Strawberry Growth Stages: How Fast Do Strawberries Grow?

Strawberries are fast-growing, compact plants that you can grow in raised beds, containers, or hanging baskets. Storebought strawberries are fine for some, but once you’ve tasted a homegrown berry, you’ll never want to go back. Growing your own fruits is incredibly rewarding and delicious. Moreover, you can be sure that your fresh berries are vine-ripened and never sprayed with any nasty chemicals. 

But will you have to wait forever to harvest fruit? Strawberries grow pretty fast compared to other fruiting plants, and understanding their growth stages makes it even easier to accelerate establishment in your garden.

Let’s dig into everything you need to know about strawberry plant development and how to speed up growth in your garden.

6 Stages of Strawberry Growth

Strawberries are naturally perennial plants with distinctive phases of growth. Many gardeners panic when their plants fail to produce berries right away, but patience is required for the plants to establish their roots and begin fruiting. Some cultivars (typically June-bearing and everbearing types) take a year to reach full maturity and maximize their yields. 

However, modern day-neutral varieties can mature and fruit in their first season. Because they can mature in the same year they are planted, day-neutrals are often grown as annual plants. They can be left in the ground to overwinter, or they can be pulled out and refreshed with new plants the following year, much like annual vegetables.

No matter what growing method or variety you choose, all Fragaria plants go through the same growth stages. Understanding these developments will make it easier to gauge the health of your plants and address issues like a lack of flowers or fruit. While lack of sunlight and pollination are common problems that prevent fruit production, patience can be another issue. 

Plants must mature into the reproductive growth phase before they can start fruiting. Here is how to recognize what phase your plants are in:

Bare Crown or Seedling Stage

Like all fruiting plants, strawberries begin as seeds. But most gardeners don’t grow strawberries from seed (though it is perfectly feasible). Instead, it is more common to source bare root crowns or strawberry plugs. Both types of baby plants get established in similar time frames. You can plant two to three weeks before your last spring frost date and expect the first berries in about three months. Peak production is usually mid-summer through fall.

Day-neutral varieties like ‘Albion’ or ‘Seascape’ are the best options for beginners who want to enjoy berries in the first year. You can find bare roots or plugs of both types. Plugs appear to grow faster because they already have leaves and root balls, but bare roots can be planted earlier in the spring since they are still dormant. Here are some notable differences between the two:

Bare-root Crowns

Bare-root plants are dormant crowns shipped in early spring. They are widely available online or in nurseries and arrive in your garden with little to no green growth. While bare roots look dead, they are actually just sleeping. As soon as the crowns are planted in the soil and the weather warms, they will sprout new leaves and anchor their roots. Bare root strawberries generally take 80-90 days to mature, from the time of planting to the first berries. 

However, it’s very important to plant bare root crowns at the proper depth. The central crown of the plant is a crucial growing point for both roots and shoots. Burying too deep can lead to rot, and planting too shallowly can cause the plants to dry out. Both problems are detrimental and can slow the growth of plants or even kill them. 

For proper bare root establishment, ensure the bottom one-third of the crown is buried and the roots are fully under the soil. The upper two-thirds of the crown, along with any new growth, should be above the soil surface.  

Plugs

Strawberry plugs are very similar to the vegetable seedlings you are familiar with. They arrive in cell trays with a few sets of leaves and established root balls in a soil blend. Plugs are easier to handle and transplant, but they can be more expensive. You must also wait a bit longer to plant strawberry plugs because they already have foliage. The foliage is sensitive to the cold, whereas dormant bare root crowns are more cold-hardy.

Transplant plugs around your last frost date, keeping the soil level at the same depth as it was in the cell trays. Be gentle with the roots and crowns, and avoid burying them too deep. Plugs can take off very quickly and start fruiting within three months. They are great for container growing and hanging baskets. Ensure at least 12-18 inches of space between each plant.

