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If you’re looking for your next home gardening project, consider purchasing an everbearing strawberry plant. In this guide, we’ll explore the appearance, planting process, and maintenance tips for this plant.
ByBrenda WoodsUpdated 02/13/2024
The everbearing strawberry plant is perfect for strawberry lovers—it bears fruit two to three times per year, giving you plenty of strawberries for recipes like strawberry smoothies and strawberry shortcake.
Although this plant produces juicy and sweet fruit throughout the year, it isn’t the easiest to grow. We recommend reading our guide on everbearing strawberry plants to help you with the planting and growing process.
Everbearing Strawberry Plants
| Characteristic | Description |
|---|---|
Fruit size | One to two inches long |
Fruit uses | Eat raw or in a recipe |
Fruit color | Red with yellow seeds |
Fruit texture and flavor | Juicy texture, sweet flavor |
Region | Most regions, except parts of the North, Midwest, Alaska, and Hawaii |
Hardiness zone | 4–9 |
Growing season | Pick in late spring, late summer or early fall, and late fall |
Susceptibility | Gray mold, anthracnose fruit rot, common leaf spot, angular leaf spot, phytophthora crown rot, anthracnose crown rot |
What Does an Everbearing Strawberry Plant Look Like?
The leaves on an everbearing strawberry plant are green, and the flowers that will eventually produce strawberries are white. The strawberries themselves are one to two inches in length, red with yellow seeds, and juicy and sweet in flavor.
There are several varieties of everbearing strawberry plants, and each of them have slightly different dimensions. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect your plant to be eight to 12 inches tall and one to two inches wide.
Growing Conditions for an Everbearing Strawberry Plant
To learn how to properly care for your everbearing strawberry plant, make sure you can accommodate these growing conditions.
Sun
Strawberries require at least six hours of full sun every day. Place your container on an uncovered deck or plant the strawberries in a part of your yard that doesn’t have shade.
Soil
Everbearing strawberry plants grow best in rich, well-drained soil with a lot of organic matter. The pH of the soil should be between 5.5 and 6.5, which is slightly acidic.
Fertilizer
Everbearing strawberries need a steady amount of 10-10-10 fertilizer throughout the growing season because they continuously blossom and bear fruit. 10-10-10 fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are the three main nutrients needed for plants to grow.
During the first year, use one and a half pounds of fertilizer per 100 feet of growing space. Break this amount into three feedings—two weeks after planting, one month after planting, and two months after planting. In the following years, use one pound of fertilizer per 100 square feet in three or four installments spread out evenly from early spring through early August.
Watering
Everbearing strawberries require regular watering and need one to two inches of water per week during the growing season. It’s best to use drip irrigation or a soaker hose so that you avoid getting the fruit wet and causing rot. During the off-season, you can water twice per week to keep the soil moist. Note: it’s best to water the strawberries earlier in the day so that the sun can absorb some of the excess water from the plant.
Hardiness Zones
Everbearing strawberries can grow in hardiness zones 4–9, which means almost every state in the country can grow them. However, certain parts of the North, Midwest, Alaska, and Hawaii can be too cold or too hot for ideal growing conditions.
How to Plant an Everbearing Strawberry Plant
The best time to plant your everbearing strawberry plant is in the early spring, as long as the soil isn’t too muddy. You can test the soil by squeezing some in your hand—if the soil falls apart, you can go ahead and plant your strawberry plant, but if the clump stays together, you may want to try again in a few days.
When it’s time to plant, follow this growing procedure:
- Dig a six-by-six-inch hole for the shallow rooted strawberry plant.
- Mix in 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet and three inches of compost.
- Build a five-inch-high cone of soil in the center of the hole.
- Place the plant in the center of the hole with the crown of the plant at soil level and the roots draped over the cone.
- Fill in soil around the base of the plant and water it.
- Spread one to two inches of straw around the plant to keep it weed-free.
If you’re planting more than one everbearing strawberry plant, make sure the holes are 12 inches apart.
You can also plant the strawberries in containers or raised beds. If you choose this method, mix potting soil and compost together and place the plant in a hole in the center. When your first batch of flowers bloom, cut them off and allow the plant to focus on creating a strong root system, which will help produce better strawberries in the future.
You should see your first strawberries in the first year of planting. You will get two strawberry harvests—one in the late spring and one in the late summer or early fall. You may also get a third harvest in late fall.
Tolerance and Susceptibility
Everbearing strawberry plants are susceptible to a variety of diseases. In this section, we break down common diseases and categorize them by the part of the plant they affect.
Fruit
Leaves
Crown and Root
Gray mold rots the fruit and leaves behind a velvety, gray mass, while anthracnose fruit rot presents as black or brown, water-soaked spots on ripe fruits. Both of these diseases are caused by fungi and make the strawberries inedible.
Common leaf spot first starts as small, dark purple spots on the upper surface of the leaf. The spots will get larger and change colors from brown to gray to white. Eventually, the spots will touch each other, form one large spot, and kill the leaf.
Angular leaf spot starts as small, water-soaked spots on the bottom of the leaf and enlarge and become translucent with veins running through them. The spots may ooze liquid that dries white and scaly.
Phytophthora crown rot causes the plant to collapse and the crown to turn a dark red. The first sign of this disease is stunted plant growth and the wilting of young leaves. Early signs include stunted growth and flagging of leaves, but advanced disease shows as red and white marbling on the crown.
Wildlife Threats
Several insects and animals will attack the strawberry plant, including mites, slugs, nematodes, birds, and squirrels. To prevent pests, use an Epsom salt spray or insecticidal soap and wrap bird nets around the plant during the growing season. Once you have harvested the strawberries, pull off the netting and allow the birds and squirrels to eat insects on the plant.
Final Thoughts
Everbearing strawberry plants require specific planting and care compared to other fruit plants, but they produce a few strawberry yields every harvesting season. Whether you want a June-bearing plant or everbearing strawberry variety, we recommend buying your strawberry plant online or from your local home improvement store.
Frequently Asked Questions About Everbearing Strawberry Plants
What are the different types of strawberries?
There are three types of strawberry varieties: June-bearing strawberries, everbearing strawberries, and day-neutral strawberries.
June bearers get their name because they produce one harvest of strawberries around the month of June. Everbearing varieties generally have two harvesting seasons—late spring or early summer and late summer or early fall. Day-neutral strawberries continuously flower and grow strawberries as long as the temperature is between 35 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
What are some everbearing strawberry varieties?
Popular varieties of the everbearing strawberry include Ozark Beauty, Everest, Seascape, Albion, and Quinalt.
Do everbearing strawberries go dormant?
During cooler months, everbearing strawberry plants will go dormant, but they will return the following spring when it’s time to blossom and bear fruit again.
How long do strawberry plants last?
Strawberry plants can produce fruit for up to four or five years. However, the crop yield mahy reduce dramatically after the first two or three years due to disease, so we recommend buying a new plant at that time.
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