Strawberry advice needed..
 

Hello gardening experts,

Needing you advice regarding how to most sucesfully plant a strawberry seedling into a container - I found a seedling today and it's on my balcony in the shade to recover from the supermarket conditions.
Having read some info in the internet about strawberries and the threads here, the advice given seems very conflicting: other sites say strawberries need lots of water, others have experienced the opposite to be true..
Would it be best to let the seedling sit in its little pot a few days to get used to my warm balcony, to minimize the stress, or should I re-pot it ASAP?

And no, please do not tell me to contact my local gardening center and find out info there, there is not much help to be attainded that way :lol: This is a new varity from a Dutch company and it was sold in our Pan-European supermarket chain ..
Even though it did not cost much (strawberry seedlings usually do), I want to make the most of it and get some berries too.

Last winter killed our strawberry bushes that were on the ground (that happened to many gardeners due to the minimal snow), so I am trying to get some fruits in a container conditions. Hopefully it's live and thrive in my hot micro-climate.

And, the variety is called Tristan, it is especially bred for patio gardens. Very pretty in pictures.

Should I feed it a bit of my tomato feed when re-potting?

I've read that its better to not let the plant produce the first year you get it... I grow them in pots, they are not all that picky about watering conditions. I pay them the least amount of attention.

But if not the first year, I'll never get any fruit at all :D It's different in the ground.
Container strawberries are to be treated as annuals and replaced every year, that's the whole idea.
Just found a video about fertilizing etc..., she recommended adding something to the potting soil.

Pot it up and sit it in the shad e for a few days. plants are generally pretty resilient. Is it an everbearing? ... yes, treat it as if you were going to toss it at the end of the season. That is what we do with the container ones we grow. I don't have that variety, but your info is correct.

It's potted now :) I added tiny bit of composted chicken manure to the bottom, I hope it won't be too strong / too much of a nitrogen bomb. Might get a general garden fertilizer that's good for berries and vegetables.
Tristan F1 is an everbearing variety and, as it's bred for containers and small spaces, doesn't send out as many runners as strawberries usually do. it would have been fun to root some and give them to Mom... as she is left without strawberries after the frost killed hers in the ground.

This is relatively rare still in Finland and I only saw it today - the usual varieties are sold all over in the gardening centers, but this was in Lidl, the famous / infamous European cheapo chain that has all sorts of wonderful stuff ... :twisted:

Planting it at the correct depth is the most important factor.

It can't live in a sunny window in winter? Gary, you mean crown showing? I never pick the first flowers, I just let nature be nature and I get nice fruits.

I didn't pinch the flowers. Anyway, it seems to be thriving... for now.
Hopefully the depth was good - all instructions stated the crown should not be buried too deep or it might rot. I planted it at the same depth it was in the seedling pot, hopefully it'll root soon.

It's related to the ornamental 'Pink Panda' strawberry variety that has little or no fruit: my parents had that flower in the 90's. Will be a hoot to show this to them and tell them it has some strange inbreeding in it.

I don't think you'll get very many strawberries if you grow them only as annuals.

(Of course, some may be much better than none -- even if it isn't very many.) :twisted:

You might open another browser window and look at this site

http:// strawberryplants. org

(Remove the spaces -- I've been trying to avoid posting direct outside of Tomatoville links any more than necessary, as a few months ago Mischka said something about them running up his bandwidth bill -- don't know if he meant all such links or just certain categories, but don't want to contribute to running up his expenses if I can avoid it.)

That is a *great* site on strawberries -- has a section on containers, but lots in many other sections on specific aspects of successful growing in containers as well -- including a variety of ways to overwinter container strawberries. As I recall, he says that you can keep them inside as Deborah suggested, but that it will shorten and reduce effectiveness of their productive life, as they really need a dormant spell.

Be sure to read the questions under the articles, too, as they are actually intelligently answered -- sometimes with a question-specific reply, sometimes with something along the lines of 'I get this question a lot, go here for explanation.'

Really great site for strawberry info!

PS I don't think they sell strawberry plants or seeds themselves, but they have lists of links to sources, by variety. I strongly recommend that anyone using those lists check out the prospective sources via something like the "Scoop on ___" pages at davesgarden, as there is a *lot* of difference in customer satisfaction for the sites listed.

JLJ; I already been at that site - and found the info on container growing.
Yes, the consensus seems to be that container strawberries are to be treated as annuals and they're supposed to produce a lot in that short period. Anyway, in our climate, over-wintering would not work; it's too cold, and indoors it's dark.
The only way to overwinter would be to re-plant it in a flower bed before frost.

Here's a pic of Tristan from the Bonnie Plants:

[URL]https://contentzone-bonnieplants1.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/tristan-strawberry-web.jpg[/URL]

From the breeding company:
[url]http://abz-strawberry.nl/en/products/aardbeiteler/tristan-f1-1[/url]

The plant is still alive, continues to flourish, so apparently it took root. I have been watering it sparsely to avoid root rot, but now that it's very sunny and hot, I gave it some water (not too much)..
A visit to my gardening center yesterday gave some new ideas, as the lady of the center told me it's a myth that strawberries don't need much fert... I will give it a small dose of some organic fert in a few weeks time, after it's properly set down.

"I don't think you'll get very many strawberries if you grow them only as annuals"
Everbearing can be treated as annuals.. which we do. We grow inside a high tunnel in tubes suspended from the purlins (which is no real economical advantage, trust me.. I was humoring my husband with the project...yes, dear just go ahead and order the crowns and get them planted up..)



..." as the lady of the center told me it's a myth that strawberries don't need much fert... I will give it a small dose of some organic fert in a few weeks time, after it's properly set down."
yes, this is true... they are pretty heavy feeders. we fertilize regularly.

Just reporting the happy news: the plant is still alive, and the first red berry is ready to be eaten soon ... :cute:
I'm happily surprised it has survived this long, with all the conficting growing information (no feeding until autumn/ regular feeding/etc...).. This is more of a balancing act than growing tomatoes, but I am learning.
The flowers are pretty and the leaves lovely green, so I am hopeful it'll produce the entire season.