[suziequeue]

We bought some strawberry plug plants from Dobies to plant in hanging baskets.

They look great - lots of lovely dark green foliage but only one flower.

Does that mean we aren't going to get any strawberries?

We got them fairly late (first week of May or thereabouts) and planted them straight into the baskets and they have taken really well - growing and everything - but no flowers.

Anybody know where we went wrong?

Thanks

Susanna

[little blue]

They look great - lots of lovely dark green foliage but only one flower.

Does that mean we aren't going to get any strawberries?

well, you should get one!
dont despair yet you may get more flowers.
stick them in the ground afterwards, they may well do better next year...

[plumseverywhere]

I could be wrong here but I think everything seems to be a bit 'late' this year?  we moved to our current house pretty much a year ago today and there was an abundance of huge juicy straw's on the strawberry patch - this year I think we've had 5 (and my 5 year old had one of them, the slugs the other 4 grrr)
maybe things will happen over the next fortnight or so? 

[doganjo]

I think it's the weather we've had too.  Everything in my garden is way behind this year, but I can see signs - I have berries on my strawbs in pots and baskets (Central Scotland)

[VSS]

Picked the first strawberry last night.

Plenty coming on. Obviously without flowers there will be no fruit. I wonder if you have been feeding them? They need potash and phosphate more than nitrogen for fruit production so it could be a nutirent imbalance.

On the other hand, it could just be that the plants are not well enough established to fruit. On the whole, I don't let strawberries fruit in their first year as I find that you get a stronger plant and better lifetime yields that way.

[doganjo]

On the other hand, it could just be that the plants are not well enough established to fruit. On the whole, I don't let strawberries fruit in their first year as I find that you get a stronger plant and better lifetime yields that way.

I'm not sure about this. We get told not to pick in the first year, and we get told plants only last three years, so that means you only get two years berries off each plant.  So what is the point in them being made strong plants?

[VSS]

They will crop for three seasons. In fact they will last longer than that but the yield will be lower. I've got some that must be in the fifth year, but in fairness, there is not much on them this year and will be grubbed up at the end of the season.

[Wizard]

I have a nice piece of OG plastic gutter suspended between 2 hanging baskets its about 2 meters long full level with compost and six strawberry plants all in flower and some green Berry's forming I didn't plant them out until May Day

[suziequeue]

Well - had another look today through the foliage today. I think there are some flowers forming and one fruit from the one flower I saw.

I have contacted the supplier and asked what variety of strawberry they are as I am assuming that a late variety will flower and fruit later?

Susanna

[supplies for smallholders]

Just as a tip,

If you want good fruit then pinch out any runners that start to form - you can have strawberries or runners, but not the two together.

Time of planting is not so important - but how they were kept prior to planting out is.

We can still obtain bare rooted plants now, which are kept in cold store, and will produce fruit 60 days (ish) after thawing and planting out.

However the best time to plant is in the late autumn - we are taking orders now for an October delivery.

Thanks

[suziequeue]

The strawberry variety is Loran which is an early fruiting variety. There seem to be a few more flowers now and they are looking very healthy so we will continue with them.

I was interested to see the possibility of planting out strawberries in October SfS.

We would like to continue doing strawberries in hanging baskets. Would we keep the baskets in the polytunnel over winter?

Which varieties are good for hanging baskets? or does it matter?

Susanna

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

As long as the soil they are in is fairly dry, a "dormant" strawberry plant will not take any harm from cold. In fact our supplier keeps the bare rooted plants we sell in cold storage (at freezing point!).

When the plant defrosts and warms up - it thinks - Hey! it's spring and starts to grow. So these can be planted at almost any time.

The October / November planting is not of cold stored plants, but plants freshly lifted as they become dormant - so there will be no growth till next spring.

Any variety really for baskets or raised "gro-Bags" - we have had success with Red Gauntlet, Cambridge Favourite, and this year with the new Albion variety.

Thanks

[egbert]

I had 2 different types of strawberry plants from a store - an early season and mid season fruiter. I have had a handful off them, but nothing since.

I also had some I grew myself from seed, no idea now what they were     and they have lots of small leaves but no flowers.

I didnt know about the runners - I have some runners on the store bought plants that I will now go and pinch out. They are in pots now - I was thinking of planting them out later into a bit of bare ground that has previously had all the mown grass dumped on it and left to rot for years. I thought that the ground there should be super charged - does that sound about right    What would be the right sort of time to move them into the ground for the winter - do they need any protection?

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

Best time to transplant to a new location is after the leaves have died back and the plant has "gone to sleep".

They shouldn't need too much, or any protection as long as they are not stood in water. As someone said in a previous post, the productive life of a plant is 3 seasons, it will still fruit after this but to a lesser extent, so in the second year let some plants grow runners to produce new plants.

Or of course you could completely restock with new plants from us - at prices you wont find in a garden center or in a seed catalogue.

Thanks

[Talbert121]

A low-growing, eastern North American perennial herb (Waldsteinia fragarioides) having straw berrylike leaves, yellow flowers, and small, dry, inedible fruit.