Strawberry plant

How to grow Strawberry plant growing condition and care instruction:

How to grow Strawberries:
Mulch (more overwinter), slightly acid – ph 5.9-6.5, moist, don’t like competition, rich soil, well-drained soil

How to care:
pull the weeds because the plant doesn’t like shade, need to put mulch in winter in frost area to protect the plants from the cold, in warm temperature to increase the amount of water, put mulch, put humus twice a year, add organic matter, and fertilizer 2-4 times a year, depend the fertilizer that used and the hardiness zone, and if it’s growing as perennial or annual,

Growing temperature:
Optimal temperature 10-28C (50-82F), temperature tolerance range -20C-45C (4F-113F)

What is the best way to start growing?
Plant / Seeds achene (explanation bellow) / Vegetative Reproduction – runners reproduction (shoots) (care explanation bellow)

Is it necessary to use vegetative reproduction?
Not must to start by runner, but it’s easier from runners and to start form seeds (achene) might be challenging and when grow as annual it’s waste of time because it will take 4-6 months from seeds to bear fruits and the growing season will finished before bearing fruits

Difficulties or problems when growing:
Attract a lot of pest for the fruits and it will need to manage it before the fruits season, require in order getting enough fruits a lot of plants that require a lot of growing land.

Planting season:
Autumn to spring – frost free area in hardiness zone 10b-11 / Spring – temperate climate

How to plant:
Planting dig hole bigger than deep as the current root ball plus extra 90-200% bigger the plant small the percentage, put in the hole organic matter, hummus and dried leaves and mix it with some soil, put the plant and loos little bit the root ball above the hole, plant and cover it and don’t push the soil too much strong but not too much lightly because the plant might fall in the hole with the watering, after this put mulch to keep moist on soil, put water, for the next two weeks put every day (better in the morning).

Strawberries plant spacing:
15*15cm (6*6 inches) better to 20*30cm (8-12 inches) when grow better and let more space to let future runner to have place to plant them direct in the soil and no need to transplant them.

Pests and diseases:
Slugs, mealy bug

Pruning season:
After the fruit season

How to prune:
Dead leaves and rotten fruits

Size of the plant:
5-20 cm, 2-8 inches

Growth speed in optimal condition:
Fast growing to average speed, in order to make it fast need to give the plant in the right condition

Water requirement:
Average amount of water to big amount of water, increase the amount of water in hot summer day in temperature that arrive above 40C (104F), need to keep the drainage of the soil in the winter

Light conditions in optimal condition for growing:
Full sun to half shade in high temperature

Is it possible to grow as (indoor) houseplant?
No, but because the plants small

Growing indoor under light (led):
Yes, need to change the amount light hours, possible to create year round fruits, by imitate sun hours, but be aware that will be effect of the plant and the fruits if will be the same amount of hours it won’t affect well on the plants

Light requirements:
12~15 hours of light (but can be also 9 hours and will be, but the blooming and fruits effect by more condition than the light

Growing is also possible in a pots / planter /flowerpot / containers:
Yes

Growing in containers or pots:

start with pot size that will be 3-6 liter (0.8-1.6 gallons) depend the cultivar, better that the pot will be wider and shallow, this is for one plant for more plants possible to grow not exactly in the same ratio for two plants 6-10 litter (1.6-2.6 gallons), in the YouTube video above its 9 liter (2.5 gallons) for 3-4 plants, in each tower 27 liter (7 gallons).

Switch the soil:
When arrive to full capacity need to switch to bigger pot also possible to prune the roots of the plant to let them regrow, need to take care and switch every 1 or 2 years the soil or just part of it, if using poring mix to consider to mix the old soil with perlite, need to switch soil, because the soil lose the viability over time and it’s efficient the water not flow well and stuck, if it’s not possible to take the plant out the soil need to take part of the soil and switch (from the side of the plant, also prune the plant and the roots), soil need to be potting mix or peat soil with perlite,

Holes in containers:
Important to have enough holes, the amount of holes need to be depend in the weather in cold climate with a lot of rains need to be big holes in the bottom of the container, in warm weather need to make the holes 1cm (0.5inch) or higher in order to keep some water that the plant won’t dry directly, the main problems start when there are dry season and wet season and then it’s hard to find the right balance of the holes, and also old soil prevents the water to go out of the container and cause flooding, in order to prevent it need t open the holes and release the water also to make enough holes and bigger, possible to put perlite or lava grit in the bottom of the pot.

