Older leaves will turn yellow eventually, and this is natural. This is normal for strawberry leaves as well. Strawberry leaves generally have a longer life span. They stay green for a long time. ( For 60 to 90 days for some varieties)
If you notice the leaves that are not old enough turning yellow, you need to be worried and take action to cure your strawberry plant. I faced this issue with my strawberry plant. In this article, I will explain why the strawberry leaves are turning yellow and what treatments can be used to cure them.
I will explain why my strawberry leaves turned yellow and then the other major possible reasons. Do not worry; there are multiple reasons. You are with your plant, and you are the one who cares for it, so it will not be a big deal for you to recognize the possible reason among my listed reasons.
The reason behind the yellow leaves on my strawberry plant and How I cured it
Mine was due to overwatering (Sudden overwatering). I brought this strawberry plant from the nursery and left it as it was. I have not even watered a single drop in the first week. After a week, I felt the soil was dry, and watered it thoroughly and that was my mistake. I haven’t changed the pot or planted it somewhere else since bringing it home. The pot's drainage holes were blocked for some reason and it seemed to be waterlogged, causing root rot.
This is how my strawberry plant leaves turned yellow due to watering.
So it does not matter, when and how much water you are giving to your plant. You should make sure that the soil drainage system is good and working fine. If the plant is in the ground, you can improve drainage by adding coco peat or mixing some sandy soil with your regular garden soil.
I planted it in the ground with the soil mixture that I created especially for my strawberry plants. This is not a super secret mixture, just try to increase the soil draining system by adding a little bit of sand and coco peat or regular cactus soil.
You can add mulch to the soil to retain extra moisture from the soil.
Now move on to the other possible reasons
I just talked about overwatering earlier now it's time to let you know the other major possible reasons.
- Growth Priority (Which is absolutely normal and no need to worry)
- Sudden climate change ( Even if you move your plant from one place as it can get too much light exposure all on a side or the opposite )
- Underwatering ( The symptoms might be different from overwatering )
- High Soil pH (Do not worry, I will tell you the trick to fix it)
Now it's time to explain the reasons one by one so that you don't get confused.
Growth Priority
This is normal and happens with other plants too. When a leaf or few leaves are under shade (even if the shade is made by the other branches or leaves of its own) the plant itself stops investing its energy on the shaded leaves. As a result, the leaves will start turning yellow. This means the plant does not need to have those leaves and it is completely fine to cut off the leaves.
Sudden climate change
If you move your plant from one place to another ( for example bring it from someone else's house or a nursery ) the plant may go under stress. The reason is simple: the plant might not get the same amount of light exposure it was getting earlier. There might be other factors as well that changed all of a sudden.
So what do you need to do to fix it? You don't have to do anything special. Just take regular care. Water it when needed. The growth rate will decrease and the yellow leaves will fall from the plant and it will start growing normally after that.
Underwatering
The strawberry leaves might turn yellow in underwatering and overwatering. But if you look at the leaves and the plant carefully you can find they are not the same.
Try to pinch the petiole (stalk that connects the leaf with the stem) of the yellow leaves of your strawberry plant. If it feels squishy it's due to overwatering and if it does not feel like that, it's due to underwatering.
Water your plant thoroughly and wait for the recovery.
The yellow leaves might not get recovered but your plant will be healthier again.
High Soil pH
The strawberry plant loves slightly acidic soil. If you want to fix the soil, add some organic matter to the soil or manure. It is best to add sulfur to the soil. (You can get it in the nurseries as well or the sulfur-based fertilizer)
If you search on the internet you may find other reasons. A lot of reasons that you can't even imagine. I have been into gardening since I was a child and fixed a lot of issues with plants. The reasons I mentioned are the major reasons and you can identify the reason for your plant easily. If you are still confused, feel free to contact me or comment below, I will reply with the solution.
