ABSTRACT
Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring, and no other small fruit produces more crop in proportion to the small size of the plant. The strawberry plant has a short thickened stem (called a “crown”) which has a growing point at the upper end and which forms roots at its base. Strawberries spend much of their energy producing “horizontal stems,” (runners, or stolons) to carry their leaves to more favorably-lit places. A single strawberry plant can claim a surprisingly large garden area over just a few years’ time, with its runners. Growth in Junebearer strawberries is affected greatly by temperature and length of the daylight period (photoperiod). Typically, a small to medium sized crop is produced by everbearing strawberries in the spring/early summer, and then the plants go into a short “rest” period during which more flower buds are initiated.