Root Establishment

Once your plugs or bare root crowns are in the ground, they need time to establish their roots. You may notice a few flowers during this stage, but it is best to remove them. Sometimes, plants will “stress flower” as a result of transplant shock. They think they are dying and put in a last-ditch effort to reproduce. Removing these blossoms ensures that the plant can properly adjust. 

Don’t worry—more flowers will grow in a few weeks! Removing early flowers communicates to the plant that it should channel its energy toward root establishment. The roots need to adjust to their new home.

Transplant shock can slow down the rooting growth stage and prevent fast strawberry establishment. To prevent transplant shock, ensure you handle the plugs or crowns very gently and avoid shoving their roots into hard holes. Thoroughly loosened, loamy soil is ideal for quick rooting. 

Imagine that you are a baby plant with young roots that are trying to expand—it would be very difficult to push outward against rock-hard soil. Loosened planting holes make it easier for tiny root hairs to expand their surface area, access water, and hold the plant in the soil.

Vegetative Growth

The vegetative growth stage is all about shoots and leaves. As the plant pushes its roots deeper in the soil, it is simultaneously growing lush foliage aboveground. Leaves are essential for photosynthesis, allowing the plant to produce plenty of food to fuel its early growth. 

If it is early summer and your strawberries aren’t fruiting yet, there is no need to panic! They are probably still in the vegetative growth stage. As long as the leaves are deep green and healthy, the plants are performing properly. You want a strawberry plant to grow at least 8-10” tall and wide before it starts flowering.

Some flowers may appear in the vegetative phase. Once again, it is best to pinch them to encourage the plant to grow a little stronger. Early flowers often produce measly fruits, anyway. This will set the stage for extra abundant yields in a few weeks when the weather is fully warm. Stronger plants with lots of leaves and healthy roots are more capable of producing consistently large, juicy berries for the rest of the summer.

Runner Removal

The vegetative phase also includes lots of runner production. Runners are also known as stolons or suckers because they suck energy away from the central plant. Strawberries use runners to spread as ground cover over large areas. But in our gardens, we are typically growing these plants for fruit rather than ground cover. 

If you want to ensure larger harvests of berries, remove the runners as they appear. They look like long, slender stems from the center of the plant, reaching out to nearby bare soil. If left long enough, a baby plant will begin forming at the end of each runner. This pulls energy away from your main plant’s root and leaf production, ultimately limiting its energy for flowering in the next growth phase.

You can use sharp pruners to cut off runners at the base of the original plant. Once the plants are thoroughly rooted, the runners can easily be snapped off. Be careful not to tug young roots out of place by snapping runners too soon. I usually cut the runners off in early in the season and snap them by hand later on when the roots are anchored.

Flowering

After about one and a half to two months of rooting and vegetative growth, strawberry plants typically begin flowering in early to mid-summer. If your plants appear lush and thriving, stop removing the early blossoms and let them shift into their reproductive phase. The little white flowers will cover your strawberry patch, and bees will begin flocking to the area. Interplanting with white alyssum is a great way to attract the maximum amount of pollinators and other beneficial insects to ensure a strong fruit set.

Strawberry plants are photoperiod sensitive, which means they flower based on the amount of daylight. This is why June-bearing varieties only produce flowers and fruit during a short window of time in June and July in most climates. However, day-neutral varieties are best for home gardeners because they flower regardless of day length. Day-neutrals start producing flowers as soon as the weather is sufficiently warm and their leaves and roots are established.

Fruiting

Strawberry flowers take about four to six weeks to mature into ripe fruits. You can expect to harvest your first strawberries within three months of planting, with production ramping up to its fullest potential four months after planting. Again, the benefit of day-neutral varieties is that they produce flowers and fruits continuously throughout the season. If you plant June-bearing or everbearing varieties, you may not harvest significant volumes of fruit until the following summer.

On mature strawberry plants, you may notice various stages of reproductive growth on a single plant at any given time. For example, the plant may have:

In peak summer, it’s important to harvest your strawberry patch every few days so you can catch the berries at proper ripeness. Overripe berries become mushy, darkened, and sometimes moldy. To prevent disease and encourage continuous ripening, pick the ripest red berries right when they are ready. More harvesting promotes more flowering, which means more fruit!

