How to Plant and Grow Strawberries

Biting into sun-ripened strawberries, still warm from the garden, is a summer treat. The plump, red fruit is commonly enjoyed on its own, in desserts, and even added to savory plates like salads. While the juicy sweetness of a ripe strawberry tastes incredible on any occasion, there's nothing more satisfying than the fresh, robust flavor of a strawberry grown in your own garden. In general, grow strawberries as perennials in Zones 4-8 or as annuals in Zones 9-10.

Just a few rows of these perennial plants will produce enough berries to fill your fruit bowl and freezer, allowing you to enjoy your home-grown strawberries well after the final harvest of the season. By growing several varieties in your patch or pots, you can enjoy a bounty of fresh-picked fruits from spring until the first frost of fall. Though growing strawberries is relatively easy, there are a few nuances to producing a bountiful harvest.

Where to Plant Strawberries

No matter what type of strawberry you grow, be sure to select a spot in full sun that gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight every day. You can plant strawberries in a plot of land, raised garden beds, hanging pots, or standing plant containers. In addition to ample sunlight, the most important factor in successfully growing strawberries is choosing a variety that will thrive in your region.

How and When to Plant Strawberries in the Ground

The four main types of strawberries are June-bearing, everbearing, day-neutral, and alpine. Each type of strawberry has slightly different growing preferences, and understanding their nuances will help produce the best fruit possible.

Regardless of the type you choose to grow, you'll have the most success with new strawberry plants bought from a reputable nursery rather than plants passed along from a friend's garden. Strawberry plants decrease in vigor after a few years, and they're susceptible to diseases, so it's best to start fresh, not with hand-me-downs. In fact, it's recommended that strawberries are grown from new plants each year for the best quality of berry. Additionally, there are several other factors to consider when it comes to growing healthy strawberry plants.

June-bearing Strawberries

June-bearing strawberries, such as 'Shuksan', grow well in Zones 4-10, but some varieties are better for your local conditions than others. Remember that June-bearers will produce their crop earlier in warm climates. June-bearing varieties are often recommended for short-season northern gardens, as they offer a bigger summer bounty than everbearers but stop fruiting after the first harvest.

Plant June-bearers in early spring in rows 4 feet apart, setting the plants 2 feet apart. The mother plants make plantlets on long stems called runners that root where they touch the ground. These will fill the rows and create a mat. Let them fill a 2-foot-wide space, keeping room between the rows for access.

Everbearing and Day-neutral Strawberries

In Zones 6-8 (except for hot, humid areas), everbearing or day-neutral strawberries may be your best bet. Everbearing types such as 'Quinault', and day-neutral types such as 'Tristar', both produce a small crop in spring, another in late summer, then sparse fruit until the first frost. While everbearing strawberries consistently produce fruit throughout the season, day-neutrals produce heavier harvests at the beginning of summer and again at the end of the season. Day-neutrals continue to produce a smaller amount of berries between the larger harvests.

Both everbearing strawberries and day-neutral strawberries can be planted closer together than June-bearers. Position both the rows and plants 1 foot apart, leaving space for access.

Alpine Strawberries

Another option is Fragaria vesca, the alpine strawberry, a wild day-neutral variety that produces smaller but more flavorful fruits than other strawberry plants. This variety is easy to grow in Zones 3-9, even in partial shade. The best way to grow strawberries of this type is to plant them at least 2 feet apart with the rows 3-4 feet apart. The plants don't produce plantlets, but they do reseed, often forming a high groundcover over time that will keep producing fruit from spring until frost.

Strawberry Care Tips

Light

Strawberry plants should get at least 8 hours of full sun every day. If your plants receive less than 8 hours of sunlight per day, your strawberry harvest will be smaller.

Soil and Water

Your strawberry bed needs rich, loamy, well-drained soil that's moist and has a pH between 5.3 and 6.5. Water 1-2 inches per week during the growing season. Keep the crown of the plant exposed to prevent rot and work in plenty of compost or well-rotted manure. Straw mulch helps keep weeds down, moderates soil moisture, and keeps the berries from sitting in the mud. In winter, the straw acts like a blanket to keep the plants dormant until it's time to start growing in spring.

Temperature and Humidity

Allow for plenty of air circulation when you plant strawberries to avoid fungal diseases like powdery mildew. Strawberries grow best in 50ºF to 80ºF, but can tolerate very cold temperatures as long as they're protected from frost.

