From a bare-root plant, expect the first flowers in roughly two to three months and ripe fruit about four to six weeks after each flower opens. Plugs are quicker. Seed takes much longer.
A Rough Timeline
- Weeks 1 to 2: a bare-root plant wakes up and puts out its first leaves.
- Weeks 3 to 8: roots grow down into the container and the plant builds leaf.
- Months 2 to 3: day-neutral and everbearing varieties begin to flower.
- Four to six weeks after flowering: fruit ripens.
These are typical figures, not promises. Light and temperature move them a good deal.
By Starting Material
- Plugs: already in leaf, so often a few weeks ahead of bare-root plants.
- Bare-root: as above.
- Seed: usually five months or more before the first fruit.
What Slows It Down
- Low light is the most common cause of delay.
- Heat stops many varieties flowering.
- pH out of range starves the plant even in good solution.
- Transplant shock, especially in plants moved from soil.
- A June-bearing variety, which fruits once a year on its own schedule.
Should You Remove the First Flowers?
Some growers pinch off the first flush so the plant puts its energy into roots and leaves, which tends to give a stronger plant and better harvests later. If you are impatient, leaving them does no lasting harm to a healthy plant.
How Long It Keeps Going
Once started, a day-neutral plant fruits in flushes for many months. Yield and berry size usually decline as the plant ages, and many growers replace plants after a season.
Related guide: What to expect from a strawberry plant.
