Can I Transplant Strawberries in January in Zone 6?

Zone 6

• USDA Zone 6 includes all parts of the country that experience average minimum winter temperatures in the range of minus 10 to 0 degrees F. This zone generally occurs in the middle latitudes and elevations. It includes the lower elevations across the Intermountain West from eastern Washington south to Nevada, Utah and northeastern Arizona. From the Great Plains, Zone 6 spreads from eastern New Mexico northeastward across Kansas to Kentucky and then to Pennsylvania and lower New England around Boston. The likelihood of snow cover and duration of subfreezing cold varies across the zone, affected by local climate and geography.

Winter Challenges

• Because the amount of cold experienced in Zone 6 causes the topsoil to freeze, digging up and transplanting strawberry plants in January is difficult at best if not completely impossible. Even if the soil is diggable this month, transplanting any plant from the garden is treacherous, as the issue of desiccation remains through the rest of winter. Alternating cycles of freezes and thaws in January and into February will heave the garden soil, causing any transplanting strawberry plant crowns to warm up, dry out and freeze. Watering is possible only when the soil is not frozen. The likelihood of January-planted strawberries surviving in Zone 6 is low.

Regional Considerations

• Postpone transplanting strawberry plants until February or March in Zone 6. In the parts of the zone with milder winters, such as in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee, transplanting may be possible and recommended as early as mid to late February. Farther north or at higher elevations where the winter is more severe, transplanting of strawberries is best delayed until March or April, as soon as the soil is free from frost and can be easily cultivated with a hoe or shovel.

Earlier Planting

• Trying to avoid the coldest weather in January by transplanting strawberry plants in autumn also is not the best solution in Zone 6. It would be better to transplant in August or September to allow the roots to grow and establish in the cooling, moist soil before hard freezes occur by December. Again, the issue of planting in fall and winter remains desiccation of plants. Even placing leaf or straw mulch over transplanted strawberries in winter does not prevent the cold from drying out plant roots and weakening the strawberries before conducive growing conditions return later in March.