Growing Strawberries in Scotland: The Complete Guide

Fragaria x ananassa

Everything you need to grow strawberries in Scotland, from an August planting to the first warm berry picked on a June morning. We have done the research so you don't have to.

A Scottish strawberry grown in full sun and picked warm from the plant tastes sweeter than anything you will buy. The crop is forgiving. A few plants at the front of a border, a hanging basket by the back door, a dedicated bed with a netting frame: strawberries will produce in all of these. Summer-fruiting types give the largest fruit. Perpetual varieties produce smaller flushes over months. Alpine types will self-seed and spread. Plant a mix and you can have fresh strawberries from early June through to the first autumn frosts. A bed lasts three to four years before it needs replacing, and the plants produce their own replacements through runners.

Why strawberries suit Scotland

Strawberries want full sun, shelter and slightly acidic soil. Scotland provides the acidity naturally on much of its ground, and a south-facing wall or sheltered border provides the sun trap they need. The crop's main enemy in Scotland is not heat or drought. It is late frost. A strawberry flower caught by frost develops a black centre and will not set fruit. This is known as strawberry black eye, and it is the risk that makes site selection matter here. Avoid frost pockets. If frost is forecast while the plants are in flower, cover them overnight with fleece or an old bedsheet. A cloche row cover or an unheated greenhouse gives you fruit at least a week earlier, which in a Scottish June is the difference between waiting and eating.

Varieties

The three picks here span early, mid and late season, so you can harvest from June into August. These carry the RHS Award of Garden Merit, a UK-wide award, not a Scottish one.

Also worth considering

Soil and site

Strawberries want fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil in a sheltered full-sun position. If you test, aim for a pH of about 5.7 to 5.9. Most Scottish gardens sit in that band already, which is one of the few times our naturally acid soils hand us an advantage rather than a problem. They will tolerate partial shade but the fruit will be smaller and less sweet. Avoid frost pockets. Late frosts damage the flowers and cause strawberry black eye, and a low-lying garden that pools cold air is the site most likely to lose its crop in May.

Weed the ground thoroughly before planting. Dig in two bucketfuls of well-rotted organic matter per square metre, ideally a few weeks in advance so the soil can settle. Many growers plant through weed-suppressing membrane. It stops weeds, holds moisture, and keeps soil from splashing onto the fruit. Lay it over the planting area, pin it with U-shaped wire pegs, and cut holes to plant into the soil underneath.

Planting

Plant strawberries in spring, late summer or early autumn. August or September is the best time. The plants establish through autumn and fruit the following year. Space plants 35 to 40cm apart in rows 75cm apart. If using containers, space them 20cm apart.

The planting depth is crucial. The crown of the plant, the thickened base where the leaves emerge, must sit at the soil surface or a shade above it. Never below. Too deep and it rots, which in a wet Scottish autumn happens faster than most people expect. Too shallow and the roots dry out. Trim bare-root runners to 10cm if the roots are tangled. Spread the roots out in the hole. Replace the soil, firm gently, and water well.

Cold-stored runners, available from late spring to early summer, give you fruit about 60 days after planting. They are more expensive but give you a crop in the same season.

Watering and care

Water new plants regularly while they establish. Once established, water during prolonged dry periods, especially while the fruit is swelling. Try to water in the morning and avoid wetting the crown or the fruit. Splashed fruit rots faster.

Mulch in late winter or early spring with a layer of well-rotted organic matter, leaving a gap around the crown. When the fruits start to develop, put a layer of straw or mulch mats under the plants to lift the berries off damp ground. Straw keeps the fruit clean, dry and less likely to rot. Remove the straw in autumn.

If growth is poor, apply a high-potassium granular fertiliser in spring. Container plants need fortnightly liquid feeding through the growing season — a general-purpose feed at first, switching to high-potassium once flower buds appear.

After harvesting summer-fruiting strawberries: cut off the old leaves about 10cm above the crown. This lets fresh leaves develop and keeps the plants healthy. With perpetual types, just remove dead or damaged leaves during the autumn clear-up.

Propagation: late summer is the time to peg down runners into small pots of compost. Aim each runner into a 9cm pot, peg it with a U-shaped wire, keep the compost moist, and sever the new plant from the parent once it has rooted. Free replacements.

Harvesting

Summer-fruiting types ripen from early June to early August, depending on the variety. Perpetual types produce flushes from early summer into autumn. Alpine types produce small aromatic berries intermittently over the summer. Pick strawberries when they are bright red all over, ideally during the warmest part of the day when the flavour is fullest. Eat them as soon as possible. A strawberry picked and eaten still warm from the sun is the reason to grow your own.

Common problems

• Grey mould rots the fruit, especially in wet weather. Keep fruit off the ground with straw or mulch mats. Water in the morning. Harvest often and remove any mouldy berries.
• Strawberry black eye is frost damage to the flowers. The centre turns black and no fruit sets. Avoid frost pockets when choosing your site. Cover plants with fleece if frost is forecast while they are in flower.
• Birds will take the fruit. Netting on a framework, raised above the plants and secured taut, keeps them off. Put it up before the berries start to colour.
• Vine weevil larvae eat the roots, especially in containers. Plants wilt and die. Biological nematode controls are effective when applied at the right time.
• Slugs damage the fruit, particularly in wet summers. Straw mulch helps by keeping the fruit dry and off the ground.

Common questions

Sources