A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 Strawberry plants

Hi all,

I have been bought some strawberry plants this year.

howveer with the frosts on thier way I wanted some advice on what to do.

Do they need to be covered up or left and regrow next year?

many thanks

Gillian

Hello Sarah~Jane~Smith, (a.k.a. Gillian)
Welcome to The Garden Helpers Forum,

I've noticed you were from England!!
I am curious if you know your zone???

I grow strawberries here, quite prolifically here.
I am a zone 5...Western N.Y.

As long as your strawberry plants are properly planted, they can or should be just left out in the ground. Mine are hardy here, and we get quite cold and snowy.
What are your conditions through the winter?????
The more snow the better I always say, because,
it's a great insulator, one thing that can kill plants is the freezing winds, especially in like January or February, thaws... No snow and cold artic winds
Weezie

I'm in north central Arkansas - and have basically the same question; except I have the strawberry plants in two planters. Will I need to mulch, cover with straw, or perhaps set the containers inside the garage????

I don't have an answer about the strawberries and the cold (sorry).....

....I do have a question for cheyenne though...
How are the strawberries doing in the containers? I've thought about growing them in a pot, but I wasn't sure if there would be enough space, don't the need to send out runners?

-Scott

Gillian, Cheyenne and Scott,

Strawberries are the easiest to grow in (pots)containers. I have several strawberries growing in half wine barrels. They are shallow rooted and need ample watering during the growing season especially when the weather is hot. They need to have mulch not only to keep the moisture, but to prevent the soil from splashing when watering.

At winter time, say, November or earlier when the temperature drops to freezing, cover the plants with several inches of straw (if you use hay, be sure it has been threshed, because hay may contain weed seed) and don't forget to insulate the pot as well.

The alternative is to move the pots to a garage or basement.

Thanks for the info. These planters are abt the size of the half barrels. This is our 3rd attempt with strawberries. The first two times were planted in a small bed and they didn't do very well. The grass/weeds took them over. I never thought about the straw contributing to that with seeds...