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Strawberry growth cycle


The Definitive Guide (Updated 2022)

Strawberry plants are a wonderful forb. Their life cycle is much more complicated than the simple appearance of the humble strawberry plant implies. The growth cycle of strawberry plants spans the entire year and repeats annually. The life cycle of strawberry plants begins either from seed or from runner plants, and continues until senescence. This post is an overview of the life of a strawberry plant from germination until withered, brown leaves signify the passage from life unto death.

The Growth Cycle of Strawberry Plants

As with any cyclical scenario, it is difficult to choose a starting point (which came first, the chicken or the egg?). For the purposes of describing the life cycle of strawberry plants, a dual starting point will be considered as a sprouted strawberry seedling and a new strawberry runner. While both of these starting points require the existence of prior life, a discussion of the origins of life is outside the purview of this article.

Life Cycle of Strawberries: Beginnings

The strawberry seed, as with all seeds, contains the genetic material necessary for the continuation of the plant species (see the Strawberry Seeds page for more details). Upon sprouting, the roots are sent downward into the soil, and the transformation of nutrients into plant matter proceeds as the life cycle of the plant is perpetuated by resources obtained from the plants surroundings. These seedlings are genetically varied from the parent plants. Alternatively, established strawberry plants multiply themselves by means of clone or daughter plants extended from themselves by means of stolons to root some distance away from the mother plant and be established as an independent, but genetically identical, strawberry plant (see this page for more details: Strawberry Runners). Strawberry seeds will usually sprout in the late winter or spring after a period of cold stratification during winter months (but this isn’t required for all strawberry varieties) while runner plants are generally established later in the spring through the fall during warmer temperatures.

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Growth Cycle of Strawberry Plants: Maturation

Once root growth commences, plant growth begins in earnest for both seedlings and runner plants. This allows all parts of the strawberry plant to grow and mature. The runner plants have a distinct advantage over seedlings. They start out larger and have a more fully formed support system providing the energy needed for development. But, by the time late summer and early fall rolls around, both seedlings and runner plants are usually established. In the process of growing, the plants will have sent forth roots and produced a canopy of photosynthesizing tri-lobed leaflets sitting atop non-woody stems. Both roots and leaves extend from the hub of the strawberry plant, the crown.

Growth Cycle of Strawberries: Multiplication & Expansion

Once the plants have matured, they are ready to multiply and expand. They do this by means of the runner plants that have already been mentioned. The runners (stolons) are usually between 8 and 18 inches long, depending on the strawberry variety. These extensions serve to spread a strawberry plant’s range and find areas more favorable to growth, whether through higher soil quality or increased exposure to sunlight. Most strawberry varieties are adept at multiplication in this fashion, and they are even considered an invasive weed in some situations.

Life Cycle of Strawberry Plants: Seeds

While strawberry plants produce runners, they don’t put all their reproductive eggs in the same basket. Each strawberry plant devotes significant energy to genetic diversification through seed production. Strawberry seeds come from strawberry flowers which come from strawberry buds which are formed in the crowns of established strawberry plants. There are some variances of flower bud, flower, and strawberry production depending on which type of strawberry plant is considered (see the Strawberry Variety page for more details). The most common of these types is the June-bearing strawberry, and it will be considered here.

During the late summer and early fall, strawberry plants begin forming flower buds within their crowns. During this period, adequate water, light, and nutrients are critical. The flower buds form prior to winter and then move into dormancy (along with the rest of the plant) as the temperature drops. When temperatures again warm in late winter or early spring, the plants revive and immediately begin the transformation of the flower buds into flowers sitting atop stalks. These flowers, like most flowers, are then pollinated by insects and other pollinators. The result of pollination is a large mass of (usually red) accessory tissue studded with individual seed-containing fruits (there are also white strawberries, however). These achenes are attractive to birds and other creatures (including humans!) and are eaten. They are then digested. The remains, including many viable seeds, are then deposited in different locations to sprout and begin the life cycle of strawberry plants again.