Dormancy

At the end of the season, strawberry fruiting and flowering slows. Cold temperatures signal to the plant that it is time to rest. Strawberries are perennial and frost-tolerant, but they must overwinter below ground. The above ground leaves will die back with the first frosts, but this does not mean the plants are dying. 

Herbaceous deciduous plants typically drop their leaves and stems so they can funnel their energy down into the roots for dormancy. Let the plants naturally wither and die back before you do any pruning. The crowns will suck the remaining nutrients and water out of the leaves to store in the roots. This preparation for dormancy is crucial for successful overwintering.

If you want to overwinter your plants, it’s helpful to prune away the dead foliage after the first hard frost and add a nice layer of straw or leaf mulch to keep the crowns cozy through the cold months.

How to Speed Up Growth

Stressful conditions ultimately slow us all down, and strawberry plants are no different. Without sufficient nutrients, water, sunlight, and soil, these plants will struggle to reach their fullest potential. While you can’t change the natural life cycle of a plant, you can ensure the fastest growth by providing ideal, low-stress conditions.

Reduce Transplant Shock

Preventing transplant shock is the most important way to ensure rapid strawberry establishment. Although strawberries are remarkably resilient and vigorous, these plants are most vulnerable when they are young.

As a commercial-scale organic strawberry grower, here are a few tricks we used to promote rapid establishment after transplanting:

Most importantly, be sure to protect newly planted strawberries from extreme weather. Very cold nights can shock the plants and slow their growth. I like to cover all of my plants with row fabric immediately after planting. You can also use mulch, grow in containers, or just wait until your last spring frost date when the soil is sufficiently warm and the weather is settled.

Remove Early Blossoms

It may seem counterintuitive, but it is helpful to remove the first blossoms from your plants. Early flowers detract from strawberry establishment. As we explored above, it’s important for young plants to first channel their energy into root and vegetative growth. Removing the flowers is like a signal that says, “Hey! Focus on your roots and leaves for now, you can reproduce later on when you are bigger and stronger!”

It won’t kill your plants to leave the flowers on, but it may slow them down later in the season. I’ve found that plants whose flowers were plucked early on tend to produce the most fruit down the line. If young strawberries are allowed to flower right after planting, they may not grow as large and vigorous.

Provide Consistent Moisture

Strawberries are not drought tolerant. They are shallow-rooted and need consistent water to thrive. However, it’s important that the soil does not get soggy either. Root rot, crown rot, and various types of foliar diseases are common in strawberries grown in heavy, waterlogged soils.

Avoid overwatering by checking the soil moisture before irrigating. It’s best to irrigate with drip lines or soaker hoses so the water is delivered straight to the root zone of the plant. Watering from overhead with sprinklers can promote more foliar issues.

Amend Loamy Soil

These herbaceous, low-growing fruits prefer loamy, well-drained soil. Amending with compost will help your plants grow more rapidly and produce higher yields of berries. Lots of organic matter is ideal for the fastest-growing strawberries. Heavy clay or compacted soil can slow the growth down because the plant roots have a harder time penetrating through the hard ground.

Prune Runners

Runner removal is crucial for faster-growing strawberry plants. Also known as stolons, runners suck energy away from plant development. Remember to prune runners any time you see them. This will help your plants produce fruits faster without getting distracted by their need to spread. It will also ensure that strawberries don’t take over your garden. 

Use Row Cover or Shade Cloth

Research shows that strawberries produce best in temperatures between 45-86°F (7-30°C). If the weather is too cold or too hot, the plants may stop producing flowers. In cold climates, row cover is helpful in the early season to keep the temperatures cozy and help plants grow more quickly.

In warm climates, shade cloth can cool down the plants. 

Low tunnels made of PVC or curved piping can elevate the fabric off the top of the plants. However, pollinators still need to access the fruits. Some growers remove the fabrics during different parts of the day to ensure that bees can still pollinate the blossoms.