Help Please and pic of strawberries

What can I do for these baby strawberry plants? They are twice as big as when I got them a week ago but they look anemic to me instead of deep green. Planted them 8 days ago, they have endured heavy sustained 25 mph winds. I use a blanket at night over the critter cover when the temps have been low thirties, and by far the worse thing is - a new strawberry owner....me...
Do I need to do something? Also, are they planted too deep? The mix is so soft it flows right to the stems as I water, so now I've been pushing it away from the stems. Out of fifty I have lost one. So Far.. (And from left to right the 3 plants at the very bottom of the picture are older Quinalts and not an issue)

Maybe this picture better shows the contrast of the older greener Quinalts in the left corner of the box compared to the new baby EarlyGlo strawberries -

That's really strange LM! Were the Quinalts transplanted into this box or have they always been there? How much are you watering?

The Quinalts were purchased as older plants and transplanted into this box just last week. The others were purchased as bare roots. I can't tell if this is all transplant shock and still normal for just one week in the box, plus addition of heavy winds and cold, or what the devil is going on. I noticed some of the leaf edges are getting brown, my babies!

Forgot to mention, getting watered once a day.

I'm new with the strawberries too, so feel free to ignore anything I say. The first few leaves my bareroots developed were about that color. But all the ones after were a nice dark green. I've completely neglected them, so it's nothing I've done to help.

Actually, I'm scared but I like what you are saying. It gives me hope. I can see new little leaves sprouting up from the center of the plants so life is happening, just not the vigorous green color I'm expecting....

Strawberries are very fussy about planting depth. You MUST transplant them so the crown is exactly at the soil surface. Too deep, the crown rots, too shallow and the roots dry out. Also be sure to firm the soil well around the roots.

Did you spread the roots out over a cone of soil when planting?

If the answers are yes, then maybe they just need to settle in. Hopefully all is well soon.

*sigh* And that is what I get for basing my planting on random interweb videos. My answer to all that is no. I trimmed off the bottom 1/4 of the roots and used a little shovel to jab them into the ground. Now I'm a bit scared too. But I'm 75/75 still, even the ones that got planted a few times because the neighbor's rabbit kept pulling them up.

Just play the odds Llama! One of them has to survive, right?

quiltbea wrote:Strawberries are very fussy about planting depth. You MUST transplant them so the crown is exactly at the soil surface. Too deep, the crown rots, too shallow and the roots dry out. Also be sure to firm the soil well around the roots.

Did you spread the roots out over a cone of soil when planting?

If the answers are yes, then maybe they just need to settle in. Hopefully all is well soon.

I tried to get the planting depth right, I tried to keep that soil line above the roots yet below the upward growth of the stems. Soon as I water, that went out the window and the mix flowed right up the stems. So the last 2 days I have been pushing back the mix after watering. In the picture I had not yet pushed it away from the stems. As for spreading the roots out over a cone when planting - No. The directions that came with it said to plant the roots vertically and not flaten them out horizontally. So they were planted standing up. Was that bad?

Noie wrote:*sigh* And that is what I get for basing my planting on random interweb videos. My answer to all that is no. I trimmed off the bottom 1/4 of the roots and used a little shovel to jab them into the ground. Now I'm a bit scared too. But I'm 75/75 still, even the ones that got planted a few times because the neighbor's rabbit kept pulling them up.

Just play the odds Llama! One of them has to survive, right?

Yeah I'm going to start praying.

I'm sure the roots will spread out and find a way even if not planted that way. Mel's Mix is so light, they shouldn't have a problem. Spreading out the roots has been the age-old manner of planting strawberries since I was a young'un. Good luck.

Thank you for the responses, weather report said 2 more nights of freezing temps, ohhboy..

LM...RELAX!

Berries are like worms...put them in and they'll do their thing.

SURE there are ideals: sandy soil (well draining); planted in mounds; cones, etc. But if they aren't, that's okay too! Straws put down a tap root and have spreading roots both.

Yes, some of your crowns are a little low. You can pull them up gently, just like you would lettuce. If it stays low, it will effectively drown and collapse (like lettuce).

If your mix isn't dry, don't water. Your nights are really cool...good that you are covering. How warm is it during the day?

Like worms, give them some time to adjust. Warmer weather will help It will be okay!

(I bought 2 quinalts...well 4 quinalts in 2 cups at WM today. I might put them in today, but the cold weather is coming back tomorrow with heavy rain and again on Friday. Or I may leave them until Saturday when the weather will increasingly warm.)

So how do you like quinalt fruits? What are they like? (I'm looking for the ideal everybearing berry.)