Life Cycle of Strawberries: Life Span

The life arc of strawberries begins with the establishment of a new plant, peaks two to three years later, and then proceeds toward senescence and death two to three years following its peak. Under ideal conditions, a strawberry plant can live up to 5-6 years. After 3 productive years, however, they usually begin to lose vigor, and the production of strawberries begins to decline rapidly. Eventually, as age progresses and the strawberry plant weakens, strawberries usually succumb to ubiquitous opportunistic fungi or other environmental pathogens. The death process usually commences with spots, defects, and browning of previously healthy plant tissues and ends with a brown, withered, decomposing mass.

How Strawberry Plant Reproduce Themselves

Strawberry plants are perennials. They can reproduce by seed. Home gardeners find growing strawberry plants from seed notoriously difficult.

Strawberry plants also grow by runners. Runners are long stems with leaves that can develop their own root system where they touch moist soil.

A runner is the same plant as its parent until it is no longer connected to the crown, the central mass of roots of the strawberry plant. But even after the runner is cut off and transplanted somewhere else, it remains a clone of the mother plant. It is just a younger version of the strawberry plant you have been growing for one, two, three, or more years.

Strawberry plants grow runners late in the season.

Strawberry plants don’t put their energy into producing runners until after they have produced fruit. After the plant has produced strawberries with their tiny seeds and as summer days begin to wane, a strawberry plant senses it is time to put out runners.

There is a beginning and an end to “runner season” for strawberry plants. Summer-bearing strawberry plants put all of their energy into producing fruit as the days are getting longer. Strawberries are coated with tiny seeds that can reproduce the plant, and, in nature, red, sweet strawberries encourage animals to spread strawberry seeds far and wide.

After producing fruit, the plant devotes its energy into producing runners. Long days trigger the production of a hormone called gibberellin that causes stems to grow longer. (You can buy gibberellin to force strawberry plants to grow long stems, but you don’t need to, because the strawberry plants will do this on their own.) After producing fruit, the plant’s energy is focused on making runners.

Scientists have discovered that the strawberry plant has to finish producing its runners before temperatures average about 10 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit). Cool and cold weather cause the plant to go dormant. Dormant strawberry plants have to survive on stored energy through the winter until next spring.

Life Cycle of Strawberry Plants: Conclusion

Throughout their life, strawberry plants provide many times their own weight in harvested strawberries. They are one of the most productive plants when what is produced from the weight of the plant is considered. Strawberries begin to ripen four to five weeks after the first flowers open and continue to ripen for about three weeks. Have you considered growing strawberries yourself this year? If so, there are a host of suppliers from which you can find multiple strawberry varieties for sale. Simply see this directory: Strawberry Plants for Sale.

Understanding the growth cycle of strawberry plants can help you in your strawberry growing endeavors. Good luck!

Learn everything about growing strawberries from the Strawberry Master Manual, also don't forget to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook to stay updated with everything I post. We also have a Strawberry gardening group on Facebook! Feel free to join.

Strawberry Plant Growth Stages — Bustling Nest

Growing strawberries will add more color and liveliness to your backyard garden. If you’re a gardener, you may be wondering how quickly strawberry plants develop. 

Despite the strawberry plant’s appearance, its lifecycle is quite complex. Understanding how it grows will help you properly maintain it and maximize the plant’s growth and the strawberries it produces.

Germination

Strawberry seeds are more challenging to germinate than other garden plants because they need light to germinate and become dormant before they can grow. For successful germination, condition or stratify seeds for 2 – 3 weeks by storing them at 10 – 30 degrees.

Planting bare-root strawberries, strawberry seedlings, or runners are other ways to start growing strawberry plants. Runners, also known as stolons or daughter plants, sprout as the berries mature.

Vegetative Growth

Strawberry plants will grow quickly as the root system develops. They also develop daughter plants called runners as they grow. This is particularly true for strawberry plants planted in June. The plant will use its energy to produce its first fruit before producing runners.

When planted, it takes around 110 days for strawberries to go from germination to flowering. New leaves will begin to appear on bare root strawberries 2 – 3 weeks after they’re planted, and the plant may start blooming 3 – 4 weeks later.

The length of the vegetative stage depends on the type of strawberry plant and the environment in which it’s planted. The vegetative stage typically lasts approximately 6 months, but it could last up to a year in warmer climates. 

Strawberry plants go dormant during the cooler winter months but resume active vegetative growth in the spring.

