How to Plant Strawberries (Crowns, Bare Roots & Plugs)

A well-planted strawberry bed can produce fruit for 4–5 productive years, which makes the planting day worth getting right. The single biggest mistake is depth — buried even 1 cm (½ in) too deep and the crown rots; sat 1 cm (½ in) too high and the roots dry out and the plant dies. Get the depth right and almost everything else can be fixed later.

This guide walks through bare-root crown planting (the most common method), plugs, and runner-grown plants, with the spacing system, soil prep, and first-month care that makes the difference between a thriving patch and a stunted one.

Quick answer

Plant strawberry crowns at exactly soil level — roots fully buried, growing point just at the surface. Space 30–45 cm (12–18 in) apart in rows 90–120 cm (36–48 in) apart. Plant in early spring or 6–8 weeks before first frost. Pinch first-year flowers from June-bearing varieties to force a heavier crop the second year.

Table of contents

1. Choosing your variety type
2. When to plant
3. Preparing the bed
4. How to plant bare-root crowns
5. How to plant plugs
6. How to plant runner-rooted plants
7. Spacing systems — matted row vs hill
8. First-month care
9. Common mistakes
10. Troubleshooting
11. FAQ

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Choosing your variety type

Strawberries come in three flowering types, and the type determines your harvest pattern.

Type	Flowering	Fruiting	Best for
June-bearing	Spring	One big crop, June (3–4 weeks)	Preserving, big-batch harvests
Everbearing	Spring + late summer	Two crops (early summer + autumn)	Spread harvest
Day-neutral	Continuous	Continuous fruiting through summer	Fresh eating all season

Popular June-bearing varieties: ‘Allstar’, ‘Honeoye’, ‘Earliglow’. Day-neutrals: ‘Albion’, ‘Seascape’, ‘Tristar’. Everbearers: ‘Quinault’, ‘Ozark Beauty’.

For most home gardeners growing fresh fruit, day-neutrals are the easiest — they fruit the first year and don’t need first-year flower pinching for the full 3–4 months.

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When to plant

Early spring — the most common window. Plant 4–6 weeks before your last frost date, as soon as the soil can be worked. Bare-root crowns are dormant at this stage and tolerate light frost.

Autumn (zones 6–10) — 6–8 weeks before first hard frost. Crowns root in over winter, often outperforming spring-planted siblings the next year. In colder zones (3–5), the freeze-thaw cycle heaves crowns out of the soil unless heavily mulched.

Avoid mid-summer planting. Heat stress on a freshly planted crown is the #1 cause of summer planting failure.

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Preparing the bed

Strawberries are heavy feeders and slightly acid-loving. The bed prep matters more than for most edible crops because the plants stay in place for 3–5 years.

1. Site selection. Pick a spot with 6–10 hours of direct sun. Avoid frost pockets — strawberry blossoms are damaged by late spring frost.

2. Avoid solanaceous predecessors. Don’t plant strawberries where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, or eggplant grew in the past 3 years — verticillium wilt is a shared disease that lingers in soil.

3. Loosen the soil. Dig or fork to 30 cm (12 in) deep. Strawberry roots are wide and shallow but need loose ground to spread.

4. Amend with compost. Work 5–8 cm (2–3 in) of well-rotted compost into the top 20 cm (8 in) of soil.

5. Adjust pH to 5.8–6.5. Strawberries prefer slightly acidic soil. If your test reads above 7.0, add elemental sulphur per the package rate; if below 5.5, add lime. Test 2–3 weeks before planting so amendments can react.

6. Add a starter fertiliser. A balanced organic fertiliser (5-10-10 or similar) at 60 g per m² (2 oz per sq yd) gives crowns a boost without burning roots.

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How to plant bare-root crowns

Bare-root crowns are dormant strawberry plants with no soil — typically shipped in spring. They’re cheap, ship well, and outperform plugs once established.

Step 1 — Soak the roots

Submerge crowns in cool water for 1–2 hours before planting. The roots rehydrate, swell slightly, and become much easier to spread when planting.

Step 2 — Trim if needed

Snip any blackened or shrivelled root tips back to firm white tissue. Trim long roots to about 15 cm (6 in) — overly long roots are hard to fan out properly and can curl underground.

Step 3 — Dig wide planting holes

Open holes 15 cm (6 in) wide and 15 cm (6 in) deep. The hole should be wide enough that the roots fan out sideways without bending or crowding.

Step 4 — Form a small soil cone

Mound a small cone of soil in the centre of the hole. The cone supports the crown at the right height and the roots drape down its sides.

Step 5 — Set the crown at exactly soil level

Place the crown on the cone with roots fanning down its sides. Adjust until the midpoint of the crown — the line between roots and growing point — sits exactly at soil level.

A useful trick: set a pencil or thin stick across the hole as a reference line. The midpoint of the crown should touch the pencil.

• Too deep (growing point buried): rot is almost guaranteed
• Too high (roots exposed): the crown dries out within days
• Exactly right: roots buried, growing point just visible

Step 6 — Backfill and firm

Backfill with the soil-compost mix. Firm gently around the crown — enough that a tug on the leaves doesn’t lift the plant, but not packed solid.

Step 7 — Water in deeply

Soak each plant with 500 ml (17 fl oz) of water immediately after planting. This settles soil around the roots and removes air pockets.

