How to Grow Strawberries

As both a fruit tree and an ornamental plant, the strawberry tree can provide you with very wrong seasons with beautiful red berries for about 5 years. Strawberries are rarely grown by seed. Buy seedlings or stems from a nursery and plant them in the garden or in pots, and next year you will have a delicious strawberry season.

Table of Contents

Choose a mulberry tree

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Buy mulberry seedlings or stems from the nursery. You can buy pre-potted plants or stem segments from a nursery, or order them from a gardening store. ^{[1] X Research Source}

The seedlings grown in pots are rooted and slightly larger. Sometimes the tree can bear fruit within the first year, although you need to wait a year to have a fruitful harvest.
Stems are often sold cheaper than seedlings. These are long-rooted seedlings taken from other mulberry trees. These plants can take longer to grow and also take longer to bear fruit.

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Choose the June variety if you want to harvest a large crop each season. This variety is the most productive, but it only bears fruit once a year in June. You should grow this type of strawberry if you want to preserve or freeze strawberries after harvesting. ^{[2] X Research Source}

There are many varieties of strawberries that bear fruit in June, including Earliglow, Seneca, and Allstar. Ask your local nursery or agricultural development office to find out which strawberry varieties are suitable for the conditions in your area.

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Choose berries that bear fruit year-round if you want to harvest two crops a year. This variety bears fruit in spring and autumn. You will have one more harvest this year, but each season has less fruit than the June variety. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Year-round strawberry varieties include EverSweet and Ozark Beauty.

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Choose a neutral plant if you want to harvest berries little by little all year round. This strawberry variety can bear fruit all year round with the temperature in the range of 2-29 degrees Celsius, but each batch has very few fruits. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Neutral cultivars include Tristar and Tribute.

Growing strawberries in the garden

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Choose a sunny and well-drained location. You need to find a location where the mulberry bush receives 6-10 hours of direct sunlight a day. The soil must have good water permeability. Avoid places with standing water. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

To test the drainage, dig a 30x30cm hole and fill it with water, fill it again the next day and check the rate of drainage. Ideally, the pit should drain about 2.5-7.5 cm of water per hour. ^{[6] X Research Sources}
Do not plant strawberries in a place that has grown tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplants in the past 4 years, as these plants can spread the fungus to the mulberry tree.

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Choose soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. You can purchase a soil test kit from your local nursery or agricultural development office and follow the instructions on the product label to test the pH. Strawberry soil should be slightly acidic. ^{[7] X EDIS Trusted Source Go to Source}

Adjust the soil if the pH in the soil is not suitable. If the pH is too low, mix lime or a small amount of dpomite limestone. If the pH is too high, you need to add sulfur or moss to the soil.

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Plant strawberries after the last frost is over in March or April. As soon as the soil is no longer frozen and the frost forecast is over, you can plant strawberries. This is usually March or April, though you’ll still need to rely on the date of the last frost in the region. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

The soil should be soft enough that you can easily dig with a shovel. If the soil is still hard then you have to wait a few more weeks.
Strawberry soil must be dry. If it rains, you need to wait a few more days before planting.

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Dig a hole deep and wide enough for the roots. In general, the soil pit will be about 10-20 cm deep, depending on the length of the roots. If you buy a ready-made mulberry tree in a pot, you can dig a hole as deep as the depth of the pot. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Transfer the mulberry tree from the pot into the hole. Be careful when transferring the seedling from the pot to the hole so as not to break the roots. Place the root ball in the hole, then cover it with just enough soil to cover the roots. Water the plant immediately after planting. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Cover only the roots with soil. The trunk (or the fat and green body) should be above the ground.

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Plant each strawberry about 50 cm apart. If you want to plant more than one bed, the beds should be spaced 1.2 m apart. Thus, the mulberry trees will have space to crawl and grow. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Growing strawberries in pots

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Choose a large pot with drainage holes in the bottom. Plant pots should be about 40-45 cm in diameter for good growth. The pot should also have drainage holes in the bottom to ensure that the soil does not become waterlogged. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Fill the pot with bottles, small stones or pieces of crockery. Cover the garden tarpaulin over the objects that have just been placed in the pot. This step is to help the soil drain well. Mulberry trees have fairly shallow roots, so they don’t need a pot full of soil. ^{[13] X Research Source}

This also makes the pot less heavy and easy to move when needed.

