What to Expect From Your Strawberry Blooms
Gain insight into the connection between your strawberry plant's flowers and its fruit production for a more successful and abundant harvest.
The appearance of the first flowers on a strawberry plant is a welcome sight. These blooms are the direct precursors to fruit, signaling the plant is mature enough to enter its reproductive phase. Witnessing this stage holds the promise of a future harvest.
The Strawberry Blooming Process
Strawberry flowers are characterized by five white petals surrounding a yellow center composed of both male and female reproductive parts. The blooming pattern is determined by the type of strawberry you are growing, which falls into one of three main categories.
June-bearing strawberries develop their flower buds during the late summer and fall of the previous year, prompted by shortening daylight hours. These buds remain dormant through winter and then emerge in a concentrated burst the following spring. This leads to a single, large harvest over a few weeks in June or early July, making them popular for preserving.
Everbearing varieties follow a different schedule, producing two main crops annually. The first set of flowers appears in the spring for an early summer harvest, with a second, smaller crop developing in late summer or early fall. These types produce few runners and focus energy on these distinct fruiting periods.
Day-neutral strawberries offer the most continuous production. Their flowering is not significantly influenced by day length, allowing them to produce blossoms and fruit from spring until the first hard frost, provided temperatures remain favorable. In moderate climates, these plants provide a steady supply of fresh berries for several months.
Managing First-Year Blooms
A common practice for new strawberry plantings, especially June-bearing varieties, is removing all flowers that appear during the first year. By preventing the plant from expending energy on fruit, it can instead allocate resources toward developing a more robust root system. This initial sacrifice leads to a healthier plant and more abundant harvests in subsequent years.
The process of removing the blooms is straightforward and can be done by pinching the flower stem or by using a small pair of scissors. For June-bearing types, this task should be done consistently throughout their spring blooming period.
For everbearing and day-neutral types, the recommendation is slightly different. Only pinch off the first flush of blooms that appear for the first few weeks after planting. After this initial period, by early July, you can allow subsequent flowers to develop into fruit for a modest harvest in the plant’s first year.
Troubleshooting a Lack of Blooms
If your strawberry plants are not producing flowers, several factors could be at play.
- Insufficient sunlight: Strawberries require at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day for flower production. Plants in shadier conditions may produce lush green leaves but will often fail to set buds.
- Improper fertilization: Using a fertilizer that is too high in nitrogen will encourage leafy growth at the expense of flowers. Switch to a fertilizer with a balanced N-P-K ratio, like 10-10-10, or one higher in potassium.
- Plant age and condition: A very young plant may not be mature enough to bloom, while older strawberry plants, over three or four years old, naturally become less productive and may need to be replaced.
- Overcrowding: This can stress plants and inhibit flowering, so thin plants to a proper spacing of about 30 cm apart. This ensures good air circulation and access to nutrients.
- Inconsistent watering: Strawberry plants have shallow root systems and are susceptible to both overwatering and underwatering. The soil should be kept consistently moist but not waterlogged to provide the ideal conditions for blooming.
From Bloom to Berry
Once a flower has bloomed, the next step is pollination. While strawberry plants are self-fertile, insect pollination is highly beneficial. The activity of bees and other pollinators ensures that the hundreds of tiny pistils in the flower’s center are all pollinated, which is necessary for a large, well-formed berry.
After successful pollination, the flower petals will fall away, and the green receptacle at the flower’s base will begin to swell. This is the part that becomes the fleshy fruit. The tiny yellow “seeds” on the outside of the strawberry are technically individual fruits called achenes, and each one develops from a pollinated pistil. It takes about four weeks for a ripe strawberry to develop.
A late spring frost can damage open blossoms, destroying their ability to produce a berry. If a frost is predicted while your plants are in bloom, covering them overnight with a frost blanket or a simple sheet can provide the necessary protection.