FruitStraightforward

Strawberry

Fragaria × ananassa

A perennial that is treated as a three-year crop: plants lose vigour and accumulate virus, so a bed is replaced in rotation from its own runners or from certified stock. It suits almost every growing system in this catalogue — ground, containers, vertical planters and soilless systems — which makes it the most adaptable fruit GrowingHQ holds.

Position: Full sun or Partial shade
Water: moderate demand
Drainage: Free-draining, Moisture-retentive
Grows to: 20–30 cm × 30–45 cm
Hardiness: H6
Harvest: June and July
Difficulty: Straightforward

Described view

Strawberry plants with straw tucked underneath, ripening berries resting clear of the soil on top of it

August

Plant · Prune · Take cuttings

Strawberry’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	M	A	M	J	J	A	S
Plant	March.	April.				August.	September.
In flower		April.	May.
Harvest				June.	July.
Prune					July.	August.
Take cuttings					July.	August.	September.

Names that cause confusion

alpine strawberry — Fragaria vesca — a different species with tiny intensely flavoured fruit, grown from seed and producing few or no runners.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Pollination

Whether one plant on its own will set fruit, and what has to be true if it will not.

One plant on its own will crop.

Self-fertility: Self-fertile
Partner needed: No partner needed
Pollen moved by: InsectsSourced guidanceDepends on conditions

Where the pollination figures come from

Self-fertilitySourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Partner neededSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Pollen moved bySourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence

Applies when: Self-fertile, but every seed on the outside of the fruit needs pollinating for the berry to swell evenly. Misshapen strawberries are usually incomplete pollination — common under cover, where insects cannot reach the flowers.

Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Strawberry pollination

Checked 2026-08-13

Which of these will pollinate which

Worked out from flowering groups and ploidy for the 4 cultivars GrowingHQ holds — a small fraction of those in cultivation. A cultivar that is not listed has not been ruled out; it has not been recorded. Read a row as “this cultivar’s pollen reaches…”.

Pollen from	Cambridge Favourite	Honeoye	Mara des Bois	Symphony
Cambridge Favourite	—	not known	not known	not known
Honeoye	not known	—	not known	not known
Mara des Bois	not known	not known	—	not known
Symphony	not known	not known	not known	—

Cambridge Favourite crops on its own.

The long-standing British mid-season strawberry: dependable rather than outstanding, and forgiving of indifferent conditions. Still the safe choice for a first bed.

Honeoye crops on its own.

An early summer-fruiting strawberry: one concentrated crop in early summer, then runners. Reliable and heavy cropping; grey mould in a wet June is its weakness, which straw or matting under the fruit reduces.

Mara des Bois crops on its own.

A perpetual (everbearing) strawberry: instead of one concentrated crop it fruits in flushes from midsummer to autumn. Total yield is lower than a summer-fruiting cultivar; the flavour, with a wild-strawberry character, is why people grow it.

Symphony crops on its own.

A late summer-fruiting strawberry, extending the season by two or three weeks after Cambridge Favourite finishes. Planting an early, a mid and a late cultivar gives a season rather than a fortnight.

Rootstocks

No rootstock to choose

Grown on their own roots and propagated from runners — the plantlets a mother plant produces on long stolons through summer.

Pruning and training

Every piece of fruit pruning advice follows from one fact: where the plant carries next year's crop.

Fruits on: A perennial crown

There is no woody framework to prune. The plant is managed by dividing, replacing or removing spent growth instead.

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

There is no woody framework. The plant is managed by removing spent leaves and runners, and by replacing the crown every few years.

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Cutting the wrong wood does not damage the plant. It removes the crop, and the loss is not visible until the following summer.

Forms it can be grown as

Open bush

source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

Not trained in any meaningful sense; grown as individual crowns.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Annual maintenanceJuly, August
Remove the old foliage after fruiting so light and air reach the crown, and take off runners unless new plants are wanted.
After the last picking, cut the old leaves off about 10 cm above the crown, taking care not to damage the crown itself, and clear away the straw and debris. The plant regrows a fresh canopy before winter.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13

What you are committing to

Fruit is a multi-year decision. These are the numbers a nursery label rarely carries.

First worthwhile crop: 1–1 years
Productive life: 3–4 years
Propagated by: Runners
Fruit type: Strawberry

Where these figures come from

First worthwhile cropSourced guidancehigh confidence

Plants set out in late summer crop the following June; spring-planted ones are usually deflowered in year one to build the plant.

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Productive lifeSourced guidancehigh confidence

Cropping declines markedly after the third year as virus accumulates, so beds are replaced in rotation.

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Propagated bySourced guidancehigh confidence

Peg runners into pots of compost while still attached to the parent, then sever once rooted.