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How to plant plugs

Plugs are small pre-rooted strawberry plants in 5–7 cm (2–3 in) pots. They’re more expensive than bare-roots but skip the dormant-root recovery period and establish 1–2 weeks faster.

1. Soak the rootball briefly in water for 5–10 minutes if the soil feels dry.

2. Dig holes the size of the rootball. No deeper.

3. Set the plug so the soil line of the rootball matches the surrounding bed soil. The growing point should sit at the same height it sat in the pot.

4. Backfill, firm, water.

Plugs can be planted any time the bed is workable, including late spring and early summer in mild climates. They’re the easier choice for inexperienced growers because the depth-judgement is automatic — match the soil line.

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How to plant runner-rooted plants

Free strawberry plants — propagated from runners off your existing plants. Best done in summer for autumn planting.

1. In summer, identify daughter plants (small plantlets) on runners from the parent. Pick robust ones with 3+ leaves.

2. Pin the daughter plant into a small pot of moist potting mix while it’s still attached to the runner. A bent piece of wire or a stone holds it in place.

3. Wait 4–6 weeks for the daughter to root into the pot. Roots fill the pot when ready.

4. Sever the runner between parent and daughter.

5. Transplant the rooted daughter into the new bed at the same depth it grew in the pot.

This method is best for autumn-planting (zone 6+) or for filling gaps in an established bed.

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Spacing systems — matted row vs hill

Two systems dominate home strawberry growing. See how far apart to plant strawberries for the full spacing chart.

Matted row (most common)

• Plants 30–45 cm (12–18 in) apart in single rows
• Rows 90–120 cm (36–48 in) apart
• Allow runners to fill the row to a final width of 45 cm (18 in)
• Best for June-bearing varieties

Hill system

• Plants 25–30 cm (10–12 in) apart in double rows 30 cm (12 in) apart
• 60 cm (24 in) walking path between bed pairs
• Remove all runners (force energy into berries)
• Best for day-neutral and everbearing varieties

For container or raised-bed growers, see how to grow strawberries in containers.

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First-month care

The first 4 weeks after planting determine whether the plant establishes or fails.

• Water: Keep soil consistently moist — not soggy. About 2.5 cm (1 in) of water per week, more in heat.
• Mulch: A 5 cm (2 in) layer of straw or pine needles around plants suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and keeps berries off bare soil.
• Pinch flowers: For June-bearers, pinch every flower for 3–4 months. For day-neutrals/everbearers, pinch only for the first 6 weeks.
• Watch for slugs: New strawberry foliage is a slug magnet. Set beer traps or apply iron phosphate granules.
• Don’t fertilise heavily. The starter fertiliser at planting is enough for the first 6 weeks. Heavy nitrogen now produces leafy plants with no roots.

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Common mistakes

• Wrong planting depth. The single most common failure. Bury the roots, not the crown.
• Letting the roots dry during planting. A 5-minute air exposure on a hot day can kill bare roots. Keep them covered or in water until they go in the hole.
• Planting in former tomato/pepper beds. Verticillium wilt persists in soil for 3+ years.
• Not pinching first-year flowers (June-bearing). Cuts second-year yield by 50–70%.
• Skipping mulch. Strawberries on bare soil rot at the lowest fruit and harbour slugs.
• Letting runners root unmanaged. A matted row turns into a chaotic 1.2 m (4 ft) wide mess in two seasons. Train runners into the row, not the path.
• Watering overhead. Wet leaves at evening invite leaf spot and grey mould. Use drip or soaker hoses.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
New leaves wilt and die within a week	Crown buried too deep — rot	Replant remaining crowns at correct depth
Crown survives but doesn’t grow	Crown set too high — roots drying	Mound a thin layer of soil over exposed roots; water deeply
Yellow leaves with green veins	Iron deficiency from high pH	Acidify with elemental sulphur or pine-needle mulch
Plants spindly, few flowers	Too much nitrogen, not enough sun	Stop high-N feeds; ensure 6+ hrs sun
Slug damage on new leaves	Standard for new strawberry beds	Iron phosphate granules; beer traps
Crowns heaved out of soil after winter freeze	Insufficient mulch or shallow planting	Press back gently; mulch heavily
Runners everywhere, few berries	First-year flower pinching skipped	Pinch flowers next year; remove excess runners now
Wilting despite wet soil	Verticillium wilt from previous tomato/pepper beds	Move bed to fresh ground; choose resistant varieties

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Final notes

Get the depth right, water consistently for the first month, mulch heavily — and your strawberry bed will thank you with fruit for years. Most strawberry-bed failures trace back to that one detail: crown set at exactly soil level.

For more strawberry guidance:

• How to grow strawberries — full lifecycle from planting to harvest
• How far apart to plant strawberries — matted row vs hill spacing
• How to grow strawberries from seed — the slow-but-rewarding route
• How to grow strawberries in containers — pots and hanging baskets
• How long does a strawberry plant take to produce fruit — full timeline by variety

Track first-year flower-pinching, mulch dates, and harvest windows with the free Tazart plant care app.

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A note on conditions

Climate zone, soil type, and variety all shift these numbers slightly. The practices above are well-tested averages from university extension trials — adjust based on your specific cultivar’s instructions and local growing conditions.