Strawberry leaves turning brown

Posts

• pinut Posts: 194

  June 2023 edited June 2023

  If it was caused by drought then the edges of the leaves would turn brown first.
  
  I would say that it is root rot. Grab a handful of the soil around one of the dead plants and give it a sniff - if it pongs then it was caused by poor drainage.
  
  It could also be caused vine weevil grubs eating away at the roots, although, at this time of the year they should be emerging in their mature form as beetles.
  
  Strawberry plants are not worth keeping if the crowns are damaged. Just propagate new plants from the runners that will appear on the healthy plants later on in the year.
  
  
  

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• Buttercupdays Posts: 4,546

  June 2023

  Bare root plants need time and some care in order to re-establish their root systems so they can support growth. The potted plant needed to do very little.
  

  The shreddings, which were there to protect from damage in transit, are not a good mulch for very small plants and I suspect that your other plants have died from lack of water, especially if you have had the same hot weather as most of the country and little or no rain, as we have here.

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  June 2023

  I agree with @Buttercupdays. Even a fairly small plant like the one you bought and planted, would manage easily, but bare root runners are different. They'd have been better potted up separately and grown on for a while. 
  I also agree about that mulch. It's fine to use that kind of thing to keep fruits clean and off the soil surface, but it can also create problems, especially with small plants like the bare root ones. They're far more likely to have dried out than rotted, as strawberries can cope with a lot of moisture without any problem.
  I'm wondering when you got the bare root ones too. I've never bought strawberries as bare root plants, but if they were bought recently, they'd certainly have been vulnerable to fluctuating weather conditions, just as any bare root plant would be. Once they dry out, it can hard to properly rehydrate them.
  It could be worth lifting all the ones you think are dead, and potting them separately though, as it's surprising how they can come back to life even when it seems they're finished. Keep them out of strong sun until they show signs of life and start recovering well, and if they do, don't let them get frazzled by sun   

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• msqingxiao Posts: 482

  June 2023

  Thank you all for the kind comments! We bought those bare root in Apr from Amazon (6 for £6). They spent quite a few days in transit stuck with Royal Mail, didn't look great when arrived, but after we planted them they seemed to be doing fine, producing lots of green new growth so we didn't bother asking the seller for a refund. It's only really from about 1-2 weeks ago they started going downhill (and after I put down the mulch ). I asked my partner to check the soil every time he did a watering round, and he said the soil felt moist, so we've been watering it like once a week.
  
  Anyways, some of them still have a little bit of new green growth from the base so fingers crossed. Will dig up the others and repot and see what happens.
  
  Thanks again for all your advice!

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