How to Grow Strawberries & Pineberries From Bare Roots: Complete Growing Guide

How to Grow Strawberries & Pineberries From Bare Roots: Complete Growing Guide

There is nothing quite like picking fresh strawberries straight from your own garden! Strawberries are surprisingly easy to grow when you choose the right type for your climate and plant them at the correct time of year.

In this complete guide, I'll explain how to plant strawberry and pineberry bare roots, when to plant them, how to fertilize and water them, how to prevent common problems, and how to know when your berries are ready to harvest.

If you purchased strawberry or pineberry bare roots from my nursery, you can follow these instructions for your plants.

Check out the video version of this guide here:

Choosing the Right Type of Strawberry for Your Climate

One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make is choosing a strawberry based solely on how the fruit looks or tastes. The type of strawberry you grow should also match your climate and growing season.

Strawberries are commonly grouped into four main categories based on how and when they flower and produce fruit: June-bearing, everbearing, day-neutral, and short-day.

June-Bearing Strawberries

June-bearing strawberries generally produce one large, concentrated crop during their growing season. They are commonly grown in areas with colder winters and traditional spring and summer strawberry seasons.

Everbearing Strawberries

Everbearing strawberries typically produce two or more harvests during the growing season rather than one large concentrated crop.

Day-Neutral Strawberries

Day-neutral strawberries are less dependent on day length for flowering and can produce fruit over an extended season as long as temperatures remain suitable.

Short-Day Strawberries

Short-day strawberries are especially well suited for Florida and other warm-winter climates. These varieties initiate flowers when days become shorter and temperatures cool. This allows hot climate gardeners to plant strawberries in the fall and harvest throughout the cooler winter and spring months rather than trying to grow them through the intense summer heat.

This is why choosing the correct strawberry type for your climate is so important. A variety that performs beautifully in a northern garden may not be the best choice for Florida or other hot climates whch have a completely different strawberry-growing season.

So, Where Do Pineberries Fit In?

Pineberries are not a fifth type of strawberry. They're actually strawberries! The name pineberry is used for strawberries that produce distinctive white or pale-colored fruit, typically with red seeds, rather than the traditional red fruit most of us associate with strawberries.

A pineberry can still fall into one of the categories above—such as short-day, June-bearing, everbearing, or day-neutral—depending on the particular cultivar. In other words, “pineberry” describes the fruit, while terms like short-day or day-neutral describe how the plant flowers and produces fruit.

Pineberries are also grown and cared for much like traditional red strawberries. Their sunlight, soil, watering, fertilizing, and general planting requirements are very similar, which means you can even grow red strawberries and pineberries together using the same growing methods.

Throughout the rest of this guide, when I refer to growing strawberries, the same instructions also apply to pineberries unless I specifically mention otherwise.

Are Strawberry or Pineberry Plants Perennial Or Annual?
Most strawberry plants are perennial (in zones 4 to 8) and will produce berries for many years as long as the plants are healthy. You can even propagate the runners to make more plants.

However, those of us in sub tropical and tropical regions with very hot summers grow strawberries like a cool season annual. This is because the summer heat and high disease/pest pressure kill the plants. So they are not perennial for hot climates.

Here in Florida, strawberries are planted in October and November and we start harvesting in December with the last harvest being around early April. Then the plants just die. Usually, the strawberry farmers plant them in a raised rows covered in plastic because the plastic blocks weeds and prevents the ripening berries from touching the ground where they get dirty and rot.

Where To Purchase Strawberry & Pineberry Bare Root Plants?
Strawberries can be started from seed. However, it is difficult to grow them from seed and is only worth the time/effort for gardeners in areas where strawberries are perennial plants. In warmer climates, its best to plant strawberries from bare roots also called strawberry crowns.

I offer strawberry bare roots as part of an annual pre-sale. Usually we start taking orders in September and may continue into October if we still have some left. You can view my strawberry and pineberry bare root options HERE.

