A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 strawberries & when to plant. . .

i've read on the forums here about when to start strawberries. it seems that th ebest time for me in my zone ( i live in michigan) would be to start them in the fall? seems to me kinda silly. . wouldnt i want to start them now (early summer) so they grow/establish a good root system for winter hard months?

I planted mine on March 31. I've already pruned off almost all the blooms except enough for a taste sample. I'm going to need to start thinking about pruning some of the runners that are just now starting.

Danno, your reasoning is sound for your area, & you'll still get berries this year if you plant them now, but they won't be abundant, as the plant's energy will be going more toward building that root system. (But watch out next year... you'll see a huge difference in the yield, as well as in the over-all integrity of your plants!)

Here's the lowdown on Growing Strawberries , from The Garden Helper.

Best of luck to you with your berry plants. Be sure to keep us updated on their progress!