When to Plant Strawberries
Plant strawberry plants 1 to 4 weeks before your last frost.
Strawberries at a glance
- Plant
- 1 to 4 weeks before your last frost
- Time to harvest
- From the second spring
- Harvest lasts
- about 4 weeks
- Spacing
- 4 per square foot
- Frost
- Takes hard frosts
- Comes back
- Every year, as a perennial
Growing strawberries
Plant strawberries in full sun and well-drained soil. June-bearing kinds give one big crop in early summer; everbearing and day-neutral kinds give smaller pickings over a longer time. A straw mulch keeps the berries clean and dry.
Dates by hardiness zone
Typical dates for each zone; your ZIP code gives your own.
| Zone | Plant | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 3a | Apr 30 – May 21 | Jun 25 – Jul 23 |
| Zone 3b | Apr 19 – May 10 | Jun 14 – Jul 12 |
| Zone 4a | Apr 14 – May 5 | Jun 9 – Jul 7 |
| Zone 4b | Apr 10 – May 1 | Jun 5 – Jul 3 |
| Zone 5a | Apr 5–26 | May 31 – Jun 28 |
| Zone 5b | Apr 3–24 | May 29 – Jun 26 |
| Zone 6a | Apr 1–22 | May 27 – Jun 24 |
| Zone 6b | Mar 26 – Apr 16 | May 21 – Jun 18 |
| Zone 7a | Mar 19 – Apr 9 | May 14 – Jun 11 |
| Zone 7b | Mar 8–29 | May 3–31 |
| Zone 8a | Mar 1–22 | Apr 26 – May 24 |
| Zone 8b | Feb 17 – Mar 10 | Apr 14 – May 12 |
| Zone 9a | Feb 2–23 | Mar 30 – Apr 27 |
| Zone 9b | Jan 4–25 | Mar 1–29 |
| Zone 10a | Dec 27 – Jan 17 | Feb 21 – Mar 21 |
| Zones 10b–11b | Frost is rare here, so plant strawberries in the cooler months and let the roots settle before summer heat. | |
Questions about strawberries
What are strawberry runners?
Long stems that grow new plants at their tips. Let a few root to fill gaps or renew the bed, and cut the rest so the mother plants put their strength into fruit.
How long does a strawberry bed last?
Plants give the most fruit in their second and third years. Renewing the bed with young plants every three or four years keeps it productive.