Bottom for the container:
When put a bottom for the container and when water the plant let it fill the bottom but also need to dry in the same day, better not to put bottom for the pot in rainy location, the flow of the water out and the drainage is important to wash the roots, also to consider to put only in the summer bottom of the pots

Ideas of growing Strawberries plantation

Hanging basket – advantage to grow in hanging basket it’s that the plant far away from the pets and it’s reduce the amount of pests from the soil, but the moment that the basket is higher than the ground the birds are more secure to go and pick up the fruits by them self.

Pipes growing – when growing in pipes better to grow it as annual plant or short perennial, the main problem to grow it as perennial is the need to switch the soil and it’s hard to switch part of the soil, because when the soil lose viability it will cause rotten roots, need to put the pipe in angle that the water will go away, the benefit that need to use less water possible to put the water in the top and few places in the ways and it will be enough, also need to know that better to use fertilizer in the water, the main problem it to use the runners because there is nowhere to put them the advantage that less pets when it’s hang because it’s disconnect from the soil.

Bird cage – grow the plants inside cage, can take old bird cage and hang it, need to make holes for drainage and it’s protect the fruits from bird and other pests when it’s hang on something, the main problem that it’s limited by the place of the plants that can grow and it’s harder to harvest the fruits.

Plastic mulch – in this method the fruits and the plant are mostly disconnect, it’s prevent the fruits touching the soil and reduce contact with pests especially with slugs, disadvantage not ecological the plastic hold for 1 year or 2 but after this it’s destroy the nature, also there no place to put the runner because if start to make new holes it’s destroy the plastic mulch.

Raising bed garden or raised troughs:
In order to rotten roots need to let the water flow and not create puddle need to use raised bed garden better to make them at least 15-20cm(6-8 inches) above the soil level, better to do in the middle lines to make the water flow and create a puddle next to the plants in this method the roots won’t be rotten and will get water from the puddle so saving water, raising bed problem that it’s cause erosion and lace of minerals in the soil, increase the amount of fertilizer that will need to put

Greenhouse growing:
Advantages – possible to control the temperature microclimate, easier to maintenance, controlling the pests for birds easier and also slugs, in hot temperature it’s reducing the temperature and prevent from the plants to be burned by the sun and in cold temperature protect against the cold of the winter.

Disadvantage – because greenhouse it’s not sterile the moment that some pests will enter the greenhouse there are no predators to fight against them and will need to use a lot of chemicals, fruits are less tasty – well for some reasons that the fruits in green house get all the minerals and usually grow in the same condition the face that they don’t get full sun effect on the taste of the fruits.

Better to use hybrid of greenhouse that possible to open the green house in the days when the weather is fit for the strawberries to be in the sun, then will better quality of the fruits in those conditions.

Unique strawberries for sale:

White strawberry – the fruits can be real, there are cultivars that are white, the main problem that a lot of time when trey to by seed its fake, and Pineberry that is white fruit with red seeds (achene) real cultivar

Blue strawberry – the blue that you see in the images, photo editing there aren’t real 100% fake

Yellow strawberry – pale yellow real cultivars it’s mostly type of white the beautiful neon colors of the fruits are fake

Strawberry kiwi plant real or fake – try to look at the picture better and you will notice few things one that there are not a lot of photos of this “fruits” and the seconed that the picture looks too much good to be true for conclusion 100% fake

Strawberry plant flower – Blooming information

Bloom season:
Autumn to winter in hardiness zone 10b-11 or spring to summer in hardiness zone 2-10a

General information about the flower
White flower with five petal the stamens yellow, some hybrid have pink flowers

