When to plant strawberries

Strawberries goes in by the calendar of your frost dates. Type your town to see the dates for your weather station.

The seed packet, in short

Strawberries planting dates by zone

Each row uses the typical frost dates of a zone: the middle value among towns of 10,000 people or more in it. In zone 6b, for example, the typical last frost is Apr 20, so the first step for strawberries, plant bare-root crowns, falls Mar 23 to Apr 20. Towns in one zone can differ by two weeks, so your own town's dates above are the better guide.

Good to know about strawberries

• Set the plant so the roots are fully covered but the middle of the crown stays at the soil line; a buried crown rots and exposed roots dry out.
• In the North, pinch off flowers the first spring on June-bearing types so plants build roots and runners for next year's crop.
• Day-neutral and everbearing types are spaced closer (about 12 inches) and can fruit from midsummer of the planting year once early flowers are removed.
• In cold areas, cover beds with about 2 inches of clean straw once the ground starts to freeze and pull it back as growth starts in spring.

How to plant strawberries

• Choose a spot in full sun with well-drained soil; skip low, wet areas, and use raised beds if your soil is heavy clay.
• Aim for a slightly acid soil, roughly pH 6.0 to 6.5.
• For June-bearing plants in a matted row, set plants about 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart and let runners fill in the row.
• Everbearing and day-neutral plants do well about 12 inches apart in double rows, with runners removed as they form.
• Soak bare-root plants briefly before planting and never let the roots dry out.

Types that change the timing

• June-bearing types give one large crop over about 2 to 3 weeks in late spring or early summer.
• Everbearing types bear an early summer crop and a second crop in late summer or fall.
• Day-neutral types flower and fruit in waves from summer into fall, slowing down in hot weather.
• June-bearing varieties are sold as early, mid or late season; early ones bloom first and face more risk from late spring frost.

Common mistakes

• Skipping renovation of June-bearing beds after harvest leaves them crowded, and crowded beds give small berries.
• Buying plants that are not certified disease-free can bring problems into a new bed.

Warm and cold regions

• Zones 3-6: Plant dormant bare-root plants in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, roughly April to early May; avoid planting after June 1. Matted rows of June-bearers give a first real crop the next summer.
• Zones 7-8: Spring matted-row planting still works, but many gardeners use the annual hill system: set plants from mid-September to early November and pick the next spring.
• Zones 9-10: Treat strawberries as a fall-planted annual: set plants from late September to early November, harvest through winter and spring, and replant each fall.

First harvest

Spring-planted June-bearers are picked the following year (flowers removed the first year); fall-set plants in the South fruit the next spring, from late March near the coast to late April in the mountains.