So I have a strawberry plant that sat on my lap bundled in disguise together with a bunch of roses during that two hours flight home. It has been nine months since I came back from that flower market that saw me running berserk (no rage, no violent... just deliriously happy!) from garden to garden around that fifty acres of land where you can find every conceivable plants you can think off! Add that to the strawberry plant / runner which presumably must be around two to three months old where I paid less than a dollar for it, I actually have on hand a toddler berry plant.
I'm just very bad with names. I've came across how some creative people christened their free range chickens, pet snail (Hello Norman #WaveHands @seinemutti if you're reading this), kittens or even plants with such nice, cute and appropriate names. Alas I could only come up with Straw or Berry or Strawberry.
I wanted a name very badly for toddler berry but calling her Strawberry was just too predictable and quite a mouthful considering she's quite dainty. Straw? That's not funny. It reminded me of hot days when I can't wait to push a straw into my ice frizz drink. The other straw would be just as bad. Imagine a stalk of dry grain! That's not a good omen since it's practically hot here 365 days and no I don't want my air-flown-hand-carried plant to suffer the fate of dried straws.
I love berries but Berry? So so not cool. Someone named Barry might just pop his head round the corner if I started cooing "Berry... berry..."
Hence this nameless toddler berry plant uprooted from the hill slopes of that cool region ended up in my mini garden. On some days, she looks really well and I know it'll be soon before she becomes productive but on days she doesn't look so well, I could only sigh and turn to google for answer. Today is one such day.
My search led me to this: http://strawberryplants.org/2010/08/strawberry-plants-producing-runners-but-no-strawberries/
Thanks for the tips guys!
So here's the answers as to why my strawberry plant does not produce strawberries YET (take note of the Yet for I'm hoping she will produce SOON, fingers crossed!).
10 Reasons Strawberry Plants Don’t Produce Strawberries
1. Strawberry plants are too young
June-bearing strawberry plants will often produce few or no
strawberries in the first year they are planted. This is, in fact good
for the long-term health of your plants and strawberry bed. The energy
that goes into a strawberry is not insignificant for a young strawberry
plant. Since strawberries are perennials that will produce a crop year
after year, the best use of developmental energy is in establishing a
strong, healthy root system and flower buds within the crown. The
better root system will exponentially increase the nutrient uptake for
the second year. And, those roots will be needed as the flower buds
will turn into flowers that will turn into strawberries in year two.
This is why it is important to pinch off strawberry flowers in year one as described on the Growing Strawberries
page. Doing this in year one allows development of more buds and
better roots. This makes the plant healthy. The healthy plant will
then set a much larger harvest than it otherwise would without them.
What young? Toddler-Berry is 9 months + another 2 - 3 months = 11 - 12 months. A quick footed toddler would already be walking! Still no flowers in sight *sigh*
2. Your strawberry plants have diseases or parasites or both
There are a host of strawberry pests and pathogens that literally
suck the life out of strawberries. In fact, you can view the most
common ones on the
Strawberry Plant page. If your strawberries have an infection or infestation, they may simply be too sick to produce strawberries.
No diseases, no parasites... she's all clean.
3. Your strawberries are thirsty (or drowning)
Strawberries can be finicky when it comes to their water
requirements. They have relatively shallow root systems. This causes
them to absorb the vast majority of their water from the top several
inches of soil. This is also the soil that dries out most quickly when
the temperatures rise. Since strawberry plants require a significant
and steady amount of water (see the Growing Strawberries page, linked
above) to produce best, constant drying out of the top layers of soil
can cause the plants to go into “survival mode.” They don’t produce
many or good quality strawberries in dry dirt (if they survive).
Additionally, too much watering will halt plant growth and strawberry
production. In fact, the strawberry crowns will rot, and the plants
will die if they remain in standing water for too long. It is important
to plant your strawberry plants in well-drained soil to prevent
standing water from submerging any part of the strawberry plant.
I think they're just nice; either drying or drowning.
4. Your strawberries aren’t getting pollinated
Most of the common varieties of strawberry plants have hermaphroditic
flowers, meaning they have both “male” and “female” parts. However,
the flowers typically act as either male or female, not both. This
means that pollen from one flower has to make to to another flower in
order for the strawberry to form. So, if a strawberry plant is kept
indoors in a window or outdoors on a screened in porch (or anywhere else
where the pollinating insects won’t be successfully drawn to your
plant, you likely won’t have any strawberries.
There's no flowers to begin with.
