Welcome to the Garden Ninja Gardening Forum! If you have a gardening question that you can't find answers to then ask below to seek help from the Garden Ninja army! Please make your garden questions as specific and detailed as possible so the community can provide comprehensive answers in the online forum below.

Welcome to the ultimate beginner gardening and garden design forum! Where no gardening question is too silly or obvious. This online gardening forum is run by Lee Burkhill, the Garden Ninja from BBC 1's Garden Rescue and a trusted group of experienced gardeners.

Whether you are a beginner or an expert gardener, it's a safe place to ask garden-related questions for garden design or planting. If you have a problem in your garden or need help, this is the Garden Forum for you!

Garden Ninja forum ask a question

Posting Rules: This space is open for all garden-related questions. Please be polite, courteous and respectful. If you wouldn't say it to your mum's face, then don't post it here. Please don't promote, sell, link spam or advertise here. Please don't ask for 'cheeky' full Garden redesigns here. They will be deleted.

If you need a garden design service, please use this page to book a design consultation. I will block anyone who breaks these rules or is discourteous to the Garden Ninja Community.

Join the forum below with your gardening questions!

Please or Register to create posts and topics.

Protecting Strawberries during winter

Hi Lee 

I have strawberry plants in a trough outside. What can I do to protect them in the winter months?

Thanks Lorraine ?

Hi Lorraine,

Great to hear from you.

Strawberries are a perennial plant so come back year after year. They're also super tough and here in the UK they don't usually require winterizing or protecting over winter. A lot of the 'winterizing strawberries' guides online are for the USA where certain states get long hard frosts.

Given your strawberries are in a trough they are already raised above ground level so any frost will sink first. If they were in the ground then frost can damage them but this is more in the springtime when their flowers form.

Winterizing strawberries in the UK:

My top tip is to give your strawberries a light mulch in Autumn to help give them a feed after a year of fruiting. I then leave mine uncovered for the winter unless we get -5 or a blizzard.

Then in Spring I usually use some fleece once they start to out on new growth to protect against April or May late frosts here in the UK.

Dividing Strawberries to keep them healthy:

Another tip is to divide your strawberries every 3 years. I do this by taking those little offshoots or runners that hang down and pinning them into a pot of compost. Once they have rooted sever the stem that is connected to the mother plant. This helps keep the strawberries vigorous. 

Hope that helps and happy growing!

Lee

Online garden design courses

Share this now!