Fertilizer

Fertilize strawberries when the growing season starts and again after the second harvest of everbearing or day-neutral varieties using a balanced fertilizer. Use restraint when fertilizing since over-fertilization can lead to excessive leaf growth and fewer berries.

Pruning

Clip off any runners and only maintain the original plants of day-neutrals and everbearers. Prune flowers from all plants the first year to stimulate fruit growth.

How to Plant and Grow Strawberries in a Pot

Because they tend to have small root systems, growing strawberries in containers is one of the best ways to produce the fruit. Day-neutral varieties are recommended for growing in pots because they produce fruit throughout the growing season.

As you would when planting strawberries in the ground, choose a spot with full sun. Potted strawberry plants will dry out quicker than those in a patch, so check on them daily to ensure the soil is consistently moist. Consider using a drip irrigation system for containers, set on a timer to make this task easier. Also, use a container with a drainage hole at the bottom so the plants aren't sitting in water.

Winter Care for Potted Strawberries

In the winter, you have two choices: Dump out the used soil and plants, wash the pot, and store it over the winter for replanting next year, or keep watering the plants until late fall, hold the pot in an unheated garage or shed, and let the plants go dormant while continuing to give them a little water every week or so. After the last spring frost, bring the pot back to its sunny spot—the plants should start growing again.

Pests and Problems

Strawberries need a lot of attention to keep bugs and fungi from ruining plants. They can be affected by root rot, anthracnose (a fruit rot), and sun scorch, among other problems. Insects such as strawberry weevils can cause damage, and birds will devour strawberries unless they're protected with plant netting. Additionally, slugs and snails can lurk underneath mulch used to protect your plants. Use an organic slug control if they become too much of a problem.

How to Renovate Strawberry Beds

Strawberries need rejuvenation each year, which you can easily do with your lawnmower. After you've harvested, adjust the height of your mower blades to about 4 inches off the ground and mow over your patch several times. If you can't mow the beds, cut each plant down to about an inch. Then, rake out the clipped plant parts, pull any weeds, remove baby plants that have hopped out of the bed, and lightly fertilize with an all-purpose organic blend.

Types of Strawberry

When you're searching for strawberry plants, make sure you select the very best for your growing conditions. Each of these varieties is known for its delicious flavor and easy care.

'Baron Solemacher'

Chefs savor this alpine variety for its intense taste. Because the berries are fragile, they're best eaten fresh from the patch.

'Earliglow'

Earliglow is one of the earliest varieties to set fruit. Good fresh or frozen, the flavorful berries are sweet without adding sugar. Notably, the winter-hardy plants resist disease.

'Giant Robinson'

These huge, mouthwatering berries are impressive in a fruit bowl. The vigorous, heavy-yielding plants offer one long-lasting picking season each summer.

'Honeyoye'

These firm and juicy berries are prized for their naturally sweet taste. Winter-hardy Honeoye plants grow vigorously, producing one big crop of conical fruits yearly.

'Pink Panda'

Grow this variety of strawberry as an everblooming, edible groundcover in the sun or partial shade.

'Pineapple Crush'

This alpine, named for its distinct flavor, produces pale yellow fruits the first year if seeds are sown early indoors.

'Redchief'

The large, bright-red berries remain firm for freezing and are adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions. They're also highly disease resistant.

'Sparkle'

This hardy variety, recommended for northern gardens, withstands late spring frosts. The name describes the berries' bright sheen, and they're excellent fresh or frozen.

'Tribute'

Tribute strawberries are a day-neutral variety that produces berries from spring to fall frost. Fruits are bigger later in the season, and the plants are resistant to cold and many diseases.

'Tristar'

Berry production never goes on holiday, thanks to this hardworking day-neutral variety that fruits from spring to frost.

Strawberry Companion Plants

Asparagus

Asparagus and strawberries grow well together since their roots grow in different parts of the soil. They're also usually ready for harvest around the same time.

Chives

Easy-care chives can help prevent pests from infesting strawberry plants.

Sage

The strong scent of sage can cover up the sweet scent of strawberries, which can help keep hungry animals and birds from eating ripened fruit.

Strawberry Garden Plan

Children's Vegetable Garden

This plan introduces gardening to children and encourages healthy eating habits.