A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Strawberry Leaves Question?

Does any one know how strawberries leaves are suppose to look once they have several leaves on them?

We had so much rain and I did not want to be over watering them so I skipped a few days, but I put my hand in the soil and it is still wet usually it's dry not a whole lot, but enough so that I know to water.

I went ahead and watered them, but I was looking for something to make sure I am doing it right pic, etc... Can't find any at an early stage .

If any one can help with advice please do .
I only have one plant .
Thank you,
Nicky

heres pictures
http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=strawberry+plant

Thank you Wrennie,

I have been going nuts looking for a web page I stop looking and started looking for books.

Do you know any good garden books? I have one, but it does not have all the veggies that I am growing. I need a good book with everything so when I'm not sure I can hunt for it that wayI am not fighting with the web.
Again
Thank you,
Nicky

Here's a picture of my strawberry patch. Some are standing straight up and others are close to the ground.

Hmm good garden books for veggies....
I have:
Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
and Rodales All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
Even if you dont grow organically or use the square foot method they are both good sources of Info.

Nicky, I've been raising Everbearing Strawberries for longer then I can remember, but I do believe that all Strawberry plants have the same characteristics & care requirements. I'd like to share with you, what I've noticed about them over the years.

You asked if the leaves are supposed to "start falling to the soil or stand up high"... I guess the best answer is that just like people, some are on short stems & some are on tall stems! Also, some days my plants will stand up tall, & other days they're just sitting there... & I don't know why! (Maybe they have "moods" too!)


Notice that the runners look nearly identical to the stems... but, instead of forming leaves, the "stem" will produce little buds which will become the "crown" of the new plant.


Here, you can see the beginning leaves of new plants forming from the crowns off the runners. Many runners, regardless of length, will only produce one crown for a new plant. Likewise, many runners, regardless of length, will produce several crowns along the stem (as seen on the runner in the foreground). I have had runners with as many as 6 crowns on them.

New Strawberry plants will continue to feed from the mother plant, through the runner, until it finds a place suitable to send roots down of its own. Some crowns will start to form roots even without being near soil (As in runners that hang down from a planter), but will eventually die off if not removed & allowed to root into soil somewhere. They will, however, continue to feed from the host plant as long as a healthy runner remains attached.

When planting a new Strawberry plant, it is very important not to cover the crown with soil. The crown sits on top of the dirt & sends roots downward. Covering the crown will smother & kill the plant.

Your Strawberry plant may not send a runner out until later in the season, or perhaps not at all, this year. The runner-producing plant in the photos above is using it's energy to produce a runner (I don't know what determines that), so it probably will not produce any berries this year... unless I snip those runners off & allow it to start over again.

About watering Strawberries.... Good drainage & LOTS of water are essential for healthy plants & good production. While the fruit is forming, draught conditions may cause the fruit to malform (which makes for some pretty bizarre Strawberry shapes, but isn't good for the plant, or the flavor & texture of the fruit.) The only time Strawberries can be OVERwatered is when they sit in water for a long perios of time. They do like (and use) lots of water, but they don't appreciate soggy feet!

It has been my experience that picking off the first flowers of the season will force energy back into the plant & cause a better berry yield throughout the growing season. (Normally, where I live, when the plant first produces flowers it's too cool outside for the bugs to be present for pollination anyway, so the plant uses energy for nothing but a flower... which dies off without making a berry.) It's hard to "waste" a flower after waiting all winter for something to bloom, but you (and your plant) will be happier with the results, later!

The plants in the photo that John posted are, I believe, "June bearers", & that's why our plants may look a bit different. (My plants are also much closer together, as it's an old, established bed, with many 1st, 2nd & 3rd year old plants... desperately in need of thinning, to remove the old, non-productive ones.) June bearers have larger, more stately-looking leaves then Ever bearers, and also produce larger berries.

Here is more information (& tips) about my Strawberries , if you care to take a look. I'm also around here pretty often, so I'll check back to see if you have more questions that I might be able to help you with.

Good luck with your berries this year, & happy gardening!

Thank you

I keep looking at that plant because I have had it for about 3 months now and it hasn't even gotten any flowers strange little thing. Out of all my other plants watermelon, peppers, and tomatoe thats the only one that seems to have a problem getting flowers. So I bought another one the other day to see if maybe it is just were I planted it. So far that one has not gotten any either, but I have only had that (new one) for about 2 weeks at the most. Lets see what happens!
Mines are everbearing strawberries also Patty.
John and Patty I love you pic of your strawberries plant. I wish mine could at least get flowers or grow taller wider anything .

Again thank you very much all of you this is very helpful. I will print this and keep it with the rest of my gardening things.

Thank you,
Nicky

Nicky, have you ever heard the saying, "a watched pot never boils"? Keep the litttle guys watered, but pretend that you don't care what they do, & they'll probably take right off & act like Strawberry plants! (It almost sounds like we're talking about teenagers, doesn't it?!) :rolleyes:

Maybe your single Strawberry plant was just lonely... I'm happy to hear that you found a friend for her! Where do you have them planted? Are they in full sun? I don't know where you are in Texas, but I understand that much of that region has had some pretty extreme weather recently. That could possibly have something to do with it, but remember too, that the plants are using energy to get their root systems established. The flowers will be next!

I,m from San Antonio, Texas zone 9b.
I have one planted in a bed and the other one I had to,put it in a containter. This is my first year gardening and boy did I make a lot of mistakes. I can not even begin to tell you how many so far I lost count . And yes they are like teenagers. I do not have kids, but I have younger brothers and sisters so I know a little bit about that not to much since how they do not live with me.

I could not plant them together since how the bed one was planted first. I wish I had the space to put the other one there, but I can't.

I will add my pic's of the one I did not take any of the new one yet.
Thank you,
Nicky

I added my tomatoe plant also because the blue container is were the other strawberry plant is

She looks pretty happy to me, Nicky! Mine seem to be pretty happy, snuggled up together! (Thanks for the pics!)

Yeah, Patty that is one of my tomatoe plants the patio one had died at least I thought it did so I put in another blue container and planted peppers on top well remind me next year not to do something stupied like that please
Again thank you,
Nicky

Nicky, I hate to tell you that your Mom is wrong ...but your mom is WRONG; you're NOT crazy!! (& there's nothing wrong with being a country girl! She's going to love it when she starts getting groceries from you, out of your garden!

Your garden plans for next year sound pretty darned good, & you sure came to the right place to ask questions (& hopefully, get good answers), since your Grandma isn't around to ask, anymore. (The oldtimers had some pretty unique ways of doing things, that we're still finding out about!) The folks here are so darned friendly & eager to help, that they make it easy to ask away! We were all new at gardening once ourselves, & many of us had to learn everything by doing it wrong first, because we didn't have a place like this to come & pick people's brains for info!

I've done veggie gardens for as long as I can remember, but I didn't get interested in flower gardens until late last year! I've learned so much here... but the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know yet! (Just stick with us & you'll be sharing your information with us before you know it, & we'll be asking YOU questions!)

You're going to do just fine with the Strawberry runners. I think they're easier than starting things from seed, because you don't need a magnifying glass to look for the plants!

I enjoy chatting with you, Nicki! I'm sorry I've been MIA here for a few days... I couldn't remember where I'd left this topic, because there are a few other ones about Stawberries too, & I got side tracked! I have this thread bookmarked now, so I can get back here & check to see how you're doing! (Don't be afraid to send me a PM & rattle my cage if I disappear again!)