[Casey76]

Next year I plan on putting in some strawberries.  What is the best time of year for this?  If I bought mini plants from a nursery do I have to remove the flowers for the first year?

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to fruit 

[home made pie]

Hi, I got mine as young plants this March and they are just producing fruit now, in fact picked off 10 today and loads still to come.  I got mine from Thompson & Morgan via the links on this sites home page, click on allotment shop and follow links, I just had a quick look and apparantly there is still time to order and get fruit this summer

[matron]

I get my strawberry plants from Aldi round about March time. I have done this for the last 3 years now. Usually about £2.99 for 6 plants (2 earlies, 2 mids and 2 lates).

[galen]

I bought and planted my small plants (Cambridge Favourite) mid March and got a small crop this year. They were very tasty and certainly impressed my 4 year old daughter!

Anyway, they've trebled in size, now have loads of dark green healthy looking leaves and produced numerous runners (cut off as soon as seen). We're now all looking forward to a bumper harvest next year.

[sclarke624]

If they are mini plants, quite honestly I have planted at any time of the year.  Bare runners would probaly be different.  What I mean is if they are mini plants anyway you are just repotting really.  I've even repotted when they are in flower carefully.

If you can bear to, yes, you are supposed to remove the flowers the first year.  But again I bet lots of people including myself don't.

They are very hardy.

This may help:
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_february_2_strawberry.asp


Beware of those special strawberry plant pots I''ve heard they are difficult to get water to all the plants.  I grow mine in troughs.

[matron]

I would echo Sclarke624, I have a strawberry planter and have had great difficulty growing strawberries in it. This year I have re-planted it and it is stood in a big saucer, I then water from the top and keep watering until the water has run through and there is a puddle in the saucer. It seems to like standing in water.

[Riala]

This is my plant's 1st year, I got it and planted it in August last year and it has not really done much at all except grow a few more leaves:

[DD.]

It looks a little bit dry to me Riala, but that may just have been at the precise time you took the piccie. They'll soon dry out with that sort of lining.

[Riala]

They get watered every day, and that pic is two weeks old and taken just before their daily drink.

[LittleRedHen]

I bought strawberry plants from B&Q in bud about two weeks ago and planted them in hanging baskets.  I have a nice crop now of tiny green strawberries coming!