The biggest problem I've had growing strawberries is the summer heat, they are really cool weather plants. The last two summers have been so hot that I have lost most of my plants. One group gets a bit of shade in the evenings and they have held on and don't appear to be in any danger. I have tried some of the newer varieties like 'Diamonte' and 'San Andreas' which are day neutral types (which can give a second "fall" crop in a mild year) and only the Diamontes survived the heat. The best performer in my garden is 'Chandler' which is one of the old timey June bearing types. There are catalogs online that specialize in strawberries. The best way to plant them is to buy them in the fall - but nobody has them for sale at that time except some of the catalogs. Most garden centers should have them in bundles by next month. I would mix it up and plant a few different types just to be safe.

Thank you John. I am planning to grow them in rain gutters. In peak summer, I will move them into share area. May be next year, I will plant them in ground. I am planning to buy them online now, and plant them once the weather gets little better. Can I leave them in ground during winter or do I have to dig them out and save them during winter?

i have never dug mine!!. I just mulch them up and they seem to be pretty hardy.. Have survived for over 15 years in my patch. .

I bought mine at a local garden centre ( center). I do not recall the name now. I think they are june bearing. To the same patch, I did add a few everbearing ones, 7 years ago.

Do you have any photos of your strawberry patch?

If I plant them in pots or gutters, Can't I save them for next year? I am still preparing my garden. Its going to take long time to finish the whole thing. Before everything is ready, I want to grow them in pots and plant them in ground in fall.

They'll do fine in pots until you get your garden finished. Just be careful with summer heat. The soil in pots gets hotter than the soil in the ground and strawberry's hate heat.

Thanks a lot for your help. You are one awesome Carolina's geek. Next time when I visit Raleigh I sure visit you or I will Raleigh just to visit you.

I had great luck with 'Sweet Charlie" strawberry plants from Stark Bros. 9 years ago I planted 4 rows in virgin soil (newly cleared land). They grew like crazy with bountiful crops. The next year I dug up the 'daughters' and planted them in the next new 4 rows, following year the 'granddaughters' in the next 4 rows and then dug under the first 4 rows of mothers. The next year (year 4) where the mothers were the 'great-granddaughters' were planted. That was repeated so that I had 4 rows fallow and 3 sets of 4 rows in production. I did plant and dig and divided them in March here in Wake Forest. I broke my leg 3 years ago so there wasn't anything growing (still isn't) in my garden except head-high weeds so I don't know about the heat factor John wrote about. I do know that they need a lot of water in the summer and appreciate some shade. On the West side of the patch I grew corn, then rotated with string beans on trellises, okra, and other tall bushy plants. I wish you good luck, the home grown strawberries don't taste anything like what you get in the store.

Nancy

Here are some photos of my two strawberry beds, one on either side of my "kitchen garden".