The Strawberry Plant
There are many varieties of strawberry plants, just waiting for you to grow them in your garden.
Even beginning gardeners will be able to grow delicious berries, but your harvest will be bigger and your plants will last longer if you know the types available, and what those plants consist of.
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Parts of the Strawberry Plant
Strawberries grow on unique plants that have some characteristics that gardeners should know about.Roots
The roots are very shallow. Because they have shallow roots, strawberry plants need to be weeded frequently and carefully, so that weeds don't compete for water and nutrients.
Crown
The place where the strawberry plant's roots meet the stems is called the crown. When you plant strawberries, make sure that the crown is exactly even with ground level. If the crown is covered in dirt, the plant could rot. If the crown is too high, the plant's roots could dry out. Either could kill your plants.
Flowers and Berries
Depending on the variety of strawberry plant you've purchased, your plant will flower and produce fruit once, twice, or throughout the season.
Runners
After your plant produces fruit, it will probably put out runners, or long stems with smaller plants. Some strawberry varieties produce a lot of runners, and others only produce a few. You can prune off the runners if you have a small space, or allow them to grow into new plants.
Strawberry Plant Varieties
There are three major strawberry plant varieties. June bearing, everbearing, and day neutral strawberry plants all grow strawberries, but at different times during the growing season.
June bearing If you're looking for one big crop of strawberries each year with plenty of runners to fill your garden with new plants, then you'll want to plant June bearing (also called spring bearing) strawberry plants.
Everbearing plants produce two or three medium-sized crops of fruit each year, and sprout a few runners between harvests. Everbearing strawberries are a good compromise for people who want to increase the size of their gardens, but don't want to limit themselves to one harvest per year.
Day neutral strawberries produce small numbers of fruits throughout the growing season. They grow very few runners, which makes them a good choice for small gardens. If you'd rather eat a few strawberries for a snack then can them for preserves, then day neutral pants are a good choice.
Whichever variety you choose, careful planting and knowledge of the plant's anatomy will increase your harvest and keep your plants healthy for years to come.