Strawberry Plants

Wild species of the strawberry plants grow in the temperate regions of North and South America and Europe.

The strawberry plants were being cultivated in Europe during the 1300's, but never in commercial quantities. Records in England show that King Henry the 8th purchased strawberries for eating in 1530.

Strawberries were important to ancient American civilizations long before Europeans arrived. When colonists first settled in Virginia, strawberries were already a locally cultivated crop. Modern commercial strawberries trace back to a chance cross-pollination between berries collected from Virginia and descendants of five strawberry plants that survived a long voyage from Chile to the fields of Normandy.

The Virginia strawberry, Fragaria virginiana, a wild species was exported from the United States colony in the 1600's to England, where it was favorable in taste, quality, size, and yields over the native European strawberry. After these two types of strawberry plants were planted in close proximity to each other, natural hybrids began to grow and substantial improvements were the foundation of the development of the modern day commercial strawberry industry.

Strawberries are the best loved of all summer fruits, their sweet red berries are irresistible to almost everyone. Very quick to produce their fruits, strawberry plants are an excellent crop for the amateur. With favorable conditions, each strawberry plants should produce one quart of strawberries.

You can have abundant crops of luscious berries by understanding the traits and needs of the various strawberry plants type. Since the types of strawberry plants have their own set of requirements, growers should consider field space, maintenance requirements and desired harvesting times when deciding which type of strawberries to sow.

Strawberry plants type

All strawberry plants varieties are one of three types: the June-bearing, the everbearing or the day-neutral. The difference between the types is the time during the growing season the plants produce fruit. The June-bearing varieties flourish in the spring, peak strawberry season, and produce one crop. Everbearing strawberry plants yield fruit several times, usually at the beginning and the end of the growing season. The day-neutral varieties promise an ongoing crop throughout the summer months as long as the weather is not too hot.