It is understandable the headache that results from you planting, nurturing a plant, watching it grow, then come harvest period and the plant does not bear fruit, even after all the care you believe you have given.
Various reasons may cause your strawberry plant not to bear fruit. Ranging from temperature, pest infestation which will lead to disease, your soil type, fertilizer type, and application, among other reasons.
This write will guide you on the major reasons why your strawberry plant isn’t bearing fruits, whilst dropping simple hints on how to care for your plant better.
But before we get into the full details of these reasons, knowing the type of strawberries gives you a broader understanding of why your strawberry plant is not bearing fruit.
Planting Strawberries At Home
Strawberries are fruits that are rich in vitamin C and are generally eaten fresh and occasionally used in pastries and pies, prepared as juice, ice cream, and chocolates.
Strawberries are popular for being grown in a home garden as it benefits the owner to get the fruit in their backyard rather than taking a trip to the store, and like any other home garden plants, they can be cultivated within a small space.
Types Of Strawberry Plants
There are mainly three (3) types of strawberry plants available to gardeners. This grouping is based on the flowering habit of the plant. The characteristics of each type make you understand which is suitable for you to have in your garden.
1. June-bearing strawberries produce one large crop of fruit from June to early July.
2. Ever-bearing types produce strawberries in early summer and early fall. Normally, it begins bearing fruit at almost the same time as the June-bearing type. What differentiates the ever-bearing type is that they produce fruits throughout summer and into fall.
3. Day-neutral strawberries produce fruit through most of the growing season, which is an upgrade in comparison to the other two (2) types of strawberry plants.
Why Your Strawberry Plants Aren’t Bearing Any Fruits
It is worthy to ask yourself if you cared too much about the inappropriate use of fertilizer, or you cared less by not watering adequately, or maybe you just don’t know how to care for the plant as you often deprive the plant of enough sunlight.
Below, we will discuss some possible reasons why your plant is depriving you of the sweetness of its strawberry fruit:
1. Watering Issues
Plants are not to be watered too much, so the strawberry plants like any other plant should not suffer water deficiency. While also noting that too much watering will cause the plant to rot, not be productive, and in most cases, the plant may die.
For the strawberry plants, the issue of too much water is very vital, and it is associated with the rotting of the plant crown, and the yellowing of the leaf.
This issue can also contribute to stunted growth, and low or no productivity of a strawberry plant. There is clear harm in watering your strawberry plant too much, as there is also harm in not watering adequately. Your plant would appreciate minimal watering.
2. Poor Fertilizer Application
Fertilizers comprise various mineral nutrients which can be vital to the growth of your plant, but just as it is a bad idea to over-feed yourself, you also want to take care of your plant in this accord.
Here is some guidance on the selection and application of fertilizers to your strawberry plants:
- You need to understand why you want to apply the fertilizer to your plant
- If the plant is at the right age to be fertilized. This helps you narrow down your fertilizer selection to what fertilizer should be applied at a particular growth stage of the plant.
- What type of fertilizer do you use by paying attention to the growth stage and our first point of why do you want to apply the fertilizer to your plant?
- The application; how do you apply the fertilizer? what will be the routine of application?
These will guide you on fertilizer application while also helping you in fertilizer selection.
3. Pests And Diseases Infestation
Some pests and diseases depend on your plant for feed, they, in turn, affect the productivity of your plant as these pests are capable of draining nutrients out of your plant.
Pests can attack the leaf and the flower of the plant, while there are diseases that cause root rotting.
4. Inadequate Sunlight
Depriving your strawberry plant of sunlight is as harmful as any of the reasons stated above. Not exposing it to enough sunlight would slow down some chemical reactions needed by the plant to be bountifully fruitful.
5. The Perfect Soil Type
knowing the nutrient composition of your soil can prevent your loss of unfruitful plants. The Strawberry plant mostly requires well-drained organic soil with a pH between 5.5-7.0. Soil type may occasionally be the sole determinant of the productivity of your strawberry plant.
If your soil lacks nutrients or retains too much water, it will affect the growth of the plant. Meanwhile, you can invest in heavy fertilization to cover up for the incompatibility of your soil but again, you do not want to overdo it. So, you might want to consider doing a soil test before planting strawberries.
How to Care For Strawberry Plants
The easy answer will be to pay close attention to the plant, color changes, spots on the leaf, pest infestation, etc. are how you can pay attention to your plant.
Moreover, we will list a few things that can be done to have a bountiful harvest.
- Fertilizer: Application of compost or organic fertilizer in an appropriate method and measurements
- Application of pesticides to get rid of pests that might linger around your garden.
- Make sure that the soil in your garden is compatible with the type of strawberry you want to plant. Carry out a soil test to find compatibility.
- Proper weeding of your garden can also prevent pest and disease infestation. It also helps retain the nutrients of your soil.
Conclusion
Strawberry fruits over the years have become an addictive and favorite part of most people’s meals, dessert to be specific. Its characteristics bright red color and scrumptiousness make it a crowd and taste bud pleaser.
Most home gardeners tend to prefer growing strawberries as they are quite easy to grow, but can get frustrating when the plant does not bear fruit. These complications can range from temperature, pest and disease infestation, soil type, fertilizer type, and application.
Meanwhile, preventive measures can be put in place, the gardener must know it is important to do a soil test to get a better understanding of the soil composition, routine weeding, and proper fertilization application are ways to improve the fruitfulness of your strawberry plant.