Strawberry - Fragaria x ananassa 'Elan' - British Grown

This fruit plant will produce flowers, followed by lovely speckled-ruby strawberries for you to pick. Hardy throughout most of the UK, down to -20°C.

Grow your own strawberries with this strawberry plant, the perfect opportunity to start your own fruit garden! Strawberries don't need too much space, and will be happy to grow in a nice sunny spot in the ground or in a container in your garden. In the first couple of years, it's a good idea to cut back the runners so it uses all of its energy on producing fruits for you; you can start letting it produce runners after this to get the plant to spread, once it's a little bigger and more established. There's plenty to enjoy with this plant too, from its star-like blossoms in Spring to the fruit in Summer and Autumn. Fruits can be a target for pests like slugs and snails, so you may need to protect your strawberries. You can also harvest the fruit when it's still white and pop it indoors in a sunny window to fully ripen to red, which will help stop it being eaten by the other inhabitants of your garden!

Scientific Name
Fragaria x ananassa (strawberry plant, crossed with pineapple-like species)

Common Name
Strawberry, Garden Strawberry

Origin
There are native strawberries all over the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, including Britain; these strawberries are a cross between species from the Americas and Eurasia

Pruning Tips
Remove excess runners, especially while the plant is still small. Cut back old leaves.

Wildlife Value
Fragaria (wild strawberries) are great for pollinators, and provide forage for the Grizzled Skipper butterfly. Strawberries are pollinated by honeybees and bumblebees, and can attract Lassioglossum, Andrena, Halictus, Osmia and Nomada bees in the open.

Positioning
Full sun to partial shade

Water
Strawberries like their soil to be moist but not soggy, so make sure it's somewhere the water can drain from, and keep it watered in dry weather- especially when it's producing flowers and fruit!

Soil
Use fertile, moist, well-draining soil for growing strawberries.

Food
Put fresh compost through the soil before planting out to ensure your strawberry plant has enough nutrients. Fresh compost/ mulch annually should keep it happy and nourished!

Pet-safe
Yes- no toxicity reported, though it's best for the plant and your pets if they don't nibble too much!

Sprouts Top Tips
To protect your fruit, you can put netting around the plants in summer while they're fruiting, and surround them with straw or mats to prevent the fruit from sitting on bare soil (this is why they're called strawberries!). Alternatively, strawberries grow well in pots or hanging baskets, which will also help keep their fruit up off the ground.