

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on April 9, 2014 - 12:22pm

How exiting to have a strawberry surprise!
Strawberries do grow in your zone, however, growth slows if the temperature isn't in between 50 and 80 degrees (F), so we wouldn't expect growth into the summer.
Strawberries to like a sandy texture that drains well and is high in organic matter. So you should just mix in some compost to give them the nutrients they need to grow bigger.
Yearly fertilization should not occur until after spring crop has been harvested. Afterwards, apply 10-10-10 fertilizer at 1 ½ pounds per 100 sq. feet.
Strawberries need lots of water so it's great they're in a place conveniently located near water. You can also run a soaker hose running through them at low pressure.
Periodically, you need to renovate a strawberry garden to thin out older crowds and reduce runner density. Contact your local cooperative extension for more information!

Thank you for all the

Submitted by Cathy W on April 19, 2014 - 9:37am

Thank you for all the information! We have an extension service with the university here and I will be contacting them! I haven't been able to find a 10 10 10 fertilizer, only 14 14 14..maybe at a nursery instead of the local box store!

thank you again!

You can use 14-14-14

Submitted by Pogo333 on May 14, 2014 - 7:38am

You can use 14-14-14 fertilizer. Just reduce the amount applied from the suggested 1.5 pounds for 10-10-10 to a hair over a pound for the 14-14-14. The numbers refer to the percentage of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium in the fertilizer blend. As long as the ratios of the three are correct (in this case 1:1:1), you can adjust the amount applied to achieve your target.

How to germinate strawberry

Submitted by Ronnel on April 5, 2014 - 7:30am

How to germinate strawberry seed in lowland such a Phillipines

I have just got a small plant

Submitted by shobhana on April 13, 2014 - 4:10am

I have just got a small plant of strawberry. I have planted in a rectangular wooden box especially for my plant. It is growing quite well but I am confused whaat is the way forward

Do they have to sprawl? Or

Submitted by Charlie Webb on March 29, 2014 - 6:50pm

Do they have to sprawl? Or can I make them grow up onto a post like a grape vine?

Strawberries don't climb and

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 31, 2014 - 4:53pm

Strawberries don't climb and their runners need to touch soil to produce new plants. There are some varieties that grow well in hanging baskets or pyramids.

Can I plant 2 different types

Submitted by R. Stewart on March 29, 2014 - 2:19pm

Can I plant 2 different types of strawberries in the same pyramid? If yes, what types. I live in Liverpool, NY 13090.
Please advise me

Thanks

Yes you can plant two

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 31, 2014 - 4:48pm

Yes you can plant two different varieties. We suggest that you plant one june-bearing variety and one ever-bearing. This way you'll be harvesting strawberries for a longer time.

Hi I live in St Louis MO, I

Submitted by Charlene Henry on March 22, 2014 - 5:38pm

Hi I live in St Louis MO, I am planning to grow my strawberries in a 5 gallon bucket with an irrigation. I just bought the Loran strawberries today 03/22/14 when should I plant them? How long can they live in the carton I bought them in? I know they need 6 hours of sun but it is only 47 degree so can I put them in the window sill til it warms up to 68-77 degrees?

Loran strawberries are hardy

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 26, 2014 - 11:21am

Loran strawberries are hardy and it's best to plant the strawberries in the container as soon as possible. The plants need to be well-established before the temperatures get too warm.

have a new raised bed filled

Submitted by clouse on March 19, 2014 - 6:39pm

have a new raised bed filled with compost since last fall. Ready to plant strawberry plants and have been advised by a nursery store to put lime and a fertilizer 6-24-24 together & mix together, put in bed before planting. My zip is 42122. Is this what I should do?

If you have compost in your

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 20, 2014 - 1:23pm

If you have compost in your raised beds additional fertilizers are unnecessary.

Dear friends, I need an

Submitted by Jeongsim Izadi on March 16, 2014 - 3:14pm

Dear friends,

I need an advice. I planted strawberry plant last April and I pinched off all the flowers. They grew very well and there is lots of flowers now but it is failed to develop(grow) into strawberry. Early spring, I added compost into the soil. I applied miracle grow solution mix with water 2 weeks ago but I don't see it is improving.
Please give me an advice.

