Planting strawberries HELP!?!?

I've planted 100 strawberry plants this spring and all of them have died..ugh What is the proper way to plant them? The first 50 were planted according to the instructions that they came with, which were... plant them with the roots spread out flat like your fingers spread open. All of those plants died within a week. I assumed they were just "bad" plants. So with my next 50 (different nursery), I (unfortunately) planted them the same way, roots spread out not down. Of course those ones died as well.... actually 3 of them survived and I have now replanted them with the roots down not out. They aren't looking too good though.

Any suggestions?? My soil was treated a month prior to planting them with peat, rotted manure and MG garden soil...all of which was tilled together properly. All of my other veggies (which are on a separate side of the house but, soil treated the same) and my tomatoes (which are seperated from the strawberries too) are growing beautifully.

Am I just a "brown thumb" when it comes to strawberries or am I just planting them wrong all together. Any help would be greatly appreciated :o)

~melissa~

Are you watering them in, then daily after that? I just stuck mine in the ground - didn't do the root spreading thing 'cus I hadn't heard that. Are they getting enough sun?

My first batch I thought I didn't water enough.. watered in after planting, then every other day after that. Second batch I thought I watered too much.. watered in after planting, then every day after that.

They get sun all day long, no shade, no bugs, no fertilizer..uh oh, should I have used fertilizer?

Did you plant the crowns too low in the ground?

I don't know what too low would be?? I planted them with about 1/2 inch of the crown above the soil... is that to low?

That might be a bit too high.

It's the only thing I can think of if the plants were watered well.

mmm, okay I'll plant the new ones that I have on order (diff company again) lower then right? What about the watering.. should I be doing daily or every other day and for how long do they need to be watered that much?

I really do appreciate the help :o)

I planted mine at the same level in the bed, as they were in their seedling dirt.

I would water everyday for the first few days (but not too much), then cut it back to every other day, when you see new growth starting. Mine are well established at this point, and I deep water them once a week, with maybe a light watering in between if it doesn't rain.

Make sure there are no air pockets under the plants or around the sides when you plant them, also.

Awesome... thank you so much for you help. I have 50 new plants that will be here monday, so I will take your advice and keep my fingers crossed :o)

Someone correct me if I am wrong but May sounds like an odd time to plant strawberries.

I know... I started planting my strawberries in March of this year and as you can see in my initial post, they are all dying. I live in So.CA so I'm still able to get replacements and new orders shipped to me right now. I will have my 50 replacements of Monday an an additional 50 within a week after that. I'm just trying to figure out what it is that i may have done wrong?? I am a newbie gardener, so I wanted some advice from others who have planted starwberries with success.

All my other plants are doing just wonderfully.
~melissa~

Oh, hey, a thought just occurred - are the plants you're buying being grown in a greenhouse? If so, they're probably dying from the shock of shipping, then being put out in the elements too quickly. They may need to be "hardened off" before you put them in the ground.

When I buy plants thru the mail, I let them rest for a couple of days before I do anything with them. I usually stick them under the table on my deck where they'll get light, but no direct sunlight, and just water them. After 2-3 days, I put them out in a dappled sun area for a day or so, then plant them. I make sure they're looking "perky" before I put them out.

When I got mine, they were plugs just pulled from the earth, then mailed. I stuck the plugs in planter boxes full of germination soil and they were there for a couple of weeks before I planted them in their bed. I lost 25% of what was shipped to me before I got them in the ground, but the rest flourished.

SC, that's a good thought. Since I have two orders coming to me, I will deffinately try the hardening off idea w/ the ones I get on monday....that idea makes a lot of sense, especially since I do get fun sun all day in the area where i am planting them.

You've been such a great help :o) I will let you know how mondays' batch goes..keeping my fingers crossed!!

UGH!! I dunno, I think it's deffinately me at this point :o( I planted the 50 replacements after letting them harden off in a shaded area on my patio for 2 days, then planted in ground and watered them in, then watered them daily. I didn't water them for 3 days when we received some nice steady rain. I have 8 that are still alive :o( I'll admit that these 8 that are left actually look a lot better than any of the other ones that I have planted in the past. mmmfff

Should I give up? Brown thumb in the strawberry dept. LOL!!

OR, should I try yet one more time, but this next time plant them at a different time of year? and if so when is a good time for So.Cal, zone 9a?

