Strawberries.

We have planted six Strawberry plants in our raised veg plot. We seem to be losing them one by one, they seem to to go very limp then just shrivel up, we keep them watered so I don't think they are too dry. I cant see any sign of bugs or slug trails, any ideas anyone on treating or saving them.?

 

Hi dalbuie. I have a half dozen strawberries in a strawberry pot funnily enough and they do very well although the strawberries are tiny, but sweet.

Last year I bought a species one, pink flowered, and it did the same as yours. After much net searching, it seems like there is a strawberry disease, a bit like Clematis wilt, and there is nothing you can do ... hopefully this is not what you have.

Maybe someone else can advice further. Good luck.

 

Hi Dalbuie,
I've planted loads of strawberries this year of different varieties and I've had a couple die just like you described. It doesn't seem to have spread to any of the others so I just hoiked 'em out and chucked 'em on the compost. After reading LoLs very informative post, I'm now worried that I did the right thing in composting them! Oh well, nowt I can do about it now I suppose....off to have a Google :rolleyes: :D

 

Hi, windy!

Did you find anything? I just haven't got the time at the moment to look back.

I Yahoo rather than Google ... find I get much better info, but then that's me!

 

Dalbuie, have you investigated under the soil? It does sound like vine weevil larvae....

 

Liz, I was just thinking of pulling the other strawbs out, so I will have a good look at them tonight. I'll have a look in one of my books to see what a vine weevil looks like.
Thanks folks.

Carol.

 

I just found out that strawberry seeds are those on the outside of the strawberry itself. Was I the only one which didn't know?

 

vine weevil females are usually active through may - june, laying their eggs on the top of the soil. The grubs, once hatched, move down into the soil to root level. here they grow their huge teeth overnight and chomp their way through the roots. The grubs are about 1cm long, but usually horseshoe shaped with a brown head at one end. They squish quite well. The top growth should have shown signs of the female weeks before, by chewing holes in the leaves. I use 'armillatox' and spray the soil from late april to mid july, at fortnigtly intervals. Due to the high temperatures in April, The vine weevil female became positively nyphomaniacal a bit earlier than usual. This is more than likely the reason why your plants died off, especially if there was only a small root ball if any below soil level. Should you decide to replace your plants, to be on the safe side, don't replant in the same position as the recetly deceased plants.