Strawberry plants do not actually weaken or wear out or "get spent" when they get to year 3 or 4. What actually happens is the strawberry mother plant grows too large with too many crowns to support a viable crop. In other words, it crowds itself out. You can dig up the mother plant from the ground, raised bed, container, or pot, and separate the crowns into new plants. (I once got 14 new plants from one mother plant), but mileage may vary from plant to plant. After separating the crowns, pot them up in 4 or 5 inch nursery pots with some good quality potting mix. Be sure not to burry that little crown. Keep the soil moist but not drenched and make sure they get at least 8 hours of light per day. Put them under a grow light if necessary. In just a few weeks, you should have a bunch of new strawberry plants ready to transplant into your garden, raised beds, or pots.
We got ours from Stark Brothers online; I am in Zone 6 but their site allows you to filter by USDA zone. Most strawberries to my knowledge are hardy to Zone 4, so you should be ok 👍
Hi, for the first year, yes, that's the 'expert' advice--it helps with a stronger, healthier plant and higher harvests in subsequent years. People who do it have told me it's worth it. I am just impatient so I planted the fall before. ;)
Strawberry plants do not actually weaken or wear out or "get spent" when they get to year 3 or 4. What actually happens is the strawberry mother plant grows too large with too many crowns to support a viable crop. In other words, it crowds itself out.
You can dig up the mother plant from the ground, raised bed, container, or pot, and separate the crowns into new plants. (I once got 14 new plants from one mother plant), but mileage may vary from plant to plant.
After separating the crowns, pot them up in 4 or 5 inch nursery pots with some good quality potting mix. Be sure not to burry that little crown. Keep the soil moist but not drenched and make sure they get at least 8 hours of light per day. Put them under a grow light if necessary.
In just a few weeks, you should have a bunch of new strawberry plants ready to transplant into your garden, raised beds, or pots.
Nice! My only experiment has been 'rescuing' established plants from my prior house when we sold it--followed a similar approach.
Great idea on doing that
So far, no regrets. I would've had more selection if I bought them in the spring, but the Ozark Beauty variety is going gangbusters for us.
Where do you buy your strawberry plants from? Which variety is best for zone 5?
We got ours from Stark Brothers online; I am in Zone 6 but their site allows you to filter by USDA zone. Most strawberries to my knowledge are hardy to Zone 4, so you should be ok 👍
@@WellGroundedGardens thank you very much.
So if I plant in the spring, I should figure on no harvest because I need to pick all blossomes?
Hi, for the first year, yes, that's the 'expert' advice--it helps with a stronger, healthier plant and higher harvests in subsequent years. People who do it have told me it's worth it. I am just impatient so I planted the fall before. ;)