This is what I did with my bare root strawberries and I have had good luck this way, after the first year of killing mine. I took the entire bundles and put them in the ground in the shade in the coolest area I had (my bare roots were very dry looking on arrival) buried up to the crowns and kept them cool and watered until I saw sprouting. I then took the bundles and planted them out individually in their bed. All but two of mine grew and I planted a hundred. I think they need to rehydrate and sprout to gain a little before going in the ground. Even the roots looked more white and lively. This seems to work for me. They really took off and I only lost the two tiniest ones.

Oh, Santee. :(((( You must feel so discouraged at this point! I have to hand it to you for being determined enough to keep trying. I'm fresh out any ideas at this point, tho, 'cus I'm no expert gardener.

Lavender, you did a lot better than I did, percentage wise! I think maybe the "Ignorance is Bliss" thing worked in my favor when I did mine and I lucked out. Now I'm a little fearful about planting more! lol

Keep us posted, Santee, and if I think of anything else I'll post. ;)

The ones that took will spread. You'll have a hundred plants from those 8 by the end of the season.

I planted 50 plants in two different areas of my garden and all are alive. I have really good soil because I throw shredded leaves and straw on it every year.

I dug a hole planted strawberry in hole with out any of the root ticking out. I did not spred them out too much. I did not fertilize at all. I watered once and covered with straw.

I planted in late April and still had a couple frosty days which did not hurt them. They don't mind cooler weather. I haven't watered because we have gotten enough rain and we have only had about 8 real hot days so far. I'm ready for some consistant warmer weather.

Thank you SC.... honestly your help and responses are keeping me going ;o)

UPDATE: LOL!! I got the other 50 plants from a diff. nursery (SpringHill) again, today. These ones looked REALLY healthy!!! I got them all in the ground and watered them again. This time, I dunked each plant in a bucket of water and then panted them in the ground. The planting instructions for these ones were extremely helpful and completely different from what my first orders and replacements (CottageFarms) instructions were.

QUESTION:Maybe DigMontana can help me on this one :o)
I haven't done this, but I've heard some others do.....Should I put mulch around them now?? and if so, when?? I mean should I wait to see if I get any good progress from these ones, or should I do it now, that is if I even should? BTW, the mulch that I do have on hand is coir mulch.

Okay, let's keep our fingers crossed. I know it may be a little late in the season now, but hopefully I will have strawberries coming out of my ears next year!!LOL!!

Thank you ALL for all of the advice, help and encouragment, I surely do appreciate all of it.

SC- I will deffinately keep you posted. The 50 I planted today are the last ones going in for this season. So I hope to get something. If anything, I'm hoping this thread will help other out there that may be experiencing the same problems I am :o)

Interesting that the previous place didn't give watering advice.

I sprayed the roots of my plants with water every other day until I could plant them, and I kept them wrapped in wet paper towels. When I planted out, I put all the bare root plants in a bucket with enough water to cover the roots and kept them like that as I planted them. I lost 1 in 25 plants.

Got my plants from Indiana Berry.

I mulched mine with straw right from the very beginning of planting them. I also had 25 Strawberries in a patch from last fall that I had straw on all winter. When the snow melted I removed the wet straw, waited a week or so and put dry straw around them. I try not to let the straw touch the stem. We don't dry out real fast in the spring here.

I would definately much yours since you live in a hot area.

feldon- I know, I got really bad advice from them on the berries, all the flowers I get from them grow wonderfully though :o)

DigM- Thank you... I will deffinately do that, so the coir mulch will work??

I do not know what coir is.

:o) oops... it's the shavings from the outside of coconuts, the brown, stringy stuff. I buy it in blocks from Gardener's Supply, you can also get it from Home Depot. It's 100% organic.

Another thought - some large garden centers sell potted strawberries, already growing.

Oh boy, I hope I don't have to do that :o) I did cheat and buy 2 pepper plants when the 6 a plated from seedlings looked like they weren't gonna make it. Now the ones I started myself are bigger than the ones I bought... go figure.

Recently read on Dave's that coir is not good for using for some plants. Unable to find my way back to the exact place, but it was not too long ago. The article had some references to research articles posted on the web comparing peat to coir with the coir loosing significantly.

oh geez... do they make a peat mulch? I've used peat mixed in with my soil but I don't think I've ever seen a peat mulch.

duh... you mean peat moss probably, right??

Peat moss isn't a good mulch. It doesn't let the water get through to the roots of the plants.

