United States Edition

Strawberry

Fragaria x ananassa

'Strawberry' is a plant in the Fragaria (Strawberry) genus with a scientific name of Fragaria x ananassa.

Strawberries grow as a low, sprawling plant and typically produce a generous bounty of fruits throughout the growing season. This plant is ideal for beginner gardeners due to its easy to grow nature, and the fact that they grow almost anywhere.

Strawberry plants live many years but fruit production will degrade after about three years. Strawberries will bear fruit in their second season.

Three types of strawberries are readily available to the home gardener:
June Bearing-produce a large crop in late spring. Good for freezing or jam.
Ever Bearing strawberries produce several flushes of crop usually starting in late spring and then another one or two later in the year.
Day Neutral plants are capable of producing fruit throughout most of the growing season.

It is an edible fruit / flower that typically grows as a biennial, which is defined as a plant that matures and completes its lifecycle over the course of two years. Strawberry is known for growing with a shrubby habit to a height of approximately 20.0 cm (that's 7.8 inches in imperial). Expect blooming to occur in early summer and harvesting to start by mid summer. This plant is a great attractor for butterflies and bees, so if you are looking to attract wildlife Strawberry is a great choice. Popular varieties of Strawberry include: Everbearing, Quinault, Ozark Beauty, Sequoia, and Allstar Junebearing.

Strawberry is normally quite a low maintenance plant and is normally very easy to grow - great for beginner gardeners!

This plant info is provided by the myfolia gardener's wiki. All details about Strawberry have been kindly provided by our members.

How to grow Strawberry

  • Full Sun

    +
  • High

  • Strawberries prefer acidic soil (5.3-6.5) but will grow outside of this range.
  • They like to be kept moist but not wet – ensure water levels are consistent especially when fruiting.
  • Mulching will help retain moisture as well as keep their roots cool.
  • In the first year, pick off blossoms to prevent fruiting and encourage growth of the plant’s root system: this will pay dividends in the second year as your harvests will be much greater.
  • Remove weeds from around plants throughout the season to discourage pests and disease.
Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water often. As a rough idea of the types of climates Strawberry does best in, check to see if your local area is within USDA Hardiness Zones 3 and 10. Ideally plant in loamy soil and try to keep the ph of your soil between the range of 5.0 and 7.5 as Strawberry likes to be in moderately acidic soil - weakly alkaline soil. Keep in mind when planting that Strawberry is thought of as hardy, so this plant will grow or become dormant during the winter.

Growing Strawberry from seed

Although strawberries are most commonly grown from runners, it is possible to grow from seed. Germinate on the surface of a good free draining, damp seed compost. Do not cover the seed.

Sow at a depth of approx. 0.0 inches (0.0 cm) and aim for a distance of at least 11.7 inches (30.0 cm) between Strawberry plants. Soil temperature should be kept higher than 20°C / 68°F to ensure good germination.

Transplanting Strawberry

Ensure you leave enough space for the plant to sprawl and plant out only when the danger of frosts have passed.

Harvesting Strawberry

Harvest only fully ripe berries, as they will not ripen after being picked. Harvesting should start roughly 4-6 weeks after blossoming.

Always cut from the stem instead of pulling the berry from the plant to minimise damage to the strawberry plant.

You can store the picked berries in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but they will taste at their best when first picked.

Companion plants for Strawberry

These plants have been known to grow well alongside Strawberry so consider planting:

Strawberries are a good companion plant, growing well with bush beans, spinach, borage, lettuce and pyrethrum.

  • Strawberry loves Onion

    Strawberries are less vulnerable to disease when grown with onions.

  • Strawberry loves Borage

    Reputed to increase yield and flavour of strawberries. Attracts pollinators that feed on common strawberry pests.

  • Strawberry Sweet scabious

  • Strawberry Feverfew

  • Strawberry Spinach

  • Strawberry loves Lettuce

Repellent plants for Strawberry

These plants will not grow well with Strawberry so avoid planting these within close proximity:

Strawberries should not be planted near eggplants, peppers, potatoes, raspberries, or tomatoes have grown because strawberries are susceptible to Tomato ringspot virus, verticillium wilt

  • Strawberry hates Tomato

    Both are susceptible to Tomato ringspot virus and verticillium wilt.

  • Strawberry dislikes Cabbage

Common Strawberry problems

These problems, diseases and pests are known to affect Strawberry plants:

Strawberry Etymology

The name “strawberry” is said to originate from the fact that they were often mulched using straw. Another possible origination of the name is a derivation of ‘strayberries’ in reference to their runners straying from the mother plant. A third possibility is that it is from the word ‘streow’ or hay from the berries ripening at the same time the hay was harvested. 2

Fragaria is latin for strawberry, ananassa means ‘like ananas’ (a genus best known for the species Ananas comosus, the pineapple), referring to the delicious smell of hybrid strawberries.

Other names for Strawberry

Misspellings: Strawberries, strabery, Starwberry

Latest Strawberry Reviews

See all Strawberry reviews and experiences »

Strawberry care instructions

How long does Strawberry take to grow?

These estimates for how long Strawberry takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world. Start logging and journaling your observations to participate!

Footnotes

Strawberry Tags

Strawberry Forums

  • Strawberry Talk

    Help me with my strawberries

    6 members / 1 topics
  • Strawberry Lovers

    A place to discuss anything and everything about growing Strawberries

    87 members / 17 topics

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