Strawberry plants are easy to spot, but many people have the wrong idea about how they grow. Strawberries grow on trees, bushes, or vines. This guide tries to explain what kind of plant a strawberry is so that gardeners will know what to expect.
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Do Strawberry Trees Grow Strawberries?
Oranges, apples, coconuts, and mangoes are just a few of the fruits that grow on trees. Strawberries are not on the list, though. The strawberry tree, also called Arbutus unedo, might have contributed to the mistaken belief that strawberries grow on trees.
You see, the strawberry tree doesn’t really grow any of the strawberries you know. They do make small red fruits, but the only thing the berries have in common with real strawberries is their colour. If you see these trees, especially in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 11, you should take a closer look.
Do bushes grow strawberries?
If not on trees, strawberries might be grown on bushes. They do grow above the ground, after all. But unlike bushes like oakleaf hydrangea and rhododendron, a strawberry plant doesn’t have woody stems that stay upright. So it isn’t really a bush.
Still, it’s not wrong to say that there are strawberry bushes. The problem is that these look like the so-called strawberry trees, but they don’t produce strawberries. Instead, the strawberry bush, also called Euonymus americanus, grows crimson red fruits with five lobes and a diameter of 0.75 inches in the fall.
Do berries grow on vines?
Even though strawberries can be found on trellises, they don’t grow on vines. They have “runners,” which are stems that grow horizontally and have buds at the ends. These buds will turn into new strawberry plants in time.
Also, strawberry plants grow differently than real vine plants like wisteria and bougainvillaea. Strawberries only grow long stems when they are ready to reproduce, but vines do this all the time.
Then, where do strawberries grow? Not vines, bushes, or trees, but runners are what most of them have. Some types of strawberries grow runners that are longer than others. This is why gardeners use trellises to keep the runners from spreading out across the garden.
After a month, runners usually grow. You should have already put them in place using trellises and garden tape. Let the runners grow and form buds if you want more strawberries. If they are already hurting other plants, you can always cut them down.
Strawberries are what?
You should know by now that it’s not true that strawberries grow on vines. What then are they? They are a type of flowering plant called a forb, which has stems that are not woody. Forbs are shorter than bushes and shrubs because they don’t have as much woody tissue.
There are many hybrid strawberries and cultivars, but the Fragaria x ananassa, also called the garden strawberry, is the most common species. Also, there are three different kinds of strawberry plants: day-neutral, always-bearing, and June-bearing.
The first type always grows its fruits, runners, and buds at the end of its stems when the temperature is between 35 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, ever-bearing strawberry plants grow their flower buds in the summer and fall. Those that grow in summer bear fruit in fall, and those that grow in fall bear fruit in summer.
Third, the types that bloom in June are very sensitive to how long the days are. In the fall, their buds form, and in the spring, their flowers and fruit grow. The runners won’t start to form until summer. But even though they take a year to grow, the amount they produce more than makes up for it.
Overall, we hope this guide helped you learn how strawberry plants grow and make more plants. Feel free to send us a comment if you have any questions or ideas.
