Can I plant strawberries out now?

[IndigoElectron]

I've just received my strawberry plants from Mr Fothergill's, it says to plant them as soon as possible but doesn't say what time of year. I don't have much space indoors, so can I plant them out now? The weather has been quite variable but warmer recently (it's currently 15.5 C according to my weather compensator). I have some frost protection fabric that I can put over them (it has holes to let light in).

Thanks

[Two_Sheds]

Your "weather compensator" (is that a thermometer?) needs to be in the shade, not in a sunny spot or you'll get false readings.

Yes, we're getting sunny days at last, but your plants have to be outside at night as well ~ what are your night temps?


Strawbs are cold hardy once they're established, however nothing should be planted out in cold wet claggy soil (I lost about 20 in pots this winter ~ they were permanently flooded).

April is the very best time to plant out new strawbs, when the soil's warmed up a little. In the meantime, pot them up into 3" pots or larger cell trays. They should be outside in the daylight, not in the house

[Kristen]

Strawberry plants are often "cold treated" which, once planted, makes them get a wiggle on and then flower & fruit in relatively few weeks. Such plants can be planted at any time (in the growing season) in order to get a crop outside the normal season that they would flower & fruit in, so I am guessing that the "plant as soon as you get them" is referring to the fact that they have had that treatment (next year they will revert to flowering & fruiting at the normal time for their variety). Either way, it will be fine to plant them out now - provided the ground is not frosted (EDIT: nor waterlogged as TS said). I doubt they will need frost protection fabric, but it certainly won't do any harm if you have some spare.

If they are in pots, and have spent a life under glass, they would need some hardening off before planting out.

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Two Sheds. The weather compensator (yes, the part outside is a thermometer) is indeed in the shade, on a north facing wall. My installer didn't know where it was meant to go and tried to put it in the sun, but I put them right I haven't checked the night time temps, but was wondering if the frost protection fabric would protect them at night.

They are going in hanging baskets (self-watering) and a strawberry planter (the type with pockets in the sides) if it makes a difference. Am I right in thinking they will provide better drainage, so I don't need to worry about the soil being waterlogged?

I can put them in 3" pots, no problem, but as you said they need to be outside in daylight, how is putting them in 3" pots different from planting them in the baskets or planter? Or do you mean put them out during the day and bring them in at night?

Thanks Kristen. They aren't in pots, they are bundled together and have bare roots, so seem to be the type you describe.

[Kristen]

They aren't in pots, they are bundled together and have bare roots, so seem to be the type you describe.

I would plant up your hanging baskets now then. The trouble, as such, with pots / baskets is that on a cold night the cold is all around the soil (whereas a plant in the ground has some warmth coming up from below - the centre of the earth is nice and hot )

So if you are worried about them, and if (seems unlikely this year) that we get cold nights, you could perhaps fetch them in - hang them in the garage or a shed or somesuch - for the night. They obviously don't need light at night - and even for a day or two if we had really cold days (also seems unlikely this year, but could happen of course).

[Kristen]

P.S. One other relevant point is that, at this time of the year, any cold overnight is quite short - temperature falls to about 4am or 5am and then starts to rise again, so the length of time of overnight cold is shorter than in, say, December, when the nights are longer. It takes time for that cold to penetrate into the soil in the pot / hanging basket ... so even on a cold night, if the cold is only for a few hours it is unlikely to be a problem.

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Kristen

[rustylady]

I can put them in 3" pots, no problem, but as you said they need to be outside in daylight, how is putting them in 3" pots different from planting them in the baskets or planter? Or do you mean put them out during the day and bring them in at night?

Thanks Kristen. They aren't in pots, they are bundled together and have bare roots, so seem to be the type you describe.

As they are bare root plants I would plant them individually into 3" pots and put them outside somewhere sheltered. My reason for individual pots is that you will be able to see which plants start to grow (you may well lose some) before putting them into their permanent positions.

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Rustylady. I'm not quite sure where I could put them that is sheltered and gets enough light, but I'll have a think. My blowaway should be here soon, so that might do. How long would you wait before putting them in their final position, is it just until they show signs of new growth?

[Two_Sheds]

I assumed you were planting them in the ground, not in baskets.


tbh, they won't do as well as if they were in the ground: all the strawbs I've attempted in baskets & towers have succumbed to drought and/or aphids.

I did see successful tubs for strawbs (at Holt Hall), they were 2ft across and 1ft deep

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks Two Sheds. I'll see how I get on this time, they'll need to be replaced in 3 years so if the containers don't work out I'll try to find room in the ground. I've only got a small garden so had to make decisions about what was going in the ground and what was going in pots.

[Penellype]

Hmm, I seem to break all the rules around here. I grew 12 Elsanta in a terracotta strawberry pot last year, forgetting about putting a special drainage channel down the middle, and leaving the pot standing in water most days. I got a lovely crop and all 12 plants are still alive. I also bought 30 new bare rooted plants of 3 different varieties in February and planted them straight into tower pots. Some of them went into the growhouse but they wouldn't all fit so the others went straight outside. They are all fine, although the ones in the growhouse are growing faster than the ones outside.

[fishpond]

2 Years ago, all the strawberries I grew in planters and baskets were infested with vine weevil.
Last year in big pots, not very good (watering and feeding) but plenty of rooted runners, this year in the ground ready for next year(if I can find the available space for a 3 year bed for them)
Vine weevil really are a pain, ended up drowning the bare rooted plants for 24 hours to get rid of all of the weevils.
Hope you fare better.

[IndigoElectron]

Thanks both. It's my first year of growing so I think I just need to get on with it. If things don't work then I'll try something different next time. Penellype, what type of growhouse do you have?