Buying strawberry plants with nothing on their roots (they’re asleep, as it were, and don’t have any soil around the roots) is the cheapest and most common way to start a whole new lot of strawberries. Twenty-five of these ‘bare root’ plants will generally cost you less than just one strawberry in a pot at a garden store. Also, bare root plants frequently get going more quickly. From the very start they can push their roots right into your garden’s own soil, instead of having to adjust from the soil they were in a container. You’ll do best with them by planting at the correct time of year, at the proper depth, and in soil you’ve readied for them.
When to Plant Bare Root Strawberries
With bare root strawberries, get them in the ground in spring as soon as the ground isn’t frozen and you can actually work with the soil. Usually, that’s four to six weeks before you’re expecting the last frost. They’ll be ‘sleeping’ when they get to you and can handle cold earth, even a little frost, without being hurt. Planting them early means their roots have as long as possible to get settled before the hot summer. If you live somewhere with pretty mild winters (zones 7 to 10 in the USDA system) you can also plant bare root strawberries in the fall. This gives them the whole winter to grow roots in preparation for their first harvest in spring.
Preparing the Plants and the Soil
As soon as your bare root plants get to you, get them out of their packaging and put the roots into water that’s room temperature for one or two hours, so they can get moisture back. If any of the roots are really dry, are black, or are falling apart, cut those off with clean scissors. Where you’re going to plant them should get at least six, possibly eight, hours of sunshine a day and the soil needs to drain well, and have compost mixed in. Strawberries like soil that’s a little acidic, being in the 5.5 to 6.8 pH range. In fact, strawberries do really well in raised beds as they offer the good drainage these plants need.
The Critical Detail: Getting Planting Depth Right
Getting the depth right is the biggest thing for bare root strawberries to thrive, and it’s what beginners get wrong most often. Every bare root plant has a crown, the point where the roots attach to the stems of the leaves. This crown absolutely needs to be at the soil surface. It shouldn’t be covered by the soil, or it will rot, and it shouldn’t be sticking up above the soil, or the roots will become dry and the plant will die. You plant correctly by digging a hole that’s wide enough to let you spread the roots out in a sort of fan. Then make a little hill of soil in the bottom of the hole, lay the roots over the hill, and fill the hole with dirt up to the very bottom of the crown. After that, push the soil around the roots to make it solid and give the plant water right away, to help the soil settle and remove any air bubbles.
First-Season Management for Stronger Plants
If you’re growing June bearing strawberries, most strawberry growers say to get rid of all the blossoms the first year. You won’t get any strawberries the first year by doing this, but the plant will use all its strength to grow a good root system and a strong crown, and you’ll get a much bigger harvest in later years. Everbearing and day-neutral kinds of strawberries can produce fruit after you’ve taken off the first flowers that appear during the first six to eight weeks. After planting, putting a two or three inch layer of straw around the plants will hold in the water, stop weeds from growing, and keep the strawberries from getting dirty as they grow. And to get them going, they need regular water, about an inch a week, and especially during the first six weeks after planting, since that’s when the roots are doing the most growing.
Key Takeaway
If you want a lot of strawberries without spending a lot of money, bare root plants are the way to go to get a patch growing. Three things are really important for them to do well. You’ll want to get them in the ground early in the spring, while they’re still asleep, and the top of the root and stem (the crown) needs to be exactly at the soil surface, not too high and not too low. Also, with June-bearing kinds, pinch off the first flowers that show up. This lets the roots get stronger. If you get them going correctly, a bare root strawberry patch will give you loads of fruit for three to five years before you need to do a big tidy up and start over.
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