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🔍 Click to enlargefruitperennial💧 Hydroponic-Compatible
Strawberry
Fragaria × ananassa
Sweet, compact fruiting plant. Excellent in containers, raised beds, or rows.
Quick Facts
Sun:☀️ Full Sun
Water:💧💧 Moderate
USDA Zones:Zones 3–10
Space:🪴 Container, 🌱 Small Bed, 🏡 Large Garden
Soil:Loam, Sandy, Silty
Best Season(s):Spring
Experience Level:🌱 Beginner
Native Range:North America & Chile (hybrid origin)
Bloom Color:White with a yellow center
Bloom Cycle:Spring, with June-bearing varieties producing one main flush
Days to Harvest:60–90 days from transplant
Harvest Pattern:Perennial — produces year after year
Care Notes
Mulch around plants. Trim runners to focus energy on fruit production.
💧 Hydroponic Notes
One of the best fruits for hydroponics. Works great in NFT channels or tower systems. Everbearing varieties fruit year-round indoors. Keep pH at 5.5–6.5.
Growing Details
Mature Size:6-8 in tall, 12-18 in spread per plant (runners extend 1-2 ft further)
Growth Rate:🐇 Fast
Zone Performance
In Zones 3-5, June-bearing varieties need reliable winter mulch (straw) to protect crowns from freeze-thaw heaving, while everbearing types are more forgiving of short seasons. In Zones 8-10, strawberries are often grown as annuals or in a plasticulture system since plants decline in summer heat and are replanted each fall for a winter/spring crop.
Companions & Wildlife
🦌 Deer Resistance
frequently damaged
Both the low, tender foliage and the sweet ripening fruit make strawberries a favorite target; netting or fencing is usually needed where deer pressure is high.
🐝 Pollinator Value
moderate
Attracts mason bees and honeybees to its small white flowers, and good pollination directly improves berry size and shape.
Good Companions
Borage — Borage is said to improve strawberry flavor and vigor while its blue flowers draw in bees for better pollination.
Spinach — Shallow-rooted spinach shares the strawberry bed without competing and can be harvested early before the strawberries spread.
Thyme — Low-growing thyme shares the same well-drained soil preference and helps suppress weeds around strawberry crowns.
Onions — Onions' sulfur compounds help repel many soil pests and slugs that target ripening strawberries.
Troubleshooting
⚠️ Gray mold (botrytis) on ripening fruit
Improve air circulation by thinning foliage, mulch with straw to keep berries off damp soil, and pick ripe fruit promptly.
⚠️ Small, misshapen berries
Usually a pollination deficiency or tarnished plant bug feeding — encourage pollinators and avoid broad-spectrum insecticides during bloom.
⚠️ Declining vigor after 2-3 years
Renovate beds by mowing foliage after harvest and thinning to healthy daughter plants, or replace the planting every 3 years.
⚠️ Slugs eating fruit
Keep berries elevated off soil with straw mulch and use iron phosphate bait around the bed perimeter.
✅ Pet Safety
Fruit is non-toxic to cats and dogs; a common safe treat.
Informational only — always check with a veterinarian if you suspect your pet has eaten something it shouldn't have.