Planting Strawberries: As Food, As Ornament, or As Groundcover
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When planting strawberries, you can cultivate them not just for food. They also make good groundcover and as ornamental plants.
Types of Strawberry Plants There are three choices: June Bearing, Everbearing, and Day Neutral. The selection for each category of strawberries is growing. Ask your local nursery for recommendation which variety is best for your area. The June Bearing Strawberries The June Bearing is commonly grown traditionally. It produces many runners, and has the largest fruits of the three selections. It produces just once per year. As the name implies, most of the fruit ripening occurs in June. Some varieties include Cavendish, L'Amour, Earliglow, Cornwallis, Kent., etc . The June Bearing has a wide assortment. Ask your local nursery about them. The Everbearing Strawberries The Everbearing bears fruits sporadically. It usually produces in the spring and in late summer, but do not expect much from it during the remainder of the growing season. The Everbearing variety does not produce many runners like the June Bearing. Some varieties include Gem, Arapahoe, Ozark Beauty, Geneva, etc. Thus far, there are 11 varieties available. Ask your local nursery about them. The Day Neutral Strawberries The Day Neutral is an improved variety of Everbearing strawberries. It bears fruits all of growing season, but does better during cooler weather. Like the Everbearing, the Day Neutral also produces few runners. The varieties include Seascape, Tristar, and Tribute. The newest variety is the Everest, which may cause some problems with winterizing. When Selecting Strawberry Plants Since plants from previous plantings are usually infected with disease, purchase new ones from reputable garden centers or nurseries. Whatever variety you have chosen, they should be certified as free of disease. Look at the size of the plants’ crowns: you want them large. Look at the color of the roots: they need to look healthy with light color. If you cannot plant them right away, place the plants in a plastic bag with peat moss around the roots so that they do not dry out. If you have dry roots, you will have soon-to-die plants. Store the plants in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, but plant within two weeks, at the latest. If You Cannot Plant Immediately If you cannot plant right away after purchase, carefully place the strawberry plants in a plastic bag with peat moss. Have sufficient peat moss so that the plant roots are properly protected from drying out. Otherwise, your strawberry plants will die! Keep the plastic bag in your refrigerator. The ideal temperature is between 32 to 40ºF. Plants can be safely stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Requirements for Strawberry Plants
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