Fragaria spp. / 'Albion' Everbearing Strawberry

When we think of picking strawberries here in the Hudson Valley, we imagine crouching down in the late spring heat of May and June to find the perfectly sweet red fruits. A low growing perennial plant, Strawberries can be planted in the spring or fall. ‘Everbearing’ varieties will produce fruit all season long. Plant strawberries 12 inches apart in rich soil. Keep them well-watered their first year. They’ll produce runners with little baby strawberry plants, spreading your patch over time. After 3 or 4 years it’s best to dig up the old plants in your original patch and transplant some of your baby strawberries there. Strawberries may require protection from birds and deer, or you can choose to grow a big enough patch to share with them. When planting, leave some of the crown showing above the soil line. Strawberries will benefit from mulch, but be careful not to bury the crowns. Strawberry patches can be a nice alternative to lawn - instead of weekly mowing, pull weeds by hand that come up in the patch a couple times a month. Strawberries grow about 1 foot tall. In the winter they hunker down closer to the ground, but are evergreen, which is nice for the drab snow-less periods of Hudson Valley winters.

‘Albion’ is a reliable producer of flavorful strawberries and is also resistant to common diseases.

For more information see below:

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/strawberries/growing.cfm