How to Grow Bare-Root Strawberry Plants for Juicy, Homegrown Summer Fruit
Fresh strawberries are one of the best bits of summer, and picking your own only makes them better. You’ll find homegrown strawberries are sweeter and juicier, and with our new selection of bare-root strawberry plants, it’s never been easier to have fresh fruit at your fingertips!
Bare-root strawberries are cheaper than potted plant alternatives, and they avoid the use of plastic and peat. With already-established roots and higher yields overall, bare-root strawberries generally have greater success than seeds. This makes them great beginner plants that are resilient to changeable weather and produce beautifully sweet berries.
What do bare-root strawberry plants look like?
Bare-root strawberries are normal plants that have been removed from the soil whilst dormant in autumn and winter. This keeps them in stasis, meaning they can be easily transported. When you receive your bare-root strawberries, they will have their roots exposed and will be grouped together in a cluster with their old leaves still attached. These leaves will probably fall off once you’ve planted up you bare-roots, but don’t worry – you will soon see new shoots sprouting from your plant as the growing process resumes.
It’s best to plant your bare-roots as soon as they arrive, but don’t fret if you’re not quite ready. They will remain dormant until they’re replanted, as long as you store them in a cool place and wrap the roots in damp paper. Mist them regularly to ensure the roots don’t dry out and kill the plant, but don’t get them too wet as then the plant will rot.
How to plant bare-root strawberries
Strawberry plants love the sunshine and will produce heavier, higher-quality harvests when planted in a sheltered, bright, sunny spot. Ideally, you want to plant your bare-root strawberries in the early spring after the threat of frost has gone. Dig a hole that is deep enough for the roots and around twice as wide to make sure your plants have enough room to grow. Adding a layer of good quality compost in the bottom of the hole, and adding our compost improver will help get your plants off to a flying start.
Carefully untangle the roots and soak them in warm water for around 30-60 minutes before planting.
You want to make sure that it’s not hot and that you’re only soaking the roots themselves, as soaking the crown (the part with the leaves) can result in a rotten plant.
Strawberry plants are very versatile with where they can be planted, and how you plant them in each of these places differs slightly.
Planting in raised beds lets the plant grow without risk of becoming pot-bound, but you’ll need to keep on top of to help them flourish. After a few years, make sure you separate the plants as runners will root and can easily swamp the space leading to overcrowding.
Planting in pots allows you to move your strawberries around for optimum sunlight. You want to make sure that your pot has enough room to accommodate the roots as they grow, so chose one that is at least 3 litres. Your plants will need more watering than in raised beds, so make sure you water daily and avoid the hottest part of the day.
Our strawberry planters are an excellent space-saving choice as they can take up to 12 plants and have enough room for the roots to grow comfortably as strawberry plants have quite shallow root systems. They will also require regular watering to maintain soil moisture. Check out our strawberry planter bundle to take the stress out of growing this season.
Care and maintenance of strawberry plants
Strawberry plants generally don’t need a lot of care or maintenance as long as you keep the soil moist, particularly in hot weather. Avoid watering the fruit itself, especially when it’s ripe, to maintain quality and avoid diseases.
Using a high-quality plant feed from early spring can also encourage your plants to grow more fruit.
Strawberries can require a little protection to ensure you get to benefit from your fruit harvest. Nets can help protect from birds and mammals whilst still allowing in bees and other pollinators. You can also spread straw around the base of your plants to deter slugs and snails, or grow them in a grow bag for added security. Our Slug & Snail Copper Tape is also an excellent deterrent if you are using pots.
Strawberry plants will produce lots of runners that shoot off from the mother plant and look like little clusters of leaves. They will root into the ground and form other plants themselves, but you can encourage roots to form by placing them into a small pot.
Once they are strong, cut the stems joining them to the parent plant and you will have more strawberry plants to use. However, producing runners uses a significant amount of your plant’s energy, so it’s best to remove them on sight during the spring and summer to force your plant to produce a higher yield of larger berries.
Once your harvest is complete, you can then propagate your runners to create new plants without taking energy away from fruit production.
In the autumn, cut off any remaining runners and the dead foliage to prepare you plant for the dormant winter period and prevent any disease setting in.
Planting bare-root strawberries is a really simple, easy, and rewarding activity, and you’ll thank us when you have your first bowl over the summer. Browse our bare-root range of Cambridge Favourite, Elsanta, and Honeoye today!