Flowering

A strawberry plant typically starts blooming 2 – 4 weeks after its new leaves develop. It produces flowers, or inflorescences, that typically have five sepals and five white petals. These inflorescences grow from terminal buds on the plant’s crown. 

There may even be one or two extra flower clusters on each branch, which are miniature crowns that branch out from the main crown.  

Inadequate light, cold temperatures, and a lack of water can negatively impact the size and health of the blooms and, subsequently, the strawberries.

Pollination

Flowers create nectar at the base of their stamens. The blooms that form on strawberry plants can pollinate themselves, or they may rely on cross-pollination with pollen from an adjacent plant. Cross-pollination is achieved with the help of insects, wind, and people.

Your garden should attract these pollinators. The more pollinators you have in your garden, the better.

Fruiting

A strawberry plant’s lifecycle normally takes 60 – 90 days from planting to harvest. Environmental variables like soil temperature and the amount of sunshine the plant receives can impact how quickly they develop. 

Alaine Connolly

Alaine has been working way too hard in horticulture since 1992, beautifying golf courses, resorts, and hotels. She is a part time landscape designer who works full time caring for a 28,000 square foot public garden. At home, she maintains her own 400 square feet plot. Alaine lives in northern Illinois - zone 5b.

Agronomic principles of strawberry cultivation | Yara

There are a large number of agronomic factors that can influence this, many of which can be controlled given specific growing systems and climate/soil conditions.

Growing Requirements

A wide variety of strawberry varieties are available, including those well adapted to winter and spring frosts or summer heat and drought. Cultivars also vary widely in their need for refrigeration, as well as their flowering and maturation periods. Most of the production is focused on the temperate Mediterranean climate, between latitudes 28° and 60°, where the average temperature in midsummer ranges between 15°C and 30°C.

Strawberries require a constant supply of water. This factor is decisive during the rooting and development of the fruit (from the fall of the petals to the end of fruiting), otherwise the leaf area, photosynthesis rate and yield decrease. However, to increase the number of flowers and fruiting to specific 60-day-old plants at a later stage of flowering, water stress can be applied by reducing the irrigation of plants. Excessive water intake leads to deformation of the fetus.

Very high temperatures can adversely affect growth, damage photosynthesis and reduce productivity. Temperatures above 25°C can lead to a reduction in fruit number, total soluble solids (TSS) and at the same time accelerate fruit development. High temperatures can also lead to reduced fruit size, tissue damage, softness, and cracks under the skin of the fruit.

Pollination is mainly carried out by insects such as bees and bumblebees, which are often fed to crops through tunnels to help this process. Poor pollination, especially due to cold conditions or due to a lack of boron, as well as damage to high or low temperatures, can lead to deformation of the fruit. This distorted berry formation is associated with limited auxin production. Although auxins can be applied to the crop to contain such effects, this action can negatively affect the fruit ripening process.

Growth stages

Strawberry is a perennial herbaceous plant, the upper part of which dies off at the end of the season. However, for commercial purposes it is often grown as an annual crop. The central stem or crown of the plant supports leaves, roots, shoots and inflorescences (Fig. 1) and typical growth stages, as shown in Fig. 2. Plant development is regulated by environmental factors - in particular, photoperiod and temperature.

Roots are mainly formed in spring and autumn, during cool temperatures. They emerge from the base of the crown and from 50% to 90% of all roots are found at a distance of 10-15 cm from the soil. Water and nutrients are absorbed by the nourishing root, which lasts only a few days or weeks, after which it is continuously replaced. Primary roots are used to transport water and nutrients to the crown and usually live for more than one season. Root biomass decreases during fruiting but increases again in autumn before winter temperatures set in.

Leaves form throughout the season, mainly during long days. However, its growth stops when the temperature drops below 0 o C or more than 30 o C. At the base of each letter there is an auxiliary bud, which, depending on the conditions, produces lateral crowns with inflorescences or shoots (offspring). Shoots come out of the main buds, and inflorescences - from the upper lateral buds of the crowns. Flowers appear when conditions are not favorable for sprouts to appear. The first fruit on the sprout ripens in the first place, after which other fruits ripen, which develop.