Thanks LT, that's what I thought too, so I read up on the diff between coir & peat. Looks like I'll do better using the coir mulch... at least thats what I have read on the other threads here at DG.

Go to Nourse Farms.com site & look at their comparsion chart - I got 25 plants from them earlier this year & pretty much threw them in the ground ( N. Texas sandy loam - nothing else added)& all survived & are putting off mulitple runners even w/ my vole & cat problem. They have the best bare root stock I've seen in a long time (roots were well over 2inches long on each plant)+ they send a great guide telling & showing you how to plant & care for them & the also send this neat gel w/ them to help them root. It's too late to order from them this year ( they were sold out & quit shipping by June 2nd ) but I'd get a catalog & check out their site for next year & order early the varities( they have alot to chose from - strawberries alone have over 15 varities) you want ( they ship at the proper time for planting ) & they have an excellent reputation & customer service - it don't grow they replace no problem.

That is where I order mine from too. The strawberries I ordered were excellent. Big roots.

Hey Dig, What did you get? I got the Jewels this year & going for the Cavendishes next year & think I'm going to grab up some of the blackberries & raspberries they have listed. I just love their comparsion charts - neat site set up to help you decide what you need & going to order a pound of their Agrigel - everything I used it on rooted so well I don't think I'll ever plant again w/o it!

I ordered Honeyoye(spelled wrong), and Cabot. They are both cold hardy. I already had Ozark Beauty. The comparison charts helped me figure out which plants to buy so that I would have Strawberries all season.

I also bought Royalty raspberries. The roots were so long and healthy. I planted them around April and they are doing great.

Catssdawg2,

Please let me know how Jewel does. I love black raspberries but have been told that they will not do well here in zone 9. I realize you are 7b/8a.

Just went picking yesterday at a Baily's Berry Farm(15.5 acres of thornedþless blackberries& yes Blueberries) not 5 miles from my house & their oldest & best producing beds (been picking that patch for 10 years now) where the Kiowas for thorned & going to go for the Ouchitas for the thornless variety. Check Nourse Farms.com out - their comparsion charts showed 3 thornless varities that were geared for zones 6-10 mostly. The Jewels tried to set fruit within 2 weeks of planting but as they are 1st years I pulled all but 1 plants blossoms & the little sucker still set off about a 1/2 dozen nice sized fruit & I have runners everywhere & they have only been in the ground for less than 7 weeks. Have nice,sandy,loam soil here though so I don't know how they'd do that far south in your soil but they are planted in direct Texas heat(no shade at all during the day) here so they've been doing great as far as I'm concerned & taking only 2 waterings a week along w/ the rest of the garden.

I planted 10 plants of Kiowa Blackberries in mid-January and got a few berries. Looks like I will get gallons next year. My problem is birds, etc. I need to build a full netting setup for next year. This year I didn't expect to get any berries until it started setting fruit. Also, Kiowa is extremely bitter, at least for me, unless it is mushy ripe, which the birds will grab before I can. Any that I picked a day before ripe were so tart that I really did not see a use for them except in pies.

I am not sure if it is an issue of chilling hours or our prolonged heat which makes Jewel and other black raspberries have trouble here.


Back on topic, it's almost time for me to order 25 plants of Quinault for a fall crop.

This message was edited Jun 19, 2008 2:42 PM

Come on now Feldon30 - easy & organic way to keep the birds away from your berries & such - GET CATS! LOL! I live out in the country w/ a 40 acre uncut pasture behind my backyard & haven't lost so much as a strawberry to birds or voles or 1 of the numerous things that like to munch gardens in Texas. Call the Houston SPCA & ask them for 3 or 4 good feral barn cats (spayed & nuetered of course) & turn them suckers loose in your backyard. Garuantee(sic) in about 2 weeks you won't have a bird or rodent to worry about & barn cats prefer to live outside in the garage or shed as opposed to staying in the house. Got to make sure they are hunters though - cats learn from their mommas how to hunt so most city cats don't work - I've accmulated about a dozen in the last few years but they stay within 50 yards of the house always & we haven't seen a snake,vole or rat ( and we got 'em big up here - bet they wiegh 1 1/2 - 2 lbs.) in the last 4 years due to their hunting. So go organic & save a couple of cats in the process. Just a suggestion.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree re: feral cats. Their only purpose in my yard is to use my garden beds as a giant cat box and expose me and my friends to whatever parasites they may be depositing in my soil.

I will build a frame and wrap it with netting.