Strawberry Plants As Perennials

• Strawberries are perennial plants sometimes grown as annuals because of climatic conditions. You'll be successful growing strawberries as perennials if you provide them with short and cold fall and winter days. These conditions promote abundant late-spring fruiting and subsequent self-propagation to form dense strawberry fields in some varieties. You'll have greater success when you plant strawberry cultivars adapted to your geographic region. A local nursery or cooperative extension office can help you select these.

'Allstar'

• 'Allstar' strawberries are classified as June-bearing plants, a reference to the large amount of fruit they produce in late spring. 'Allstar' is also resistant to verticillium wilt, a fungus most common in a plant's first year. The disease kills strawberry leaves and causes new ones to become atrophied. The University of Minnesota Extension also states that this variety of strawberry has very good flavor and texture.

'Earliglow'

• 'Earliglow' is among the best strawberry varieties for Missouri. This means it is adapted to the growing conditions you find in USDA hardiness zones 5 and 6, which see extreme temperatures of minus 10 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. 'Earliglow' also produces fruit early in the season and it freezes well for later consumption. This cultivar resists both leaf and root diseases.

'Tribute'

• The University of Missouri Extension explains that 'Tribute' is a day-neutral strawberry variety. Plants in this category fruit all season long, but don't propagate into dense fields, as they don't produce many runners. The 'Tribute' fruit is of medium size and the plant is also resistant to red stele root rot and verticillium wilt. The fungus that causes red stele is soil-borne and it affects plants growing in poorly drained soil. The disease kills small roots while the main root system develops a red color in its core. Even though this disease usually manifests in cold weather, when the temperature reaches a high point, non-resistant strawberry plants die.

'Ogallala'

• Ever-bearing strawberries, such as the 'Ogallala' cultivar, have two harvests, one in June and another in the fall before the first frost. 'Ogallala' is also hardy to USDA zones 4 and 5 and a Nebraska native. The fruit appears on short leafless stems and isn't the easiest to find. It also has a tangy flavor, which turns bitter when the fruit passes the ripen point. This factor makes this cold-hardy, drought-resistant strawberry ideal for preserves.