All gardening is local, so where are you located? I have no knowledge of strawberries going dormant, they are evergreen. I've never heard of a chill requirement for strawberries either. They just grow, or not, and then flower or send runners when the time is right for them to do so. Strawbs are pretty easy. I wouldn't over think them.

Thanks for your post mrclint.
I live in Panama, tropical weather. I know that strawberries are for temperate climates, but I was looking up wether I could grow strawberries here. I've read that strawberries are planted, they get well established, they form flower buds, they get their chill in winter, then when spring comes they bloom, summer they fruit, then they send out runners for which the process repeats. From what I've read, it sounds like this chilling period is necessary for the plants to fruit, or at least to fruit well. Also from what I understand, these bare roots plants nurseries sell are ready to fruit the summer after planted because they already went to the cold treatment and are dormant. Granted, I may have missunderstood all this information.

On another note, what I would like to do is give a try to heat tolerant day neutral varieties, (I've got my eye on Eversweet), so my big questions are, is it possible without that winter? Will they just flower and fruit when theyre ready and that's it? Could I grow them as annuals, and grow their runners and have them fruit without any cold treatment?

I know they don't do well in tropical areas. You may be able to grow them as annuals. they may have a failure to thrive issue. Worth experimenting. Strawberries are great!
Mr Clint, all my strawberries are domant now. Yes they are evergreen, but they go dormant all the same. They are called Straw-berries, one needs to cover with straw when dormant. Mine will wake up with the spring, I'll remove straw. They have no light source, they are covered. They don't need light, they are dormant.
Vios, you can try, but i doubt you'll have much luck with strawberries.
Actually I don't know? Some in hotter states have had luck. I would try the warmer cultivars like Fiesta, Camarosa, and Chandler.
They may just work!

This post was edited by Drew51 on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 1:02

Yeah, if strawbs aren't readily available fresh in the market in your locale or aren't for sale where you would normally buy plants, they may not be suited for your area. Best to focus on things that are known to do well.

Again, regarding chill, it just isn't a factor in my locale or with the cultivars that are commonly available here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Why are strawberries called strawberries?

Interesting the strawberry plant. I would try if you can get some..

This post was edited by Drew51 on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 14:10

Strawberry plants do, indeed, have chilling requirements. A search on "strawberry chilling requirements" will find many references. In a tropical area requirements could be met by putting them in the refrigerator.

Here is a link that might be useful: strawberry chilling

There's your answer. If you feel the need to provide chill based on a ucanr.edu blog post, place your strawberry plants in the fridge, set the temperature somewhere between 28 and 45 degrees, for "x" number of days depending on the cultivar.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Waiting, at which stage of growth should I chill them? Say I have a just-rooted runner, should I chill it as soon as it is well established? Or should I let it grow for a while, pinching flowers, and then do it? Or should I let it fruit and send out runners for some time and then?

This article talks a little bit about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: runners

Thanks for the answer. The link is broken though.

Try the link again. It worked for me.

The plants should be chilled while dormant.

I lived for 40 years in Watsonville, primary strawberry farming area. Most fields are within 5 miles of the ocean, which limits the amount of winter chill. Most commercial growers use day neutral varieties which have a productive life of 3 years in most fields. In the winter the foliage is usually removed with a machine, able to do it without damaging the crown. In some years strawberries are still being picked into December, where they bring high prices shipped to Japan. Al

Some use lawn mowers to renovate beds. Mine are in raised beds so I use a weed whacker to hack then down to nothing. Works well!

My notes on low chill varieties. Phoenix (300 hours) proven are Camarosa, Chandler, Sequoia and Albion. Give it a shot and let us know how it turns out.

Camarosa June
Chandler June
Pajaro June
Sequoia June
Eversweet (Womack Nursery) everbearing
Albion Everbearing (day-neutral; = 35-85 degrees fruits)
Fort Laramie Everbearing
Selva Everbearing (day-neutral;very large fruits)
Tristar Everbearing

Plant in Fall and harvest in June. Replant in Fall....(treat as an annual).
Before planting, incorporate one pound of 12-24-12 fertilizer per 100 sq. ft. (or equivalent). It is recommended to remove the first flowers after planting to improve plant establishment. Yearly fertilization should not occur until after spring crop has been harvested. Here, a 10-10-10 fertilizer can be applied at 1 pound per 100 sq. ft.

Some everbearing cultivars to consider are: Fort Laramie; Gem Everbearing; Ogallala; Ozark Beauty; Quinault; and Streamliner.
Some day-neutral cultivars to consider are: Fern; Selva; Tribute; and Tristar.

Zone 9 Strawberry Plants for California
1. Albion �" plants are tolerant to changing weather, yield multiple harvests as an everbearer, and produce dark red, tasty strawberries.

2. Camarosa �" a short-day junebearer that produces early and has good storage properties.

3. Ventana �" produces very early in the season (even earlier than Camarosa). Flavor and shelf life are good.

4. Others: Aromas, Camino Real, Diamante

Zone Nine Strawberry Plants for Florida
1. Sweet Charlie �" this variety was developed in the early 1980s in Florida, and it is a real winner. It smells sweet and tastes even sweeter. It also has good disease resistance. (for a profile, click here: Sweet Charlie Strawberry Plants) early season

2. Other good choices: Strawberry Festival, Treasure, Winter Dawn, Florida Radiance

3. Oldies-but-goodies that will still produce: Selva, Oso Grande

Zone 9 Strawberry Plants for Texas
1. Chandler �" very likely the best strawberry variety for growing in South Texas. For a profile, click here: Chandler Strawberry Plants.

2. Others: Douglas, Sequoia (both of these varieties will fruit in the early spring).

Fruit size is heavily dependent upon irrigation...the more water the bigger the fruit.