‘Allstar’ is a highly productive, low-maintenance strawberry variety that backyard gardeners love. Its delicious berries and resistance to common strawberry diseases make it an easy pick to add to your garden wishlist every season. Join organic farmer Jenna Rich as she shows us how to plant, grow, and care for ‘Allstar’ June-bearing strawberries. Summer is almost upon us, and for me, nothing signals summer quite like strawberry plants beginning to blossom and set fruit. A summer day isn’t complete until I’ve picked and consumed a handful of fresh berries! ‘Allstar’ strawberry plants are vigorous and wildly productive, so I recommend this variety if you want to work berries into your everyday snacks like I do. They can grow in containers, raised beds, or ground. Get your jam and pie recipes ready; you’ll need them! Let’s talk about one of my, and so many other gardeners’, favorite strawberry varieties, the June-bearing ‘Allstar’. What Are ‘Allstar’ June-bearing Strawberries? ‘Allstar’ might as well come with a home gardening gold star. It’s beloved for its low-maintenance attitude, classic strawberry flavor, and high yields. Plus, it’s virtually disease-free! Fruits are big and juicy and ripen in early summer. Its thin skins make it perfect for fresh eating, desserts, and preserves. Unlike ever-bearing varieties that supply small to medium-sized fruits all season, ‘Allstar’ is June-bearing. This type of strawberry produces a main flush of large berries in peak summer, around June and July. They require a period of dormancy and grow well across zones. Appearance The plant features dense, medium to dark green, glossy foliage and grows to about nine inches tall and 12 inches wide. The flowers are white and five-petaled with yellow centers. The berries are bright orangeish-red, large, and plentiful. How to Grow ‘Allstar’ is relatively low-maintenance, but to be rewarded with delicious, large berries, the plants require a few basics. Sunlight Strawberry plants require full sun to grow properly, and yields will be best when they receive six to ten hours daily. Less sunlight may result in leaf drop and a decrease in productivity. Plants will appreciate some afternoon shade. Consider using shade cloth during periods of prolonged, harsh sunlight. Water The soil should be consistently moist but not waterlogged, and plants should receive at least an inch of water weekly. Root rot and disease spread quickly in soggy soil. Add compost to adjust soil consistency and help with drainage. Soil ‘Allstar’ strawberries require well-draining, loamy, and fertile soil. They’ll appreciate a healthy application of well-aged, organic compost worked in before planting. Plants can adapt to various soil types. Amend the soil until the pH is between 6 and 6.5. Mulch Mulch around your plants to reduce weed pressure, help retain soil moisture, and protect the crown from cool temperatures. If rainfall has been ample and the soil is exceptionally moist, hold off on mulching during the summer, as this could cause root and crown rot. Add several layers of organic straw mulch before the first fall frost heading into winter to protect plants from frost damage and cold temperatures. Remove any mulch put over the plants for winter protection to fertilize and clean up winter debris. Some gardeners choose to reapply mulch for the season, but it’s a personal preference. Climate and Temperature Requirements Before planting out, temperatures should be comfortably between 50°F (10°C) and 80°F (27°C). Excess humidity can cause disease, and cold temperatures may cause damage. If temperatures dip below 50°F (10°C) for a prolonged period, cover plants with row cover. The foliage of ‘Allstar’ is hardy enough to stick around into winter, creating a ground cover. Fertilizing Prepare the soil by mixing lots of well-aged compost and a potassium-rich fertilizer, spreading about ⅓ cup around each area where a plant will grow. Use a high-quality, all-purpose, well-balanced (10-10-10-) fertilizer on your strawberry plants. Feed new plants every two weeks with slow-release fertilizer. Follow the instructions and dosages as per the package instructions. Harvesting When berries begin ripening, get your harvest buckets ready in late spring to early summer. Harvest often to keep berries from spoiling and avoid picking early. Strawberries won’t ripen once off the vine. Pruning Pruning is unnecessary for strawberries; monitoring and removing runners will help control their spread. Runners will begin to appear in the spring as the day length increases. In year one, removing runners allows the plant to focus energy on establishing a solid root system. Propagation Propagating strawberry plants is fun and easy. Purchase bare roots from reputable sources, plugs, or plants at your local nursery, or create new plants by potting up runners you removed from established plants. You can even start them from seed!