Royal Horticultural Society: Propagating strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Keeping it: A day or two at best. Freezes only as purée; the texture does not survive.

source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Commercial strawberries are bred to survive transport. A cultivar chosen for flavour and picked warm is a different fruit entirely.

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Direct sun: 6 hours a day or more
Frost: Very hardySourced guidanceDepends on conditions
Hardiness rating: H6 (RHS)
Soil: Loam, Peat-free compost, Silt
Soil pH: 5.5–6.5
Drainage: Free-draining, Moisture-retentive
Water needs: moderate
Drought: poor tolerance
Waterlogging: poor tolerance
Heat: moderate tolerance
Wind and exposure: moderate tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Direct sunHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence

Applies when: The plant is hardy; the open flowers are damaged by frost, showing a blackened centre.

Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberries — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancehigh confidence

University of Minnesota Extension — University of Minnesota: Soil pH for fruit crops

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Strawberry will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Works, with one condition	Strawberry will crop on sandy, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Chalky and alkaline	Struggles here	Strawberry struggles on chalky and alkaline: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 6.5, and this soil sits around 7.8 to 8.5. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Strawberry as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. There is ample rooting depth for it.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Strawberry as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Silt is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. There is ample rooting depth for it.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Strawberry will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Works, with one condition	Strawberry will crop on shallow over rock, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It has little drought tolerance and this soil dries out fast — it will check and bolt in the first dry spell without watering.Water and mulch will carry it through. On this soil the watering is not optional in a dry spell, which is the difference between a crop and a failure.
Made ground and urban soil	Struggles here	Strawberry struggles on made ground and urban soil: The soil is substantially too alkaline for it: it wants pH 5.5 to 6.5, and this soil sits around 7.2 to 7.8. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold. A container or a raised bed of imported soil sidesteps the problem entirely.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 20–30 cm
Mature spread: 30–45 cm
Rooting depth: 20–30 cm
Spacing: 35–45 cm apart
Row spacing: 75 cm

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13
Row spacingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

In a container

Minimum volume: 5 litres or more
Minimum depth: 20 cm

Where the container figures come from

Minimum volumeSourced guidancehigh confidence

Per plant. Strawberries are among the few fruit that crop properly in a genuinely small container.

Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberries in containers

Checked 2026-08-13

Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Ideal in pots, and better in them than in the ground where slugs are bad. Replace the plants every three years: cropping falls away sharply after that and no amount of feeding brings it back.

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries Checked 2026-08-13	Straw or mats under the fruit; Netting
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	Better drainage and easier picking.
Container	Well suited source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberries in containers Checked 2026-08-13	5 litres per plant; Consistent wateringKeeps the fruit off the soil, which deals with both slugs and grey mould.
Vertical growing	Well suited source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Small, shallow-rooted and pendant-fruiting — the crop stacked planters were designed for. Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberries in containers Checked 2026-08-13
Hydroponics	Well suited source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Soilless strawberry production Checked 2026-08-13	One of the two or three most successful soilless fruit crops, grown commercially in substrate at scale.
Polytunnel	Well suited source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	Advances the crop by weeks and keeps rain off the fruit.
Greenhouse	Workable source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	Hand pollination if insects cannot reach the flowers
Cold frame	Workable source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13
Aquaponics	Workable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Aquaponic fruiting crops Checked 2026-08-13
Windowsill	Marginal source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence Will grow and flower; light levels and the absence of pollinating insects usually make the crop token. No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

MulchingTuck straw or fibre mats under the plants once the fruit begins to swell. It keeps the berries off wet soil, which is the main defence against grey mould and slugs — and it is where the name comes from.
ProtectionNet before the fruit colours. Birds take strawberries the day before you would have.
PropagationPeg two or three runners per plant into pots of compost in midsummer, sever them once rooted, and use them to start a new bed. Replacing a third of the bed each year keeps the whole planting productive without ever buying plants again.
ThinningRemove runners from plants being grown for fruit. A plant putting energy into runners is not putting it into berries.
WateringWater at the base and keep it off the crown and the fruit, because wet fruit sitting on wet leaves is how grey mould starts. The plants are shallow-rooted and need the most water while the fruit is swelling; after picking they can be left much drier. Plants in growing bags or containers dry out faster than anything else in the garden.
FeedingApply a high-potassium liquid feed every one to two weeks from when the first flowers open until the last fruit is picked. Nitrogen-rich feed before flowering gives large leafy plants carrying very little fruit, which is the commonest mistake made with them.

Where this guidance comes from

MulchingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13
ProtectionSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Protecting fruit from birds
Checked 2026-08-13
PropagationSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Propagating strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13
ThinningHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13
WateringSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberries — watering
Checked 2026-08-13
FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberries — feeding
Checked 2026-08-13

The rule is the same in all four: the new piece needs both a growing point and roots of its own. A cutting is the exception that has to make its roots afterwards, which is why the node matters so much.

