Why is My Strawberry Plant not Flowering | Common Causes and Fixes

every gardener wants to grow those colorful strawberries in their garden, but it can be very frustrating when you try your best, but it refuses to flower. If your strawberries are not producing any flowers, then stay with us to know why.

Your strawberry is not flowering because of nutrient imbalance, improper sunlight, issues with soil and water, etc. To fix it, you need to identify those issues first, then fix it with a proper solution, and it will bloom again.

Don’t worry below we properly explain each issues why strawberries not flowering, along with its proper solution. So, let’s get to it.

Why is My Strawberry Plant not Flowering:

Flowers are one of the important parts of strawberries for producing fruit, and without flowers, there is no fruit, which is obvious. If the strawberries fail to produce flowers, there will be no strawberries, so that’s why you need to know why strawberry plants not flowering and how to fix it by encourage strawberries to grow more flowers.

I have been planting strawberries from almost a decay and throughout that time period I come across situation like this more then often. now let me tell you what are those situations, how to fix it and how to even prevent it form even happening in first place.

Common Reason Why are My Strawberries Not Flowering:

There are a couple of different reason which stop strawberries from flowering which are given below.

Improper Light Condition:

You might don’t know it yet, but strawberries are sun-loving plants, which need sunlight for 8 to 10 hours a day to produce food and flowers. If they are under shade and don’t get enough sunlight, they will focus on producing more leaves instead of producing flowers to increase and improve photosynthesize.

Solution:

The solution is easy: just plant it somewhere it gets full sunlight. But if you have already planted it in a shady place, try to prune the above plants to clear some areas so that sunlight can reach your strawberry plant.

Related: Are Strawberries Safe for Dogs.

Nutrients Imbalance:

Strawberries need proper nutrients to grow flower but sometime the get imbalance nutrients which cause different sorts of problems including not producing flowers. If you use a fertilizer that has too much nitrogen, then instead of flower, it will lead to lush foliage because nitrogen promotes leaf growth.

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Solution:

The solution is to use a fertilizer that has low content of nitrogen like 5-10-10. Also, avoid overusing fertilizer because it can’t damage root growth.

Incorrect Water Practices:

Incorrect watering is also one of the main cause the prevent the strawberries from flowering. You might hear me talk about improper watering too much on this website because it can cause problems, including preventing strawberries from flowering.

Solution:

The solution is simple: water your strawberries 1 to 1.5 inches per week, depending on your climate.

Poor Soil Quality:

Type of soil and quality is one of the main thing a plant needed, and just like that strawberries needed proper drained soil with nutrients rich with pH level of 5.0 to 6.6. But if you have bad soil with the high or low pH level, then it will prevent strawberries from flowering.

Solution:

As a solution you need to use proper soil with organic compost and full drainage system. You should also test its pH level and adjust it with lime or sulfur.

Crowded Plants:

As you know, strawberries need water and nutrients to grow. but if you you plant them close, they will have competition for resources like water and nutrients, which also causes different issues, including not producing flowers.

Solution:

So whenever you planting strawberries you need to keep them apart about 18 to 20 inches, so they have enough resources and they don’t fight for nutrients.

Aged Plants:

If your strawberries not producing flowers or produce very few flowers then one of its reason could be strawberries plants are getting older. You might not know it, but strawberries are productive during the first 2 to 3 years while slowly reducing the production of flowers and fruits.

Solution:

So, for the solution, you just need to replace the old strawberry plants with new ones after 3 to 5 years.

Wrong Strawberry Varieties:

There are different types of varieties, and all of them bloom and produce fruit of different types. For example, if you plant everbearing strawberries, it will produce flowers throughout the year, but if you plant the June-bearing strawberry plants, it will only produce flowers once a year. So if your strawberries not produce flower then it may be because you plant June bearing or other types of variety that only have flower in its flowering season.

Solution:

Make sure to you have the right variety according to your climate area. Day-neutral and everbearing are some of the strawberries with extended bloom periods.

Temperature Stress:

Strawberries is one of those sensitive plants that extremely sensitive toward temperatures. Your strawberries may not produce flowers if it gets too hot or cold. The temperature above then 80F (26C) is consider hot and the temperature below then 50F (10C) is consider cold for strawberries.

Solution:

So the best thing you could do to prevent you strawberries form temperature stress is to cover them to protect them from frost. And mulch the ground around it to protect it from extreme heat.

Pest and Diseases:

Just like plants, strawberries attract different pests like spider mites and aphids and are also attacked by different diseases, which damage or weaken the plant and prevent them from flowering.

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Solution:

To prevent strawberries from diseases and pest attacks, you can use both organic and chemical methods. You can also use pesticides, along with proper watering and keeping the surrounding area clean.

How to Encourage Flowers in Strawberries:

If your strawberries not flowing then there are couple of things that you can do to encourage your strawberries to grow flowers.

Maintenances and Pruning:

Maintenance and regularly pruning help strawberries plants to grow. It also helps them to grow stronger roots, leaves, and flowers. So, you need to maintain your strawberry plants regularly.

Feeding Fertilizer:

As mentioned above the feeding proper and balanced fertilizer is very important for strawberries’ plants and flower growth. So, you must give them balanced fertilizer and avoid overfeeding nitrogen-based fertilizer.

Here we have video guide about adding proper fertilizer to strawberries

Pollination Support:

Sometimes, the strawberry plant produces flowers but not fruits, then it has issues with pollination. So encourage pollinators like butterflies and bees, or you can also hand pollinate them.

Conclusion:

One of the common issues in strawberries is not flower which every gardener should know. To fix the issues, you first need to identify the issues and then fix them with proper and corrective measures.

I hope you understand the topic and it helps you fix your strawberries, not blooming issues. For more guides like this, please visit our website, gardencrafting.com