In contrast to cultivated strawberries, wild strawberries are tough. Hobby gardeners benefit from this property if the garden does not offer ideal conditions for sensitive strawberry varieties. All important questions about planting wild strawberries correctly are answered here.
How do you plant wild strawberries correctly?
To plant wild strawberries, choose a sunny to partially shaded location with loose, humus-rich soil. The ideal planting time is July to August or alternatively March to April. Plant the young plants 20-25 cm apart and make sure that the heart bud remains free.
Which location is suitable for wild strawberries?
If you come across the native wild strawberries on your hikes, they thrive along sunny forest edges, in bright clearings and even under the shelter of tall deciduous trees. Therefore, offer the wild strawberries a sunny to semi-shady place when planting them in the garden. The closer the soil quality is to the loose, humus-rich forest floor, the more diligently the ever-bearing strawberries will take root.
What planting time is recommended?
The months of July and August are considered the optimal planting period. If you miss this date, March and April can be considered as alternatives. Thanks to the robust constitution of wild strawberries, they will still grow well later in early summer.
How does the planting work in detail?
The soil is prepared a few weeks before the planting date so that it can settle. The addition of ripe compost, rotted horse manure or commercially available humus (€17.00 on Amazon) completes the nutrient content in the soil. A dosage of 5 liters per square meter is considered appropriate. After a wait of at least two weeks, it continues like this:
- Put the root balls of the pre-grown or purchased young plants in water for 30 minutes
- Meanwhile, weed the clod again without digging deeply
- place the potted plants in pits with twice the volume of the root ball
- insert so deep that the heart bud remains free and water
- consider a planting distance of 20-25 centimeters
In the planter on the balcony, first create drainage with pebbles above the water drain. Then fill in substrate enriched with compost and let it rest. Plant the young wild strawberries, water them and mulch them with expanded clay or perlite.
When is harvest time?
One of the outstanding benefits of wild strawberries is based on a continuous harvest throughout the summer. The fruits are significantly smaller than the mighty cultivated strawberries. The wild variety, however, makes up for this with a unique aroma. Always harvest solid-colored strawberries without a light green collar. The ripe fruits are picked so that part of the fruit stalk and the green sepals remain on them.
Tips & Tricks
Wild strawberries develop strong offshoots that are ideal for propagation. In late summer, place a clay pot with substrate in the ground next to a vibrant mother plant and place a suitable runner over it so that it takes root there. Once the pot has roots, the young plant is cut off from the mother and planted in the new location.