Have you tried pineberries? They’re the white strawberries that taste like pineapple and are as pretty as they are tasty. Grow them in your garden with your favorite scarlet strawberries to spice up the collection. Explore how to plant, grow, and care for the lovely pineberry with garden expert Katherine Rowe. There’s nothing like a strawberry picked fresh from the garden. The petite herbaceous perennials pack all their might into flowering and fruiting. Popular in the home garden, the genus Fragaria holds about 12 species of strawberries and numerous cultivars bearing fruits from scarlet to white to purple. Pineberries are unique strawberries with the same growing requirements as the red berries we love. Their pretty white berries host a hint of tropical flavor. With white berries and dotted red seeds, pineberries are about as cute as they come. This rare strawberry cultivar pairs perfectly with traditional garden-grown strawberries. The compact plants produce fruit from spring through frost. They’re a delicacy to enjoy (and simply adorable!). Here’s how to cultivate them in your garden! What are Pineberries? Pineberries (Fragaria chiloensis x virginiana) are hybrid strawberries with white, fleshy fruit and red achenes (seeds). A cross between true red strawberries and white strawberries, pineberries feature the same plant characteristics but with unique fruits. Pineberries are highly aromatic, with subtle notes of pineapple and even apricot accompanying the strawberry taste. The pineberry name highlights the pineapple (“pine”) and strawberry (“berry”) features. Strawberry and pineberry fruits differ in size. Pineberries are smaller at about one inch in diameter or a little larger than a dime. They are also softer and more tender than traditional strawberries, making them challenging for bulk production and shipping. Their uniqueness and need for tender care make them pricier than other varieties. Strawberries produce different berries at varying times depending on the cultivar. June-bearing strawberries feature a large yield with large berries early in the season. Everbearing varieties produce smaller berries throughout the growing season. Novelty strawberries range in color (from purple to gold to white) and flavor. Pineberries fall into the everbearing category as a novelty type. Characteristics Pineberries are everbearing strawberries that flower and produce fruit from May through September. While mostly white, berries get a pink blush in full sun. Small plants reach about one foot high and one and a half feet wide, producing runners that sprawl along the ground. The plants make pretty border plantings and container specimens for easy picking. Five-petaled flowers are bright white with yellow centers, sweet and showy on the plant. Dark green leaves of three (tri-foliate) dot the stems. Plants spread through runners, which take root as they grow. As an everbearing strawberry hybrid, pineberries produce a first crop in spring and then at about six-week intervals throughout summer and fall. Fruits are ripe when seeds turn from green to red. Enjoy them fresh from the vine, or prepare them in jams, pies, smoothies, and anywhere you’d use a red strawberry. Native Area Strawberries grow best in cool, mild climates. Over 90% of commercial strawberries in the United States grow in Florida and California. In Florida, production is best from November to April, and in California, from February through November. Pineberries became commercially available in the U.S. in 2012. They are descendants of the white-fruited Chilean strawberry, Fragaria chiloensis. Native peoples cultivated the white strawberry in South America more than a thousand years ago, and it was introduced in France much later — in the early 1700s. The scarlet strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) naturally pollinated the white-fruited Chilean strawberry, and pineberry cultivation began. There are many white strawberries (and pineberries are white strawberries), but they differ from pineberries in cultivar and fruit. Similar to the Chilean pineberry crosses, Japanese white-fruited strawberries have also crossed with Fragaria virginiana to produce the ‘Florida Pearl’ pineberry, which is widely cultivated from extensive strawberry research at the University of Florida. Planting Pineberries prefer cool, mild climates and are well-adapted to grow in most areas. In northern zones, it’s best to plant pineberries in the spring when temperatures are mild and moisture is regular. In southern zones, plant them in the fall for a spring harvest. Pineberries grow well in the ground or in containers. Like other strawberries, they thrive in vertical planting arrangements, towers, and strawberry pots. In frigid climates, overwinter potted plants indoors. Since pineberries are hybrids, they don’t grow true to type from seed. Source them as bare roots, crown plants, or plugs from a grower, or divide runners to make new plants.

Container growing can be a great solution for gardeners in cool climates who want to grow their own avocado trees. Join Florida gardener Melissa Strauss for some tips on growing one of these tropical trees in a pot or container. There is no doubt about it, avocados are popular. With some amazing nutritional benefits and that famously creamy texture, there just is no substitute for this tasty fruit. The trees, however, are tropical and grow in a relatively limited range. If you don’t live in a warm climate, you’ve probably been stuck paying top dollar for your avocados at the supermarket. If this is your plight, I have some excellent news for you! There are varieties of avocado that you can grow in a pot or container, even in cool climates. Growing an avocado tree in a pot or container allows you to bring it indoors for the winter. Since these trees are not especially cold-tolerant, they won’t survive the winter in many parts of the country. Planting yours in a container will make all the difference if you live north of zone 9. Here’s how to do it! What Are Avocado Trees? Avocado trees are multi-branched evergreens that love warm, humid weather and lots of sunshine. As a result, they can be a challenge to grow in cool climates and indoors. However, some excellent dwarf varieties will thrive in a large container. Let’s talk about these trees and how to keep them healthy in a pot. Characteristics When discussing growing an avocado tree in a pot or container, we will primarily focus on dwarf varieties. A standard-sized tree can reach anywhere from 20 to 80 feet tall at maturity, so naturally, these are tough to bring in for the winter. Dwarf varieties often stay between eight and 12 feet tall, and you can keep them even shorter by pruning properly. Dwarf avocado trees are slower growing and have a dense, bushy form compared to most standard trees. A grafted cultivar can produce fruit in about two to four years, and the fruits are comparable in size and quality to a standard. They are slower growing and ideal for urban gardeners or anyone with limited space. Native Area Avocado trees are native to the southern part of Central America. Their range spans from the eastern highlands of central Mexico, down through Guatemala, and into some parts of South America. They appear in tropical and subtropical mountainous regions at elevations up to 6,600 feet. Planting Since we are discussing growing avocado trees in containers or pots, we won’t delve into the specific time of year. You can purchase and repot your tree at any time of year, as long as you provide it with proper care, including limiting exposure to cold temperatures. Choose a large container, as large as possible, to contain the extensive root system. A wide pot is going to be more effective than a deep one. These trees have shallow, fibrous, and extensive root systems that don’t extend deeply into the earth. Most of the root system will be in the top several inches of soil. For a young tree, choose a pot that is at least 12″-15″ in diameter. A mature tree will thrive best in a container that holds 20-25 gallons, so plan for that when you decide where it will live during the colder months.