Shoots support daughter plants, from which plants can also emerge independently. Such daughter plants are usually self-sustaining and can survive in 2-3 weeks. Most strawberry commercial crops are short or neutral day plants (Figure 3).

Short day plants produce flower buds under short day conditions (less than 14 hours) or at temperatures up to 15°C. Such short-day plants shoot after flowering, usually when the temperature fluctuates between 20 and 30 o C or when the day is longer than 10 hours.

In climates with cold winters, short-day flower buds usually form in late summer and autumn. Short day varieties can be grown in mild subtropical climates, but flower bud formation is limited by high temperatures.

Day neutral plants produce crowns and flower buds about three months after planting, regardless of day length, throughout the summer, and subsequently shoots. Again, high day/night temperatures of 30/26 o C slow down flower formation.

Short days and low temperatures promote plant dormancy. Most varieties require a cooling temperature of -1 to -10 o C to come out of dormancy - such varieties, bred for warmer climates, require significantly less refrigeration.

In subtropical climates, cultivation is best done with material produced in cool climates rather than locally produced. Once fully cured, the crowns of the strongest varieties can withstand temperatures as low as -45 o C. Although strawberries can tolerate low winter temperatures, frost during flower development will harm flowering. In some countries, irrigation is used to protect against frost. In this situation, water from overhead irrigation, applied before frost, congeals around the leaf, releasing heat, which protects the plant from damage. Strawberries grown under plastic wrap can withstand frost down to -50oC.

Cold resistant strawberries

Growth stage

Temperate

Crown opening

-5°C

23°F

Crowns fully open

-3°C

26°F

Flower opening

-2°C

28°F

Tolerance to cold temperatures depends on the growth stage of the strawberry. Flowers are the least resistant to cold. Table 4 shows the temperatures at which a loss of productivity occurs due to frost.

Stages of growth and development of strawberries

31.03.2013 Biological features of strawberry

When planted, a young strawberry plant has one shortened stem (primary horn) with 3-5 spirally arranged leaves on long petioles. From the lower part of the stem depart, well-branched fibrous roots. The strawberry stalk grows very slowly in height.

During the summer, it develops 10-12 densely arranged leaves, in the axils of which axillary buds are laid. Mustaches form from the axillary buds of the lower leaves. In the axils of the middle and upper leaves, buds form, from which new horns subsequently develop. In the axil of the uppermost leaf there is an apical (terminal) bud - a shoot growth cone, often called a heart.

In the autumn of the 1st year of the plant's life, the growth cone differentiates and the embryonic inflorescence is formed. Under favorable conditions, inflorescences are also laid in the axillary buds (first and second) of the upper leaves, which, unlike the apical (terminal), are called axillary. In this state, the annual plant goes into winter.

In the 2nd year of life, plants form in spring from a terminal bud, a rosette of leaves, an increase in the main horn and an inflorescence. After fruiting, the inflorescence dies off, and this completes (the growth of the primary horn. Later, new horns grow from the axillary buds of the primary horn. Adventitious roots form at the base of each new horn. This cycle of growth and development of the horns is repeated in subsequent years.

Thus the nature of the growth of strawberries determines the branching of the rhizome and the progressive increase in the number of horns on it.The growth of horns in different varieties of strawberries occurs in different ways and depends on the age of the plants and cultivation conditions.The better the care of the plantations, the more the plants branch. The more intensive the number of horns in all varieties increases in the first (1-3rd) years of plant life.During this period, each horn ends with a terminal inflorescence.On strong horns, the buds turn into flowering and form axillary inflorescences.

The highest yields of berries are obtained in the 2-3rd year of plantation life. Then the plants age: the laying of axillary buds decreases, the shoot-forming ability decreases, the growth of horns weakens. On weak horns, most of the buds remain dormant. The older the plant, the less it has horns with formed flower buds. Depending on the growing conditions, the horns die off from the age of 4-5 years. The aging of plants is inevitably accompanied by a drop in yield.

But along with the death of strawberry horns, they are being restored from dormant buds on older parts of the plant. This ability is based on the method of rejuvenating strawberries by cutting off the aerial part of the bush. However, observations have shown that growths formed from dormant buds in old plants are much weaker than growths that have appeared from axillary buds.

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