Dormant strawberry plants

I just had a big box o plants dropped on my doorstep from Springhill Nurseries! I ordered dormant strawberry plants for the first time though and I need some advice. All the instructions say is to "set with the crowns just below soil level". But when? And how careful do I need to be untangling the roots from each other?

Congrats on your strawberries!

If your soil is workable, get them in now. My strawberries from last year are already sprouting. I'd try to be gentle with the roots, but not obsessive about it. If you have to tease/rip them apart, it shouldn't hurt them.

If your soil isn't ready yet, keep them in the box they came in, in a dark place, until you can work the soil.

Always try to be gentle with the roots, but they will take a lot of punishment. I just ripped (actually ripped) a bunch up to bring inside and they're already budding out. I didn't have boxes until the second year so I walked/tromped/dug/cut all over them as I was making my boxes and it seemed like they came back even stronger.

In Kentucky they need planted out right now if possible.

ASAP

The roots usually "shake apart" fairly easy.

Search this on utube, it is always good to watch someone do a new skill before you try it yourself.

Thanks everyone! I was planning on spending the day working on Saturday, so I guess they go in the ground then! I moved last year so I have to start all over from scratch. When I started my last patch, I just bought a few plants and they spread from there. But then, at my last house, I only grew those berries, a few tomatoes, and some peppers. This is my first year with a "real" garden! I've got 3 3x6 SFG beds made and my boys picked out a ton of pots for their "pot garden" It was beautiful but chilly today, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Most nurserys and growers that ship, check your zip code, and won't ship until it is time to plant that plant in your area. Strawberries are tough, and easy to grow.

I was reading through Thomas Jeffersons garden book and back then it took 100 strawberries to get a pint jar full, today it takes 15, that's how much strawberries have grown since the birth of our nation.....

FarmerValerie wrote:I was reading through Thomas Jeffersons garden book and back then it took 100 strawberries to get a pint jar full, today it takes 15, that's how much strawberries have grown since the birth of our nation.....

That sounds like my yellow strawberries, they really are small. The plants are already greening up, I am going to plant some more!

FarmerValerie wrote:I was reading through Thomas Jeffersons garden book and back then it took 100 strawberries to get a pint jar full, today it takes 15, that's how much strawberries have grown since the birth of our nation.....

Nah, it's all due to SFG...

I planted my day neutral strawberries this week about 2 weeks past when I could have (zone 9). I soaked them in a bucket of water and shook out the roots to loosen them while submerged in the water. Then I trimmed the roots to about 3-4 inches long. I planted them with the soil line in the middle of the crown. I also plan on mulching them as soon as I pick up a bale of hay. These were the instructions that came with my berries from Burpee.

My strawberries are not dormant, but I thought I'd ask my question here in case that was someone's next question. 3 years ago we bought 50 plants, and were not able to stick them in the ground yet, bed was not ready. By the time I remembered to give hubby a round TUIT to build my pyramid, we had lost 3/4 of the plants, so I just stuck them in the new bed. Even though I have put down weed block and newspaper the part of the bed with no berries gets out of control with weeds, this year I put down more weed block and put wood on top of it, and around the edges has weeds popping up. We also get a stray tree or two that pop up in there. What I want to do is dig up the plants there, lay newspaper, cardboard, newspaper and then fresh dirt. Will I tramatize or loose my berries? They are blooming like crazy, and even have a few green berries. Last year they spread like crazy and I want to get this project (the actual pyramid) done, but I need to fill with dirt, add next layer of pyramid, fill that, add third layer and fill. Any thoughts?

Val - If the wild strawberries that grow in my backyard are any indication - they are very hardy and will tolerate a lot. I can't believe mine are still standing even though they are covered in silt. If Mother Nature doesn't do it today, I will give them a bath later this afternoon. They seem very perky, ,so I have faith they will produce for me this year. If you find your round TUIT, give the pyramind a try.

And GG - how exciting to get a box from Spring Hill! It feels a bit like Christmas, doesn't it? I received a package of yarn yesterday that I had ordered, so I limited my time pulling ivy because I so desperately wanted to get this yarn on the needles. What else did they bring you?

I am putting in a new bed of strawberries as well, and was just reading about renovating a bed of established strawberries... evidently they like to be slapped around... this talks about ripping out the established plants in favor of the new runners. I did the opposite in mine. Guess that's why I'm starting over this year.

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/spfiles/SP284-B.pdf

I got out there and decided to pull them all up & put them in temporary containers. We pulled up the bottom layer of the pyramid, pulled all weeds, cut all trees below the dirt level, layed weed block and now we are waiting on hubby to get dirt so we can lay cardboard and newspaper then fill with dirt. Hubby made my pyamid with landscape timbers (seeing a commont theme here???) and only got one layer done, which is 2 timbers high. Hopefully we can get the second round done this spring and get it filled too. I also need to run pipe inside it, yes I want the sprinkler on top, just because. I'll also be putting pvc pipe around it this year for netting, which may show up next year.

I banged the dirt of the roots pulled all dead stuff off, and made sure there were not weeds hanging on, hopefully they will survive their temporary home and replanting. If not, oh well, the thing that matters is getting that spot fixed so no more weeds and trees come up through it.

Man, you are ambitious!

Nancy, I got the strawberries, and a bunch of perennials to put in a corner of my yard that is in shade all day. Spring Hill has a combo pack called the "shade mix" of small plants. I'm ready to get that corner pretty!

I almost ordered that shade garden. But since I am just started on my veggies bed I haven't had time to rip out overgrown shrubs to get to my front (shady) flower bed. It does look pretty in the catalogue.


Kay