Fruit · Rosaceae
When to plant strawberries
The one fruit that gives a real crop in its first year, and the one most people plant first. Productive for three seasons, then worth replacing.
First worthwhile crop
Year 1
After planting, not after sowing.
Hardy in USDA zones
4a to 9a
Winter cold sets the limit here, not the calendar.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Nothing about a standing crop is sown to a calendar. Once planted, strawberries stay in the ground for years, so the question is not when to sow but whether your winter is survivable and your planting window is open. Both answers come from your frost dates.
- Expect a first worthwhile crop in year 1 after planting.
- Needs roughly 300 chill hours below 7.2°C (45°F)45°F (7.2°C) over winter to set fruit, which rules out the warmest climates.
- Hardy in USDA zones 4a–9a.
Getting the timing right
Plant runners in early autumn where winters are moderate, so the plants root and set flower buds before cold; plant in early spring where the ground freezes hard. Autumn planting gives a full crop the following summer, spring planting gives a partial one. Replace the bed every third year - yield and fruit size fall off sharply after that.
Frost tolerance
The crown is hardy well below freezing under snow or straw. The open flower is not: a frosted flower shows a black centre and will never set fruit. Fleece over the rows on a clear night during bloom is the cheapest crop insurance in the garden.
Classified as hardy.