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Help With Strawberry Plants Flowering Too Soon Indoors Please?

bjazz28bjazz28 Posts: 71
in Problem solving
Hello again,

I have a slight issue with some shop bought strawberries that I have planted up indoors to grow on for summer. We are still very much within the risk of frost in London so I know it's too soon to plant out, but these plants have begun to flower and produce fruit.
Does anyone have any idea how to treat these plants at this stage to ensure they don't suffer damage prior to planting out? or when I should plant them out, they going into hanging baskets and I am in East London.
I have enclosed a picture of them which I hope helps:


Thanks for reading,

cliff.

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hello Cliff. You could always take the flowers off your plants until you are ready to plant them out. It is often recommended that you do not allow new strawberries to fruit in their first year to allow them to build up a good root system.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Strawberries are completely hardy so they can go out now;  They can take a frost.  However, move the plants outside (while still in these pots) each morning and bring back in each night, for at least a week before planting them into your hanging baskets.  Doing that will 'harden them off' so it won't be as much of a shock to them when they are outside all of the time.  As they are so young and it is very, very early to be flowering, I'd remove those flowers so the plants can build-up their roots and crowns instead.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    they are hardy plants, they can take a frost


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • bjazz28bjazz28 Posts: 71
    Hello Ladybird4,
    Thanks for coming to the rescue again,
    Your advice sounds logical and is correct I'm sure, except that I was hoping to get some of the fruit this year. Could I not simply cut the flowers off until I finally plant them outside and then wait to see if the continue to bear fruit?
    thanks.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Absolutely.  Just remove the flowers they have right now and leave them be once hardened off and planted.  They will produce more flowers as the weather gets warmer.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • bjazz28bjazz28 Posts: 71
    BobTheGardener,
    Thank you very much,
    I never knew that and it's great news. I'll give hardening them off a try then after snipping these flowers off and maybe all subsequent blooms until the end of April. Thank you very much.
    and also to nutcutlet I appreciate your advice.
    cheers.
    :-)
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hi again Cliff. Yes, I would just go for letting them fruit this year as I'm a rather impatient gardener when it comes to fruit I would still take off these early flowers though. The plants look nice and healthy.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057

    bjazz28, I was advised on here to nip the flowers of my new strawberry plants which I did and they are fine and thriving also planted mine into troughs today. The advice abive is good.
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