strawberry question

I bought this 'kit' from Lowe's with a fairly big strawberry pot with 4 side holes + the open top. It says to put a strawberry plant in each hole & the rest in the top. I opened the bag w/ the strawberry plants in it & it's a confusing mess from what I've ever seen. It seems like there's 10 of them & I can't tell what's roots & what the rest of it is. There's a knot in the middle of the viney stuff. Do I just ball each one up & stuff it in a hole? do i cover it up with mel's mix or leave part of it sticking out? And lastly, would I really put 6 of these in the top opening? Seems like a lot for a 3" opening.

thanks ! (this gardening evidentally isn't my forte').. yet
michelle

michelle_wv wrote:I bought this 'kit' from Lowe's with a fairly big strawberry pot with 4 side holes + the open top. It says to put a strawberry plant in each hole & the rest in the top. I opened the bag w/ the strawberry plants in it & it's a confusing mess from what I've ever seen. It seems like there's 10 of them & I can't tell what's roots & what the rest of it is. There's a knot in the middle of the viney stuff. Do I just ball each one up & stuff it in a hole? do i cover it up with mel's mix or leave part of it sticking out? And lastly, would I really put 6 of these in the top opening? Seems like a lot for a 3" opening.

thanks ! (this gardening evidentally isn't my forte').. yet
michelle

Here's a great video from White Flower Farm about planting in a strawberry jar/pot. The lady uses bare root plants, so it may help you figure out which end is up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wDVdjiU14E&feature=related

I ordered my strawberries from Burpee and when I opened the package it did look like a mess of roots, but I could definitely distinguish the crowns. The paper that came with the berries recommended trimming the roots to about 3 inches long, so I did. I planted mine in wooden boxes and planters and now they all have their leaves! I'll be covering them tonight, though cause my area is under a freeze watch.

Pattipan

Hey, Michelle, I just noticed you are from WV too! What part of the state are you in? I'm over in the Eastern panhandle in Pendleton County. We're under a freeze warning tonight and tomorrow. I'm going out shortly to cover my strawberries.

Unless you're up near Wheeling, we are probably in the same growing region. So be sure to check out the Regional Forum for Upper South.

Let me know how it goes with the strawberries, okay?

Pattipan

Hi Pattipan!!!! I'm so glad I found someone else in WV !!!! YAY! We just moved here last summer plus I'm brand new to gardening, so I have no idea about the last frost date, & what temps. to expect over the spring (esp. overnight temps.) I know last summer started out hot then cooled off & was reasonable most of the summer; but I heard that's not necessarily common. We live near Clarksburg/Bridgeport. I'm using 2 4x4' SFG boxes that my husband built for our deck plus I'm doing some misc. things like 2 diff. strawberries one in a hanging pot & one in the other I mentioned, plus a few flowers, & some viney stuff we're growing in our backyard right next to the edge of the patio that we'll grow vertically up to the deck. I'm so excited !! I have a bunch of stuff sprouting inside, but haven't planted outside yet. Tomorrow I'm planting spinach, carrots, radishes, & sugar snap peas outside. Any growing tips for this area will be appreciated Patti!

Michelle PS: thanks for the info. & the link

I didn't get the strawberry plants with the nice green leaves.. I got the things that are all brown & covered with dirt so it's a little more difficult for me to determine what gets covered up with the soil in the planter.

I watched the video on you tube which was great. My only remaining question is what exactly is the crown. there's a knot between the roots & crown.. but I'm guessing the knot is NOT part of the crown & should be covered with the soil along with the roots. Is that correct?

thanks

michelle_wv wrote:I didn't get the strawberry plants with the nice green leaves.. I got the things that are all brown & covered with dirt so it's a little more difficult for me to determine what gets covered up with the soil in the planter.

I watched the video on you tube which was great. My only remaining question is what exactly is the crown. there's a knot between the roots & crown.. but I'm guessing the knot is NOT part of the crown & should be covered with the soil along with the roots. Is that correct?

thanks

I'm no expert with strawberries, I just followed the instructions that came with my berries from Burpee . I also did some searching on the Net for more help. My bare root plants did not have leaves either. Here's a pic of some bare-root plants that look similar to mine when I pulled them out of the package. I'm not exactly sure what this knot you are referring to is. Just plant them so that the part labeled crown is above the soil. As long as you get the roots below and that little crown above, they should be fine.



I must have done something right, because all my strawberry plants are growing and have lots of leaves now! Here's a link to another thread that shows them just after I planted them. All you can see is the crowns sticking above the Mel's Mix.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/upper-south-f8/upper-south-strawberries-t1353.htm#9161

Pattipan