Question

I planted several strawberry plants in various pots and containers early this summer, they've mostly done very well and we had a bumper crop of tasty red things.
With the nights drawing in I'm concerned about how they'll survive the winter in the north of England. Will they be ok? or should I be covering them, or putting them in a greenhouse/conservatory?

Answer 1

I asked my parents who have a garden. They told me that strawberry plants will carry more fruit in the second year but less in the third (so you should know which are 2. year and which third). They also told me to cut away old leaves, making sure not to damage the "heart" of the plant by cutting too deep. Sometimes they just cut away the old leaves in spring... They seperate the new plants from the old and then cover the strawberry plants with either straw or bark.

The temperatures in Austria are as cold as in North England or colder.

Answer 2

I'm in central Scotland and I have a small area of my back garden that I've not touched since moving in a few years ago. It is about to be ripped up for some decking, but there have always been strawberries there, planted by the previous owner, and I've done nothing to encourage them, quite the opposite in fact as the area is quite overgrown.

I've been in this house for three years now, so they were presumably planted at least four years ago.

Answer 3

I've recently planted some strawberries in a pot, I've just brought the pot into the house, becasue I live in scotland and it's freezing up here.

Years ago in my parents old house (In Sussex) we used to have a huge strawberry patch, we covered the ground in plastic and let the straberry plants through holes, and I think we also set straw down, I think... I was 8 at the time so my memory is a bit sketchy though.

Answer 4

If the plants are established they usually survive frost if not disturbed. Some people used cloches in the past to protect the plants in winter, but the modern plants are hardier than the old strains. There are a couple of farms with strawberry fields around here (E. Yorks), and they are not using any protection as far as I can see.

A lot of people think that straw was used to protect against frost, but the real purpose of strewing straw is to keep the fruit from contacting the ground and rotting at the point of contact.