Or check out local nurseries that carry the bare root cultivars that will perform best in your state. Most nurseries/websites start taking strawberry bare root pre-orders in August/September and they sell out quickly. So if you wait until October/November when its time to plant, it can be very difficult to find bare roots. 

When To Plant Bare Root Strawberries & Pineberries

Zones 4 to 8: Plant strawberries in the spring, as soon as your last spring frost has passed and the ground is workable. 

Zones 9 to 11: Plant strawberries in the fall, October through November. They grow best during the coolest part of the year. 

Where Can I Grow Strawberries & Pineberries?

You don't need a traditional in-ground garden to grow berries. Strawberries and pineberries grow beautifully in:

• In-ground garden beds
• Raised beds
• Containers
• Grow bags
• Strawberry pots
• Vertical planters
• GreenStalk garden towers

Containers and raised growing systems can be especially useful in Florida because excellent drainage is extremely important. UF/IFAS specifically recommends raised beds as a way to provide strawberry roots with a well-drained environment during periods of heavy rainfall. 

I also love growing strawberries vertically because it keeps the plants and fruit elevated, makes harvesting easier, and lets you grow a lot of plants in a relatively small footprint.

Strawberry & Pineberry Ideal Growing Conditions

• Sun: They require full sun (8+ hours) to produce a lot of berries.
• Soil: Find a spot in your garden with well-draining soil, free from weeds, and that has good air circulation. Berries, like strawberries, blackberries and blueberries prefer soil on the acidic side, ideally a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Mix in very fine pine bark mulch into the soil which helps reduce pH or sprinkle some acidifying sulfur granules (find it here on Amazon). Or buy soil mixes formulated for berries, like Fox Farms brand "Strawberry Fields" soil (find it here on Amazon) or use an acid loving plant soil mix, like the "Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron" soil mixes (find it here on Amazon). Strawberries are heavy feeders, so soil rich in organic matter helps a lot. Make sure the soil drains well, because strawberry bare roots , are very susceptible to root rot. If your in a rainy or humid area, its a great idea to grow them in containers, grow bags, raised beds, or raised rows of soil. This also helps improve air circulation which reduces leaf diseases and picks the plants off from the ground making it harder for pests to get on them. This year I am planting my strawberries in a Greenstalk 7 Tier Leaf Vertical Planter (find it here on Amazon).
• Spacing and Planting: If your planting them in rows, space them 10-12 inches apart. If your planting in containers or grow bags, then do you best.
• Fertilizing: If planting in the ground, apply some sort of fertilizer into the planting hole. I recommend a fertilizer that also reduces pH at the same time, like Espoma Berry-Tone (find it here on Amazon) or MiracleGro Acid Loving Plant Food (find it here on Amazon). Apply some more fertilizer in a few weeks once you see new green growth appear, and repeat every 3 weeks.
• Water: Consistent moisture is especially important while bare-root plants establish.

  After establishment, water deeply enough to moisten the root zone and then water again as needed based on your weather, soil, and growing method. Containers and vertical planters usually dry considerably faster than in-ground beds, so check them frequently. Whenever possible, water at the base of the plants rather than repeatedly soaking the foliage and fruit. Use drip tape or soaker hoses. This also helps reduce the amount of moisture sitting on leaves and developing fruit.

How To Plant Bare Root Strawberries & Pineberries
No matter how your growing them, in ground versus containers, planting them is going to be the same.

1. Soak the bare root plants in water for an hour to rehydrate them. Add a splash of fish emulsion or liquid kelp or seaweed to give them an extra boost.

2. Add fertilizer into the planting hole.

3. Burry the crown (where the roots meet the stem) at soil level. Do not cover the crown portion with soil or it will rot out and kill the entire plant. 

4. Apply a layer of mulch around the plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Straw, pine straw, or pine bark mulch are great options because they help reduce soil pH. 

