[stephenprudence]

Hi there, I payed a visit to the garden centre the other day, and I saw strawberry plants on the shelves outside, they were in leaf, which I personally thought was odd because I had always assumed strawberry plants took on deciduous nature in winter.. I was going to buy some but didn't in the end, I may well do in the near future though.

Is this 'evergreen' tendency normal in strawberry plant?

[8doubles]

The leaves die back after fruiting but are soon replaced by growth which will overwinter.
Strawberry plants are tough enough to handle most UK cold weather , i think crops suffer if they do not get a decent chilly winter.

[stephenprudence]

Thanks, that's interesting, can strawberries actually put on more than one flush per year? I think this will be the first fruit crop. Incidently the guy next to our plot said he has wild strawberries growing on this plot, so thatll be interesting

[Trillium]

There are 2 varieties of strawberries - spring bearers and everbearers. Pick the type which suits your needs and schedule. I prefer the spring as I'm not quite so busy then and can get all the harvest. Others prefer some all season long and go for everbearers.

As for the leaves, don't let them fool you. Strawbs aren't a true deciduous variety. Old leaves will still hang on despite looking raggedy, and new leaves will be tucked in at the crown waiting to burst into green with warmer weather.

[grenhouse]

My strawberry plants have gone nuts! Loads of leaf growth. Took the runners off in autumn, but someone nicked all the pots off my plot!

However, nice surprise that even over winter i have enough runners to plant up a new bed!

Steve

[Trillium]

Took the runners off in autumn, but someone nicked all the pots off my plot!

What a low-down thing to do.

[grenhouse]

Tell me about it!
Spent over an hour pegging the runners into small pots, then another snipping and sorting pots out only for somebody to help themselves!

Our site is well secured so must have been someone on there. Maybe those strawberry plants weren't meant to be, some kind of strange virus which would kill everything on the plot! hehe

Steve

[Trillium]

It would have to be one hefty virus to kill the pots and make them disappear as well  Looks like in the future you'll have to be more careful about not leaving things out - some sticky fingers at your allotment.