Is it worth putting under cover?

Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.

Structure	What protection is worth	What decides it
Greenhouse	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Fruiting date. A protected strawberry crops two to three weeks early and stays clean, which is the whole commercial case for the crop under cover.
Polytunnel	Extends the season source GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file. GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ Checked 2026-08-13	Fruiting date, and rain exclusion. This is the single largest protected crop in British horticulture and it is grown under tunnels rather than glass for exactly the reason it is marginal in a small greenhouse: the area is cheap.

Growing it without soil

Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.

Well suited

An established soilless crop. Grown this way commercially or routinely by home growers, with predictable results.

source

Sourced guidancehigh confidence

Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Soilless strawberry production

Checked 2026-08-13

The most successful soilless fruit crop, grown commercially in substrate at large scale.

Techniques that suit it

Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.
Ebb and flowA bed of inert medium floods and drains on a timer. The medium holds moisture between floods, which makes it far more tolerant of interruption than NFT.

Sourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence

Applies when: Substrate systems rather than bare-root water culture — the crown must stay dry, and sitting a strawberry crown in solution rots it.

Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Soilless strawberry production

Checked 2026-08-13

Root space: Small and shallow, which is why stacked and gutter systems suit it so well.
Support: None needed, but fruit should hang clear of the medium to stay clean and dry.
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Lighting: Needs supplementary light
pH band: 5.5–6.5

Where these figures come from

Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
LightingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence: Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Soilless strawberry production
Checked 2026-08-13

What actually goes wrong

Incomplete pollination. Every seed on the outside needs pollinating for the berry to swell evenly, and indoors there are no insects — misshapen fruit is the result, not disease.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Strawberry pollination
Checked 2026-08-13
Crown rot from a crown kept wet. The roots go in the medium; the crown stays above it.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Cornell Fruit Resources — Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Soilless strawberry production
Checked 2026-08-13
pH drift. The solution moves as the plants take nutrients up, and by the time deficiency symptoms appear on the leaves the cause is several weeks old.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH
Checked 2026-08-13

No nutrient recipes here

GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.

Harvesting

When it is readyPick when fully red all over, including under the calyx, and warm from the sun. Strawberries do not ripen further after picking.
How to pick itPinch the stalk rather than pulling the berry, which bruises it.
Keeping itA day or two. Do not wash until eating.

Where the harvest guidance comes from

When it is readyHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Growing strawberries
Checked 2026-08-13
How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Keeping itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Keep picking

Regular picking keeps this plant producing. Fruit or leaves left to mature signal it to slow down or stop.

What goes wrong

Problem	How often	Notes
Vine weevil	common source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	The grubs eat the roots of container-grown plants with no sign above ground until the plant collapses.
Grey mould	common source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Grey mould (botrytis) Checked 2026-08-13	The biggest single cause of losses in a wet summer, and it infects at flowering rather than when the mould appears.
Slugs and snails	common source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Slugs and snails Checked 2026-08-13
Bird damage	common source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Birds and fruit Checked 2026-08-13
Powdery mildew	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13
Strawberry leaf spot	common source Sourced guidancehigh confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Strawberry — leaf spot Checked 2026-08-13	Disfiguring and almost never costly — the plants crop through it, and its main diagnostic value is ruling out something worse.
Poor fruit set	occasional source Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13	Misshapen fruit under cover, where insects cannot reach the flowers.

Start from what you can see

Dark or black spots on leaves

What to look for

Views that settle something a description cannot. Where the photograph has not been taken yet, the description of what it will show is here instead — which is the useful half of it either way.

Described view

A strawberry runner pegged into a small pot of compost while still attached to the parent plant

Root it before severing it — the parent feeds the plantlet until it can stand alone.

Grown with, grown after, grown instead

Every relationship states its mechanism. A pairing nobody can explain is a pairing nobody has checked, and it does not go in.

Follows on fromLettuce
A strawberry bed is replaced roughly every three years, and the ground it vacates in late summer is free at exactly the point salad crops can use it. The relationship is one of timing and bed rotation rather than any interaction between the plants.
Sourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence
Applies when: A sequencing benefit only. No soil-chemistry or pest interaction is claimed.
Royal Horticultural Society: Crop rotation
Checked 2026-08-13

Sources for this page

Cornell Fruit Resources · Purdue Extension · Royal Horticultural Society · University of Minnesota Extension

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-13.

If something is wrong with it

Spreading brown or black patches on leaves and stems — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for strawberry
Holes eaten in leaves — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for strawberry

Something else? Work through it with the diagnostic tool.