When to plant strawberries

Late summer or spring?

The RHS gives three good times to plant strawberries: spring, late summer or early autumn. It says planting in August or September gives the plants time to get established before they fruit the following year.

Garden Organic gives two windows: September to October and March to May. So both sources agree on autumn and spring, but the RHS starts a month earlier, in August.

The RHS bare-root guide puts it more widely. It says the strawberry planting season runs from September until April, but tells you to avoid midwinter, when the ground is wet and cold.

What you buy decides the date

Strawberries are sold in several forms, and each has its own season, the RHS explains.

Bare-root plants are sold while dormant. The RHS growing guide says they are only available in winter and early spring. Its bare-root guide says bare-root runners are sold in autumn and should be planted as soon as you get them. They look sparse, with very few leaves, and that is normal.

Runners can be bought in late summer or early autumn, or in early spring.

Cold-stored runners are on sale from spring to early summer and should be planted immediately. Leave their flowers on. The RHS says they produce strawberries about 60 days after planting.

Potted or plug plants are normally sold from late spring. They usually need potting up and growing on indoors until they are large enough to plant outside.

Frost and where to plant

The RHS says strawberries grow best and give the sweetest fruit in a sheltered spot in full sun, though they tolerate some shade. They like fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. On poor or heavy soil, raised beds give better drainage and a deeper root run.

Avoid sites prone to late frosts. Frost damages the flowers and causes black eye, the RHS warns. If frost is forecast while the plants are in flower or carrying early fruit, cover them overnight with fleece, hessian or an old bedsheet.

Where is frost most likely? The Met Office says that in the south and on the coast the average last air frost often comes before the end of April. In the north and on higher ground it often runs well into May, and in a few places into June. Frost is more common in the country than in towns, and valleys are especially prone, because cold air drains downhill and pools there overnight.

Spacing and planting depth

Dig in two bucketfuls of well-rotted organic matter per square metre, ideally a few weeks before planting, the RHS says.

The sources give different spacings. The RHS spaces plants 35–40 cm apart in rows about 75 cm apart. Garden Organic uses 30 cm between plants and 60 cm between rows.

Depth matters more than you might think. The RHS trims the roots to 10 cm if necessary and lets the base of the crown rest lightly on the surface. If the crown is planted too deeply it will rot. If it is too shallow, the plant dries out quickly. Water well afterwards to settle the soil around the roots.

In containers, the RHS uses peat-free multi-purpose or soil-based compost, sets the crown level with the surface and spaces plants about 20 cm apart. Keep the container in a sheltered, sunny spot and water regularly.

Flowers in the first year

Should you pick off the first flowers? The sources do not quite agree.

The RHS says it depends on the type and the planting time. For summer-fruiting strawberries planted in autumn or spring, remove the first flowers only if growth has been slow and the plants look weak. Perpetual strawberries planted in spring establish better if the first flush of flowers is removed. Cold-stored runners keep their flowers.

Garden Organic is simpler. It removes the first flush of flowers to get a good crop in the second year.

How long a strawberry bed lasts

The RHS says a bed usually stays healthy and crops well for up to four years in well-drained, fertile soil. To avoid a build-up of disease, it replants every three or four years in a new spot. Garden Organic replaces its plants every three years, in a new place if possible, and pots up the runners the plants produce.

Summer-fruiting strawberries crop heavily for two or three weeks, from early June to early August, the RHS says. Perpetual strawberries crop from early summer to early autumn.