Regards,

Jeongsim,
Union City, CA

Not enough sun or too much or

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 18, 2014 - 3:04pm

Not enough sun or too much or too little water may be the problem. Depending on the variety of strawberries you have the flowers may not get pollinated. But most strawberries are self-pollinating so you don't need a second variety for pollination.
For more help contact your local cooperative extension.
http://ucanr.edu/
 

hi, i am from india i am

Submitted by Pratheepkumar on March 14, 2014 - 11:57am

hi, i am from india i am working in private farm where the strwberriew (albioan) have been planted. it gave good size of fruits in winter (december to february) from march plants bearing flowers which is divided as branch and giving very small flowers, evntualy small sized fruits. i dont know what does it indicate? can you explain about branched small fruits and flowers ? if i do thining can i get big one ?

I am wanting to plant

Submitted by Andrew K. on March 13, 2014 - 8:59pm

I am wanting to plant strawberries. All I know about them are what I have read here. I am assuming strawberries return each year, but this says that new plants are recommended each year. How do you get rid of the old plants that come back in order to plant new?

Hi Andrew, We should clarify.

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 14, 2014 - 8:55am

Hi Andrew, We should clarify. Strawberries are productive for 3 or 4 years, however, you do need to maintain the patch to keep it productive. Right after harvest, you want to mow the old foliage down, cutting off the leaves about 1 inch above the crowns. Compost the leaves. Fertilize the patch with one pound of a 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet. Narrow the rows to 6 to 12 inches wide with a hoe or spade. Remove all weeds. Thin the plants in the narrowed row to 4 to 6 inches between plants. Water with 1 inch of water per week to promote growth and to make new runners for next year's crop.

I was reading the almanac for

Submitted by Lindsey B on March 12, 2014 - 6:41pm

I was reading the almanac for when to plant in my area, and I didn't see when to start strawberries indoors nor out. I live in area code 44035.
Thanks!

Early spring is the best time

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on March 14, 2014 - 8:56am

Early spring is the best time to plant strawberry plants as long as soil is not too wet. 

I want to raise our

Submitted by Sylvia Jones on February 24, 2014 - 8:42pm

I want to raise our strawberry bed about 2 foot high & put borders around it. Our June bearers are pretty well established & should do really well this summer, but my question is can I just add the soil over the strawberries(about 2 ft of soil over them, or do I have to dig them up, put the soil down, after we get the borders built up around the bed & then replant them??? Or will putting all that soil over them, kill them??

Hi Sylvia, It's not wise to

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on February 25, 2014 - 2:23pm

Hi Sylvia,
It's not wise to cover the strawberries with 2 feet of soil. Dig them up and replant them after you have built your raised bed. Do this as soon as you can in the spring.
 

I'm considering planting my

Submitted by Bobbi W on February 24, 2014 - 8:00am

I'm considering planting my strawberries with my grape vines. I saw a post on pintrest regarding sustainable gardens recommending this. What is your take. We are in new property so everything will be in its first year.

Sounds like a good idea.

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on February 25, 2014 - 2:33pm

Sounds like a good idea. Strawberries have shallow roots and grow well with other plants. You may get a bit less yeild due to some of the shade from the grapes when they grow bigger. The strawberries will also keep the weeds down around the grapes.

I just bought a strawberry

Submitted by Priyanka on February 15, 2014 - 9:02am

I just bought a strawberry plant in a pot.
there is no sunlight that i receive in any part of my house.
Is it possible for the plant to survive ???? If not then i would rather give it away to someone who has enough sunlight in their house

Give it away. Strawberries

The Editors's picture

Submitted by The Editors on February 17, 2014 - 5:24pm

Give it away. Strawberries need a full-sun location with at least 8 hours of direct sunlight.

Hello I am from India

Submitted by Rajat Bhanti on February 6, 2014 - 8:19pm

Hello I am from India (northern plain) where usually temperature is hot. USDA Hardiness Region is between 10-11. So I want to know, are the strawberry plants feasible to grow here.

I also want to, if the plants can be grown here, then which variety of it should be grown.
1. Everbearer
2. Junebearer
3. Day Netural

During Winter season

Submitted by Rajat Bhanti on February 6, 2014 - 8:24pm

During Winter season (December - January) temperature is usually between 39 - 77 degree fahrenheit.

I think you can buy warm

Submitted by Driftless Winds on February 17, 2014 - 9:46pm

I think you can buy warm weather varieties like Camarosa. Those should work during your late fall-winter months - say from October - early Feb. Remember soil needs to be well drained so I would think a raised bed would be particularly good in India given the monsoon.

Thanks

Submitted by Rajat Bhanti on February 18, 2014 - 5:25pm

Thanks

Pages

Growing Strawberries

Botanical Name Fragaria spp.
Plant Type Fruit
Sun Exposure Full Sun
Soil Type Loamy
Soil pH Slightly Acidic to Neutral
Bloom Time Varies
Flower Color Pink, Red, White
Hardiness Zones 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
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