Height of a Strawberry Plant

Plant Description

• Strawberries are considered stoloniferous herbs because they spread by stolons, also known as runners. The plant itself consists of leaves, roots, a crown, runners and daughter plants. The crown, also known as the mother plant, is where the leaves and axillary buds are formed. Runners develop from axillary leaf buds, stretching the plant horizontally. Daughter plants form at every other node of the runners. Daughter plants are maintained by the runners until they form an independent root system. Once the daughter plant's roots are fully formed, the runners dry up, leaving a completely separate new plant.

Growth Form

• All varieties of strawberry plants are low-growing plants. Strawberries do not make good climbing vines because runners must be in contact with the soil to grow and form daughter plants. If a taller growth form is desired, consider using a hydroponic system. These space-efficient systems provide height and a cascading effect, with carefully arranged pots that are both stacked and centrally linked.

Site Selection

• Strawberries grow throughout the United States within USDA Hardiness Zone 2 through Zone 11. This pervasive plant grows best in well-drained, sandy loam soil with a high degree of organic matter. The site must receive full sunlight at least six hours per day. Ideally, the site will also have a very gradual slope. Avoid areas where, within the past three years, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants or potatoes have been grown. These plants frequently harbor verticillium wilt, which is a very serious disease that can kill strawberry plants years after the infected plants are destroyed.

Fruit

• Strawberries are a low-calorie fruit that contain vitamins and other healthy nutrients. Technically, the sweet edible part of the strawberry is considered an accessory fruit, composed largely of swollen receptacle tissue. The true fruit are the achenes, which are the small black dots that cover the outer surface. Strawberry fruit ripens 20 to 50 days following pollination. When this occurs depends largely on where strawberries are planted. Strawberries prefer to fruit when night temperatures are greater than 50 degrees Fahrenheit and day temperatures are less than 80 degrees Fahrenheit.