Pollination is done by:
Bees

Edible fruits

Fruit harvest season:
Winter-spring – in hardiness zone 10b-11 or spring to summer in hardiness zone 2-10a, this is the majority of the fruit harvest season, but in hardiness zone 10b it possible to have fruits without greenhouse, all year round, the method to do that it’s to use different cultivars that bear fruits in different season, main problem it’s in the summer that can arrive to high temperature that effect on the bloom and the fruits, in order to solve this problem need to put water in the middle of the day in the sun directly on the roots and not on the leaves

Fruits pests or diseases:
Birds, slugs, mealy bug, thrips

What can be done with big quantities of Strawberry plant fruits?
Eat raw, jams, juice, cakes

Work requirements on the fruit:
Prevent the fruit touch the grounds

How long does it take to bear fruit?
4-6 month

Strawberry fruit cracking:
Not lace of water problems, the cause for cracking fruits is usually thrips that eat part of the fruits that look like cracks

Fruits and runner:
Runners also effect on the quantities of the fruits and need to consider to cut them

Edible leaves

Leaves harvesting season:
Winter-spring – in hardiness zone 10b-11 or spring to summer in hardiness zone 2-10a

How to harvest the leaves?
After the plant establish need to harvest the fully grown leaves but young

Information about leaves:
leaves color green can turn to red in the cold, grow on stems the leaf divided for 3 lobes the edges serrated

Uses of Strawberries leaves:
Beverage

Vegetative Reproduction – Runners reproduction

Vegetative Reproduction Method:
Runners (shoots)

Preferred time for vegetative reproduction:
Spring to summer in hardiness zone 2-10a, autumn to winter in hardiness zone 10b-11a

Time to grow roots in vegetative reproduction:
1 week – two month, the time for growing roots it different by the stage of the cutting the runner can be amount of leaves or amount of fruits, weather, humidity and moist

Treatment for vegetative reproduction:
Planting direct in the soil or in water, when planting direct in the soil need to keep the soil moist and consider if it’s in the summer to cover that will be some shade, the plant will burn in the sun, better that the weather will be cool and not too much hot, also when put in water need to check that the leaves don’t touch the water and switch the water every few days, better to use nets or something that will hold the plant and prevent the leaves to touch the water.

How to separate strawberry runners:
Splitting the runner from the mother plant it’s usually depend on the condition that you can give to that plant, the main problem that will be too much plants and this will affect the growth of the other plant, the plant can grow runners from the runners so cutting necessarily means that won’t be in this stems more runner, but if there no place to put the stems better to cut before the plants will die, usually better to cut after 2 runners.

How to grow Strawberry plant from seeds (achene)

Sowing requirement:
High humidity, light, cool temperature better ~10-18C (50F-65F) and possible in 5C-20C (40F-68F) but less good

Saving and care seeds until sowing:
Dry and dark location and better to put in cold location in refrigerator

Sowing season:
Spring to summer in hardiness zone 2-10a, autumn to winter in hardiness zone 10b-11a

How to plant:
Put seeds on the soil and better to put plastic wrap to keep humidity

Planting spacing:
Better in separate pots, when sowing directly for transplant 2*2cm (1*1 inch), better to plant 15*15cm and plant direct in the location

Depth of Sowing:
Don’t cover the seeds, put the seeds on the soil

Conditions for seeds germinate:
High humidity, in order to keep high humidity better to grow in greenhouse, plastic box or to cover the pot with plastic wrap

Watering requires for Seeds:
Average amount of water to big amount of water, moist soil, keep high humidity, better to put water with spray, also put the water from the bottom of the pots

Germination time:
3-8 weeks

Condition of seedling:
Seedling fragile, half shade with a lot of light, high humidity and better not to put water directly

Do the seeds require burying?
Yes, in order to grow the seeds need to be at least in 5C (41F), possible in dry or wet condition

Time to bury the seeds chilling hour’s:
At least 3 weeks it depend the cultivars and temperature of less than around ~5C (50F)

Scientific name:

Fragaria × ananassa