#Sad #SoSad #SadAnnie #AnnieIsSad #StrawberriesDeprived #DeprivedOfStrawberries #NoBees #PoorBees #HungryBees
5. Your strawberry plants are starving
Strawberry plants are amazing. They can manage to eke out their
existence in some of the harshest places on earth. In fact, one of my
own crazy strawberry runners once rooted itself in the shelf of a cheap,
pressboard bookshelf. It had nothing to eat other than wood chips and
whatever glue they use to stick those things together. To my amazement,
it survived and grew well. It actually was only a inch or so smaller
than the other runner plants put out from the same mother plant. But,
when the other plants fruited, this one did nothing. In fact, it didn’t
even produce a flower. All that to say: your strawberry plants need
the right nutrients. Without the appropriate organic components, the
plant may still grow, but it won’t provide you with any strawberries.
Compost + seaweed + powdered eggshells + ground coffee... except no cavier added.
#TellMeINeedToKnowIfYouAreStillStarving
6. Your strawberry plants are high on NPK
Giving your strawberries too much food can also hurt strawberry
production. The Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium (NPK) fertilizers are
generally formulated for specific growing purposes. Using fertilizers
that are of the wrong concentrations for strawberry plants, or even
using way to much of an appropriate fertilizer can decrease strawberry
production. Often, the fertilizers cause excessive vegetative growth at
the expense of strawberry production. After all, why should the
strawberry plant worry about propagating itself via
strawberry seeds if it has so many nutrients tickling its roots that it can’t even think straight?
What high? On food?
7. Your climate is wrong for strawberries
Most strawberries grown at the equator are grown at high elevations
where it is cooler. I don’t think it is possible for them to grow on
Antarctica without serious human interventions. While a few populated
places on earth are completely unsuitable for any type of strawberry
growth, strawberries will grow just about everywhere else. If, however,
the preferred combination of warmth and coolness is not attained, many
varieties will not produce strawberries. Most strawberry cultivars do
best when the days are warm to hot (but not scorching) and the nights
are cool to slightly warm. This combination of warm days and cool
nights will almost always result in the maximal strawberry production
for almost any strawberry variety. If you live somewhere where it is
too hot, the plants may still grow, but the strawberries may be sparse
or absent.
#HangsHeadInShameNo1
There's no spring-summer-autumn-winter here and everyday is practically a hot day.
8. Your strawberry plant variety is wrong for your climate
Strawberry breeding programs around the world are constantly trying
to increase local yields by developing more suitable strawberry plants
for specific regions. This goal is often attained. However, in
creating specialized strawberry cultivars, some of the overall
adaptability of these plants is bred out or lost. When that happens,
the new cultivars are sometimes successful only in specific climactic
regions. Buying a strawberry developed for Michigan strawberry growers,
for example, may not grow well in southern Florida. When the plants
don’t thrive, they often don’t fruit.
#HangsHeadInShameNo2
It was so cold and breezy up there on that 50 acres plot.
9. Your strawberry plants don’t like their home
Strawberry plants will grow well in containers. If they are properly
cared for, that is. Container strawberries often do not have
sufficient soil. Their soil will dry out much more quickly than
in-ground strawberry plants. Their roots can get too hot. If planted
in nutrient deficient or poor strawberry-quality soil, the plants won’t
be happy. Regardless of whether a strawberry plant is planted in an
inhospitable pot or inhospitable plot, the lack of a suitable home that
results in any of the conditions above will diminish or eliminate berry
production. Unhappy plants don’t readily produce strawberries.
I need to have a heart-to-heart and face-to-face talk with ToddlerBerry. "Tell me seriously.... Have you been unhappy?"
10. You’ve been duped, lied to, or are misinformed
Occasionally, nurseries that sell strawberry plants get their facts
mixed up. If they sell a June-bearing strawberry variety to a customer
wanting an everbearing variety so that they can have a decent crop
toward the end of the season, the buyer will be frustrated when no
strawberries come forth. Be sure to check the characteristics of the
cultivar you want to plant to make sure it is what you think it is and
that it will perform well in your climate. A great place to start is
the
Strawberry Varieties page.
So, if there are no strawberries on strawberry plants you have
planted, or strawberry plants producing runners but no strawberries,
evaluate each of the 10 reasons above and see if they apply to your
situation. If they do, remedying the problem will likely result in
reaping a harvest!
No! No! No.... I was not! It was such a good deal I pressed the note into her hand and made a hurried exit even before she could put a plastic dress over ToddlerBerry.
PS: ToddlerBerry does sounds like a berry nice name... yes? Until she starts to flower, she will always be just ToddlerBerry.
