When to plant strawberries in Australia and New Zealand

Strawberry planting months by climate zone

The chart comes from the same data as the planting calendar. Tap a zone for its full calendar and the towns it covers.

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The arid and cool zones show no agreed months because the guides for those climates split. Some plant runners in late autumn and winter, others wait for spring. Both work. The difference is mostly in how much the plants establish before their first summer. The next section covers the two approaches.

Runners in winter, potted plants later

Strawberries are sold two ways, and each has its own season:

• Bare-root runners are dormant young plants with no pot, sold in late autumn and winter. In Melbourne they appear from around mid-May, according to the community group Local Food Connect. The Diggers Club says to plant them in winter as soon as they are available, and straight after unpacking. They cost less, establish quickly, and suit a whole bed.
• Potted plants are already growing and can go in over a much longer season. Diggers treats them as a year-round option in warm climates, with spring to autumn the best time. They suit a few plants in pots or a small patch.

In cold areas, plants that go in over winter need protection. Diggers suggests frost cloth or a 10 cm layer of straw mulch over them until spring. Planted in autumn or winter, Melbourne strawberries flower around September to October and fruit from November into March, according to Local Food Connect.

In New Zealand, Tui gives June to November as planting time and says planting during the winter produces a larger crop. In the subtropics and tropics the calendar's windows fall in autumn, so the plants establish in the mild months and crop before the summer heat.

How to plant them

• Depth. Local Food Connect plants with the roots under the soil and the crown, where the leaves join, sitting on top of it, not buried.
• Spacing. About 30–35 cm apart in zig-zag rows, as Local Food Connect suggests. Diggers allows about 30 cm per plant, and the calendar gives 25–40 cm. Tui plants them along the top of raised mounds. The plant spacing calculator turns this into a plant count for your bed.
• Certified plants. Buy certified virus-free stock, as Diggers advises, rather than runners from an old patch.
• Mulch. Tui mulches with straw to keep the roots moist, the fruit off the soil and the weeds down. See which straw mulch suits a vegie patch.
• Feeding. Tui feeds every four weeks through spring and summer.
• Pots. A trough or strawberry pot at least 20 cm deep, according to University of Maryland Extension. See the pot size guide.

Runners and replacing old plants

Strawberry plants send out runners, long stems that root and form new plants. Local Food Connect removes them during the season so the plant puts its energy into flowers and fruit. At the end of fruiting, Tui plants the runners out as next season's crop, and Local Food Connect roots them into small pots, pinned down with loops of wire.

Plants lose vigour and build up virus over time, so they are replaced every few years. Local Food Connect suggests every three to four years. Diggers says every four years, and every three for ever-bearing varieties, which do not respond well to renovation. Young runners from healthy plants are the usual replacements.

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