[GardenShed]

I have a raised bed of strawberry plants, which I planted in 2013.  Do I need to cover them with anything to protecting them through winter - or is it too late? 

[3 allotments]

No they are pretty hardy plants,i planted 96 on 23rd dec 2013,as long as your ground isnt waterlogged  or frozen you should be ok but if it makes you feel better its up to you And mine are still alive. with a bit of new growth

[grendel]

all of ours have survived pretty well through the winter so far, even have green leaves on a lot of them - even the ones just in pots.
Grendel

[brianbishop]

They need frost to make them fruit.There is a technical term to describe this , I'm sure a frum member will know it!!
Bish

[JayG]

Vernalisation.


(My shortest post ever!  )

[GardenShed]

Thanks for the advice, so it sounds like I can just leave them without any cover over the winter months and they should just come back to life later in the year!

[barley]

I have strawberries planted along the allotment wall so the can tumble over

they've been planted there for 10 years - hacked back in autumn , never fed , scratched at by chooks  , exposed to all weathers and every year without fail the spring back to life and produce more strawberries than we can eat 

[Trillium]

Mine get their annual covering of snow, and this year they got masses of it. I just let them do their thing and they'll return in spring raring to fruit. They really don't like a lot of babying.

[I Love Spuds]

This year is my first effort at growing strawberry plants, and the bare root young plants turned up yesterday! Does the advice above apply to established plants only or can I just plant my young plants in pots and not worry about them? Do they need nurturing as they aren't yet established? Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

[Yorkie]

They don't need nurturing as such, but don't plant them while the ground is frozen / frosty, and keep an eye on the watering - in winter we often forget that plants can dry out if there hasn't been much rain.

[grendel]

They don't need nurturing as such, but don't plant them while the ground is frozen / frosty, and keep an eye on the watering - in winter we often forget that plants can dry out if there hasn't been much rain.

Ha Ha Ha, as if...

[mumofstig]

Grendel, you typed what I'd been thinking   

[I Love Spuds]

Right, I have potted up my 12 strawberry plants and they are happily frost free in the green house. I do however have a few more questions :

I have read that bone meal is worth using as a slow release fertilizer with strawberries, but I am guessing that the the plants are just ticking over at the moment and don't need anything until they start growing? When should I add the bone meal, if at all?

Also, how much room do the roots need? I know when plating them in the ground you should be spacing them 18" apart but my question is; I have a strawberry planter but feel the holes might be too close together to accommodate a plant in every hole! It is 8" dia, 15" high and has 9 holes in it. Normal spacing would suggest it is too small/crowded. Am I right to think this or will they happily grow in the planter?

My plants are in various sized pots at the moment, mostly 8" to 10" in size, so I guess I could just leave them in the pots all year?

Many Thanks.

[JayG]

According to a 2010 discussion on this forum the correct spacing is somewhere between 4" and 24" or thereabouts! 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=51725.msg614413#msg614413

As a garden rather than allotment grower I'm always short of space, so mine are 12" apart but I'd probably go for 15" if I had more room (and fewer strawberry plants!)

I had very poor results using a strawberry planter similar to yours, which turned out to be mainly due to the fact that woodlice found the planting holes the perfect home and were nibbling away unseen at the base of the stems. 

Fish, blood and bone would be a better choice than straight bonemeal which contains little or no potassium - dried chicken manure or Growmore would also do the trick.

[I Love Spuds]

Ok thanks. Given that I have 12 plants I think I'll try 3 in the planter and keep an eye out for the pesky woodlice! If they do get eaten then I haven't lost much. Hopefully they'll look pretty cascading out of the planter if they grow ok though.

Will the others be ok in pots or should I transplant into the ground? I have some spare sunny border space in the front garden where I could plant them, but my Mrs has already got ideas for this space!