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Pour potting soil into the rest of the pot. Use multi-use soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Leave a spot in the pot to plant the plant in. If desired, you can add compost to increase the fertility of the soil. ^{[14] X Research Source}

On the packaging of the potting mix, the pH of the soil will be stated.

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Transfer the mulberry tree to the pot. Transfer the mulberry tree from the old pot to the new pot. Gently loosen the soil around the roots with your hands, but try not to touch the roots or disturb the roots. Place the plant in the potting hole and cover the roots with soil. ^{[15] X Research Source}

The stem of the mulberry tree should be above the ground. You should only cover the roots with soil.
If you want to grow many plants together in a large pot, you need to plant the plants about 25-30 cm apart.

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Place the pot in a sunny spot. Mulberry trees need 6-10 hours of direct sunlight each day. You should place the potted plant in the garden, hallway or balcony, where the plant can receive enough sun. You can bring potted plants indoors during the winter, but be sure to place them near a sunny window. ^{[16] X Research Source}

If you don’t have enough sunlight in your home, try placing the pot under a grow light.

Taking care of mulberry trees

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Water the plants regularly. You should water the mulberry tree every week about 2.5 cm of water. Remember to water the base of the plant, avoid watering the leaves and fruits; otherwise, the plant may become infected with fungus or rot. ^{[17] X Research Source}

The amount of water to be irrigated is estimated at 20 liters per 2.5 m of mulberry land.

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Apply garden mulch in the fall to protect the roots from frost. Put mulch such as straw, pine needles or shavings around the base of the tree. Remove the mulch in the spring and cover the ground between the beds to prevent weeds from growing. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

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Weed around the mulberry trees. Weeds can easily overwhelm mulberry trees, especially newly planted ones. You need to check the weeds once a week and pull the weeds by hand, remembering to pull the roots as well. You can also use a hoe to weed in between the beds. ^{[19] X Research Source}

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Cut off the first flowers. When the first strawberry flowers appear, you need to remove them so that the mulberry tree can grow stronger. You can cut the flowers by hand or use pruning shears to cut off the flowers. ^{[20] X Research Source}

For mulberry trees that bear fruit in June, remove all flowers in the first year so that you can harvest strawberries the following year. Do not cut flowers when the plant flowers next year.
With neutral or year-round varieties, you can cut flowers until the end of June and leave the flowers that appear after this time to harvest fruit in the fall.

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Pest control with insecticides. Strawberries are a favorite of many insects, including caterpillars, beetles, aphids, and thrips. To prevent these pests, you can use insecticidal soaps or neem oil products to spray the plants. Read the label on the package carefully to see if the product is safe for household use. ^{[21] X EDIS Trusted Source Go to Source}

Always follow the directions for use on the pesticide packaging.
Cover the mulberry tree with a net to prevent birds from eating the fruit.

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Use fungicides to prevent plant diseases. Mulberry trees are very susceptible to fungal infections, such as powdery mildew and gray mold. Buy a fungicide labeled for household use. The packaging often has information on whether the product is safe for mulberry trees. Use according to the instructions on the package. ^{[22] X EDIS Trusted Source Go to Source}

Cut off leaves with spots or discoloration to prevent the disease from spreading.

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Strawberry harvest. When ¾ of the strawberry has turned red, you can pick it. Bring a bowl or basket to the strawberry tree or strawberry garden to pick. Twist the stem of the strawberry to break it out of the bush. Wash strawberries with cool water before eating. ^{[23] X EDIS Trusted Source Go to Source}

Harvest strawberries as soon as they are ripe; Strawberries that fall to the ground will rot when left for a long time.
Remove berries that have begun to rot on the tree. You should cut these fruits and throw them away rather than leaving them on the tree.

“Usually, after four to six weeks, the strawberries are ready to be picked.”

Maggie Moran

Gardener

Maggie Moran is a professional gardener in Pennsylvania.

Maggie Moran
Gardener

Advice

Normally, mulberry trees will stop bearing fruit after 4-6 years. The time to stop fruiting will vary from tree to tree. You should remove mulberry trees when they are no longer producing fruiting seasons.
If growing strawberries in a hanging basket or pot, be sure to rotate the basket or pot regularly so that the plant gets enough sun on all sides.