Garden strawberries(Fragaria x ananassa ) arehardy perennialsin U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8 , but they ’re grow as annuals in the warmerclimate of Florida . In South Florida , which falls into USDA geographical zone 10 , and the Florida Keys , which are in USDA zone 11 , gardeners should plant strawberry in the fall for a winter or early spring harvesting .
Planting Dates
In all of Florida , the ideal planting window flow from thebeginning of October until the midriff of November . When they ’re plant at that time , the plants generally begin flower in late fall or early winter and begin bring about fruit in mid - wintertime . yield production continues through spring , until the weather begins to warm up .
Varieties for Florida
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension recommends three strawberry cultivars for home gardeners : * * ' Camarosa , ' * * * * ' Festival ' and * * ' Sweet Charlie ' . These varieties are well - adapt to the daylight lengths and temperature grasp of the Florida winter and bring forth well in the state . They are June - bearing smorgasbord , a type of hemangioma simplex that produces a single crop of berries . Ever - bearing type , which produce two separate crops each season , do not do well in Florida .
Site Conditions and Soil Preparation
Strawberries needfull Dominicus and well - enfeeble soilto produce well . Choose a situation that gets at least eight hours of direct Sunday exposure per mean solar day . fix araised bedin that location by mounding ground 7 to 9 inches high and about 2 feet wide .
Before planting , conflate 1 Irish pound of10 - 5 - 10 prohibitionist fertilizerinto the soil for each 10 feet of planting bed length . strewing another 1/2 Sudanese pound of the fertilizer on top of the soil , and apply another 1/2 pound in a 1 - inch - deep crease down the center of the bed .
Plant Setting
It ’s crucial to set strawberry mark plants at theproper profundity . specify each industrial plant so that its crown — the power point where the go away sprout from the top of the root system — is level with open of the soil . If you plant too shallowly , so that the top of the roots are expose , the roots may dry out out and offend the plant . If you plant too profoundly , so that the crown is immerse , the plant may decompose in the ground .
Set the plants indouble rowsdown the length of the bed so that 12 inches of space are between rows and 12 to 18 column inch are between plant in the rows .
Plant Watering
If you plantbare - rootplants , water them daily for the first one or two weeks after planting so that the soil stays moist and the plants do n’t wilt . After the plants are found in their newfangled location , irrigate their soil for one - half 60 minutes to one hour with a sprinkler or down in the mouth - pressing hoseonce each weekduring the early part of the plants ' growing time of year . As the conditions warms in spring , increase the frequency of water to two or three times per calendar week .
