When should I plant strawberries in the UK?

Late summer (August to September) for the biggest crop the following June. Spring-planted bare-root or cold-stored runners give a smaller crop in their first year. Autumn-planted strawberries establish over winter and crop fully their first summer.

Why have my strawberry flowers gone black in the middle?

Frost damage. Strawberry flowers are tender — a single light frost during flowering kills the developing fruit, leaving the centre black. Cover with fleece from mid-April onwards on clear nights. Lost flowers don't re-form on the same truss.

How long do strawberry plants last?

3–4 years productively. Year one (autumn-planted) gives a strong first crop; years two and three are peak; from year four cropping declines and plants get diseased. Replace stock continuously by rooting runners from your best parents.

What's the difference between June-bearing and perpetual strawberries?

June-bearing (also called summer-fruiting): one big flush in June and early July. Honeoye is early, Cambridge Favourite mid-season, Symphony late. Perpetual (everbearing): smaller fruit but cropping in waves from June through to October. Albion and Mara des Bois are perpetual. Most allotments grow both for a long season.

How do I stop slugs eating my strawberries?

Mulch with clean straw or strawberry matting to keep fruit off the ground. Apply nematodes (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) to warm moist soil in spring. Beer traps around the bed. Pick fully-ripe fruit promptly. Hanging baskets and tabletop grow-bags side-step the slug problem entirely.

Can I grow strawberries in containers in the UK?

Excellent for containers. Hanging baskets, strawberry pots, troughs, grow-bags — all work, and elevation cuts slug damage to near zero. Use peat-free multi-purpose compost; feed weekly with high-potash liquid from first flowers; water daily in summer. Container plants need replacing every 2 years (less root space accelerates decline).

Strawberry — Grow

Strawberry

Fragaria × ananassa

fruit

About

Plant strawberry runners in late summer to early autumn (August to September) for a full crop the following June. The plant itself is hardy (RHS H5) but the flowers are frost-tender, so cover with fleece if a late April frost is forecast. Plant 30 cm apart in rich, well-drained soil in full sun. Choose early (Honeoye), mid (Cambridge Favourite, Sonata), late (Symphony) or perpetual (Albion, Mara des Bois) varieties for a long picking season. Mulch with straw or matting once flowers appear to keep fruit clean and deter slugs. Net the plants from late May — birds strip a row overnight. Replace plants every 3–4 years; older plants exhaust and crop less.

How to grow strawberry

1
Buy certified virus-free runners
Late summer (August to September) is the best planting time. Buy certified virus-free runners from a nursery, not from a friend's diseased patch. Cold-stored runners can be planted spring through June for a smaller late-summer crop.
2
Prepare the bed
Full sun, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Fork compost or well-rotted manure into the bed. Strawberries hate waterlogged ground.
3
Plant
30 cm apart in rows 75 cm apart. Set the crown level with the soil surface — neither buried nor exposed. Water in well.
4
Mulch with straw
When flowers appear in April, tuck clean straw or strawberry matting under the plants. Keeps fruit off the soil, deters slugs, suppresses weeds.
5
Protect flowers from late frost
Strawberry flowers are killed by frost — black centres after a cold night mean no fruit. Cover with fleece from mid-April onwards if frost is forecast.
6
Net against birds
From late May, net the plants firmly on hoops at least 30 cm above the foliage. Birds strip a row in a day. Use proper bird netting with 1 cm mesh; nothing smaller (birds and hedgehogs get caught in fine mesh).
7
Pick ripe
Pick when fully red with a sweet smell. Take with the calyx attached (no green stem in the punnet). Pick every other day during peak — over-ripe fruit invites grey mould (botrytis) which spreads.
8
Remove runners (or use them)
Through summer, the parent plant sends out runners with baby plants. Cut them off for bigger fruit on the parent; or peg the first plantlet on each runner into a pot of compost to root your next year's stock.
9
Replace every 3–4 years
Productivity drops sharply after year 3. Take young plants from the runners of the best parents, plant a fresh bed each year, retire the oldest.

Common questions

The strawberry year in your garden

Dispatching imaginary bots to check your garden out...

What to do now

Hardiness Zones

H1a (tender)H7 (very hardy)

H1a

H1b

H1c

RHS H5–H6

USDA 6 equivalent