Culture
Grow in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers organically rich, sandy loams. Strawberries are a high maintenance fruit crop which can be grown all over the United States. Growing recommendations can vary considerably depending upon the climate, however, and varieties are often regionally adapted. Grow only certified disease-resistant cultivars. University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia publishes a pamphlet called "Home Fruit Production: Strawberries and Their Culture" (G 6135) which provides some basic information on growing strawberries in Missouri and is available for inspection or purchase at the Center for Home Gardening.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Strawberries are a mainstay of the home fruit garden and are grouped into Junebearing and everbearing types. Junebearers produce one crop per year early in the season (typically June). The berries of Junebearers are normally larger than the berries produced by everbearing or day-neutral plants. They are sensitive to the length of day, and send out runners in spring as day length increases. Everbearing types produce a first crop in spring and then subsequent crops at six week intervals thereafter throughout the summer and into fall. Unlike junebearers, everbearers are not sensitive to the length of day. Both have five-petaled, white flowers with yellow centers. Flowers give way to large, glossy, red berries which mature in late spring to early summer. Some strawberries are grown for their showy flowers rather than their fruits and the flowers can range in color from deep, reddish-fuchsia to rose pink to white.
Genus name comes from the Latin word fraga meaning strawberry presumably from fragrans meaning fragrant in reference to the perfume of the fruit.
EVERSWEET is an everbearing strawberry which produces a first crop of fruit in spring and then subsequent crops at six week intervals throughout the summer and into fall. Stark Bro's of Louisiana, Missouri reports that this cultivar performs very well the first year.
Problems
Strawberries are susceptible to a large number of potential diseases, including but not limited to: foliage diseases (leaf spot, scorch), root rots (red stele, black root rot), fruit rots (anthracnose, leather rot), gray mold and viruses. Tarnished plant bugs, mites, aphids, leafrollers, slugs, nematodes and strawberry weevils are occasional insect problems.
'Eversweet' reportedly has good disease resistance.
Uses
Strawberries have little special ornamental value and are usually grown as a fruit crop in a specific area set aside for the same.
Hybrid everbearing strawberry cultivars have no special ornamental value and are usually grown as a fruit crop in a specific area set aside for the same.