5. Water your plants thoroughly after planting, and then keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged throughout the growing season. Berries will not form properly if there is not enough water.

 Strawberry & Pineberry Plant Care Tips, Diseases, & Pests

• Pruning: Remove any heavily diseased or damaged leaves. 
• Runners: Cut off any runners that appear during the growing season to encourage larger fruit production. You can propagate these runners to have more plants.
• Fertilizer: Fertilize every week with small doses (like 1/8 cup) or an organic granular fertilizer to keep nutrient levels consistent.
• Disease: The most common strawberry diseases are powdery mildew and fungal leaf diseases. Spray with 1 cup hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water to clean and disinfect.
• Pests: The most common pests you will get when growing strawberries are aphids, spider mites, thrips, and worms. Aphids, spider mites, and thrips can be controlled with organic insecticidal soap (find it here on Amazon). Spider mites can be tough, so if the soap doesn't help switch to spinosad (find it here on Amazon). For all kinds of worm damage, I recommend you spray with BT (bacillus thurengensis), (find it here on Amazon) or spinosad. And I will link to where you can find all of these treatments in the description below.
• Mulching: Mulching is extremely helpful when growing strawberries and pineberries. A layer of mulch around your plants helps retain soil moisture, suppress weeds, reduce soil from splashing onto the fruit, and keep developing berries clean. Just be careful not to pile mulch over the crown of the plant. Straw, pine straw, and fine pine bark are all good options for the home garden.
• Freeze Protection: Strawberry plants tolerate cool weather, but their flowers and developing fruit are much more vulnerable to freezing temperatures. Temperatures below 32°F can damage flowers and fruit, so if a freeze is forecast, cover your plants with frost cloth, row cover, or another suitable protective covering and secure it well so the wind cannot remove it. If you are growing strawberries or pineberries in containers, you can also temporarily move them to a more protected location during freezing weather.

How & When To Harvest Strawberries & Pineberries

It takes about 21 days from flower to harvestable fruit. Strawberries and pineberries have slightly different signs to look for when determining when they are ready to harvest.

Red Strawberries: harvest when approximately three-quarters of the entire surface of the fruit has turned red. Fully red strawberries deteriorate relatively quickly after picking, so check your plants frequently and harvest ripe fruit about every 2–4 days while they are actively producing. Strawberries don't continue to ripen once picked off the plant.

Pineberries: harvesting is different because you are not waiting for the fruit to turn red. As a pineberry ripens, the fruit changes from green to a creamy white or lightly blushed color, while the seeds change from green to red. Look for plump, fully developed fruit that is creamy white to lightly blushed with red seeds.

Both strawberries and pineberries are delicate, so handle the ripe fruit gently when harvesting. Picking frequently also prevents overripe fruit from remaining on the plants where it can deteriorate, rot, or attract pests. And let's be honest—fresh strawberries and pineberries usually don't make it very far from my garden anyway!

What Happens at the End of Strawberry Season in Florida?

This is where Florida strawberry gardening differs considerably from gardening farther north. In Florida, strawberries are normally grown as an annual crop. Plants are established in fall and produce throughout the cooler portion of the year. Strawberry flowering and fruit production can continue into April or May, although production occurs in cycles rather than at a constant rate. 

Once temperatures climb and hot, humid summer weather arrives, maintaining the plants becomes much more difficult. Rather than struggling to keep old plants alive through summer, I prefer starting again with healthy plants when the next strawberry season arrives.

Grow Your Own Strawberries & Pineberries!

Growing strawberries is one of my favorite parts of the Florida cool-season garden. Once you understand that our strawberry season is essentially the opposite of the traditional northern strawberry season, they're much easier to grow successfully.

And if you've never grown a pineberry before, they're a fun addition to the garden. You can grow traditional red strawberries and white pineberries side by side using essentially the same growing methods.

If you purchased your strawberry or pineberry bare roots from my nursery, save this page so you can come back to it throughout the growing season.

Happy gardening! 🍓