Sometimes vendors do things that I think are wrong. One of them is to sell products with misleading names. This is something that is seen a lot on the Internet, on sites like eBay, Aliexpress or Amazon, but also in physical stores that are not specialized in plants or seeds. And it is that, just like rainbow roses, climbing strawberries have a trick.
Who else who least has seen at least one strawberry plant in his life, for example, when he goes to the market of his town or city, or to a nursery. It is sold as a medium adult, with a height that does not usually exceed 10 centimeters. But, how can it become a climber if it doesn’t have twisting stems?
What is a climbing plant?
wisteria.
First of all, it is important first that we remember what the characteristics of climbing plants are. In this way we can differentiate them from the rest. We are not going to go into much detail, but it is important to know that climbers, lianas or vines are those that use other plants, columns or other elements as support.
There are two types: herbaceous, and woody. The latter are known as supporters or semi-climbers, because unlike the former, their stems end up becoming hanging as their weight increases.
They can also be classified depending on how they climb:
- There are those that have twining stems which are those that surround, for example, a trunk such as wisteria;
- tendrils which are very thin herbaceous stems that help the plant to gain height;
- and finally long, woody branchessometimes armed with thorns, like those of the climbing rose bush.
Are strawberries climbing plants?
Strawberries are perennial herbaceous plants native to Eurasia. in his adulthood they measure about 20 centimeters in height, and develop a rosette of basal leavestrifoliate, each leaflet having a serrated margin and an oval shape. The upper surface is bright green and the underside is lighter, and it measures approximately 2-3 centimeters long by 2-4 centimeters wide.
In addition, they are stoloniferous herbs; that is, they produce many stolons, a characteristic that they have in common with the ribbons (Chlorophytum comosum) for example. The stolons are stems that arise from the center of the plant, at the end of which a plant genetically identical to its parent sprouts.
As they produce their own roots, when the time comes, the stem could be cut and planted elsewhere.or leave him to grow up with his mother. And perhaps it is because of the runners that some people think they are climbers. But nothing is further from reality: they are, as we said before, stoloniferous. Y the stoloniferous cannot be climbers, nor the stoloniferous climbers. Both types of plants have a different way of life.
So, can they be had as climbers?
Can be kept as hanging plantsbut not as climbers because the stems of the stolons are short; in fact, they measure no more than about 20 centimeters at most. What is sometimes done is plant them in a vertical garden structurethus achieving that, when they all finish growing, it looks like a single plant, as in this image:
And of course, when filled with strawberries, they look gorgeous. Who doesn’t want to have such a plant in their yard? Fortunately, it’s good to do, since only one structure is neededfor example, this:
It has a nice design and doesn’t take up too much space. Its dimensions are 30.1 x 21.7 x 66.3 cm and it weighs 3,17 kilos.; that is to say, it does not weigh much so it can be hooked comfortably on the wall, without getting too tired. You can plant up to 9 strawberries, or if you prefer other types of small plants.
As a substrate, we recommend coconut fiberbecause it retains a lot of water but at the same time allows the roots to be properly aerated. Look, in this video we talk about her:
I use it a lot, both to plant acid plants such as Japanese maples or camellias, as well as in seedbeds. The truth is, I am delighted because it is also very cheap (a 5kg block costs about 15 euros, and is equivalent to 70 liters of substrate), and easy to obtain. If you wish, you can buy a 0,57kg brick that costs 2,95 euros and tests.
How to buy seeds and/or plants online without being scammed?
Gardening is a beautiful thing, but sometimes you come across sellers who want to make money at whatever cost. I have been buying seeds and plants online since 2016, and if there is something I have learned, it is that, so that there are no problems, the following must be taken into account:
- Sometimes the best known vendors or stores are not the best. Always look for opinions from other buyers.
- To buy cheap seeds or plants, it is preferable to do it in small or very specialized businessessince they tend to take more care of what they sell.
- Trust the specialists. If you want to buy strawberries, for example, it will always be better to buy them from those who are dedicated to the production and/or sale of orchard plants, than from another who is dedicated to the sale of cacti.
- Avoid buying seeds on sites that sell everything, unless there are really professional sellers, which are those with a very high number of positive reviews. It would not be unusual if they did not germinate, or if they did but then turned out to be from other plants and not the ones you think you bought.
We hope that you are encouraged to grow strawberries, but if you have any doubts about how to do it, click here:
Related article:
How to grow strawberries
3 thoughts on “Do climbing strawberries exist? | Gardening On”