I did buy two Sea Scape bare roots a month ago for my strawberry pot. They get ignored, and start to dry, then come back. Of all the plants berries (sequoias), they are growing the most. I don't expect any fruit from those two this year, though.

RELAX Momma!

My strawberries(bare rooted also, with like 1-2 leaves each) started off looking just like yours. I wouldn't worry too much about them.

Thanks, Quiltbea, I am hoping Mel's mix will save myself from my planting inexperience.

AvaDG, thanks also, I will try to gently lift them higher and you reminded me not to overwater. I was use to planting everything in a slight depression so water would flow straight to the roots. But I guess with strawberries in Mel's mix they should perhaps be planted slightly up on a mound. I will try to keep the crown from getting flushed over with mix when I water. Quinalts, I've read they are very sweet, guess I'll find out. EarliGlo is what the Ohio State. Univ. extension service recommends for this area, Quinalts aren't even mentioned so we'll see. Good luck with your Quinalts!
My temperatures are freezing for two nights. Daytime temps for the next few days range from 40's to 50's to 60's and Sunday in the 70's! These strawberries won't know if they're coming or going.

Unmutual, thank you for weighing in with your experience too. It's a comfort and appreciated.

llama momma wrote:What can I do for these baby strawberry plants? They are twice as big as when I got them a week ago but they look anemic to me instead of deep green. Planted them 8 days ago, they have endured heavy sustained 25 mph winds. I use a blanket at night over the critter cover when the temps have been low thirties, and by far the worse thing is - a new strawberry owner....me...
Do I need to do something? Also, are they planted too deep? The mix is so soft it flows right to the stems as I water, so now I've been pushing it away from the stems. Out of fifty I have lost one. So Far.. (And from left to right the 3 plants at the very bottom of the picture are older Quinalts and not an issue)

Howdy LM:

The advice above is right on. We planted some 300 + strawberry plants over the last two years, some a little high, some a little low and some just right. Some roots we spread out, some we poked a hole in the MM and put in the plant, some we pruned the roots and some we did not. We lost maybe 3 or 4 plants total. All were bare root and 5 or 6 different varieties. The signs you have seen with yellowing leaves are not unexpected of bare root strawberries and the fact that you are seeing new growth with new leaves showing dark green you can expect most if not all of your strawberry plants to survive. So take heart. Your plants will be fine.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

I have both Quinaults and Sequoias.



Top are Sequoias, smaller but sweeter. Bottom are Quinaults and they are good too, just not as sweet.

Appreciate your input Wardinwake and Quiltbea! I will relax and wait till they start up a little production next year. There was someone on the net saying Quinalts were very sweet Quiltbea, hmm, instead I will remember your Sequoias for future reference. This morning I was surprised to find 2 very tiny green berries on 1 of the Quinalts.

@llama......Quinaults are sweet, just not as sweet as Sequoias.

I see, thank you.

Some look to be to deep, but I would not worry about 'planting on a cone' . If most are too deep, just get a bucket and put some of the MM in the bucket. I wouldn't water much with it being so cold. Lightly water when dry only, until you see blooms, then water more often to get lots of berries. MM is great for berries.

I picked about a qt of berries this afternoon. We are expecting a frost tonight.

Jo

quiltbea wrote:Strawberries are very fussy about planting depth. You MUST transplant them so the crown is exactly at the soil surface. Too deep, the crown rots, too shallow and the roots dry out. Also be sure to firm the soil well around the roots.

Last year's strawberries were transplanted to a new square. These included some ( a lot ) of plants that started from runners. I also added a handful of Sequoia and Quinalts to fill some empty squares. One of the Sequoias came with a fresh blossom, which fruited, and was, of course, consumed. I'm here to tell you that was the best strawberry I've ever had, chemical fertilizers and all. By the time I got back to Lowe's for more, the only ones left were rather pathetic looking.

Some of my transplants have nice color, but don't look like they will bear fruit just yet. Of course, the plants might be as confused as I am by the weather. Warm in the sun, take jacket off. Then come the high cold winds, jacket on. Two minutes later, sun comes out and the process is repeated. It's enough to make a Square Foot Gardener run around in circles!

Tom

Those are good ideas Littlejo and wow, you got to pick your own berries today, Congrats! I've got that childhood excitement and anticipation waiting to pick my own.

And TomP - the temps here are all over the place too. And like you I am anticipating my own berries to be the best ever. Mm Mm Good. I have not been more excited over anything else I've grown so far. But wait there's more! I want blueberries and apples and pears...and....and...

I guess I forgot to point out, I believe the berries are a bit sweeter after a frost! While picking today, ones that have berries on are blooming again!

Jo