I have seen people asking, "Why is my strawberry plant not flowering?" in the communities. It is difficult to answer this in one or two sentences, as there might be multiple reasons. I will explain the reasons in a way that helps the plant owner easily identify why their strawberry plant isn’t flowering.
Note: If you are living in an area where people do not grow strawberries commercially, there is less chance that the strawberry plant will produce a lot of blooms.
You need to understand the blooming time first, so that you do not worry unnecessarily. Like most other plants, the strawberry plants have specific blooming time(s).
We mainly grow three types of strawberry plants depending on our preferences. Let's understand the blooming time.
| Type | Blooming Time | My Observation |
|---|---|---|
| June-bearing | Spring (April–May) | One big bloom and fruit set around late spring |
| Ever-bearing | Spring and Late Summer | Noticed two flushes of blooms—early and late in the season |
| Day-neutral | Continuously (if 35–85°F) | Produces flowers almost all season long |
Why did I just share this information with you? It's important that you know what type of strawberry you are growing.
This is how you can expect the strawberry blooms at the right time.
If you don't see strawberry blooms coming out in the blooming season, and your strawberry plant's age is less than 1 year, it's fine and normal.
Strawberry plants start producing flowers from the second year of planting. It is true that a lot of gardeners witness flowers from the first year, but believe me, there will be fewer flowers.
Till now, I have told you the natural reasons for no flowers, and you can't fix these as these are not in your hands.
Now, moving to the major reasons why your strawberry plant is not flowering.
No flowers on strawberry plant due to an excessive amount of Nitrogen
A lot of people make mistakes while fertilizing their garden soil. Each plant has its own specific nutrient requirements at a specific growth stage.
Nitrogen mainly helps the plant to grow leaves and green parts. If you feed your plant a lot of nitrogen, it will tend to grow leaves instead of buds.
Use balanced fertilizer in the early growth stage, and then provide it with phosphorus just before the blooming season of your strawberry plant.
In one of my articles, I have talked about fertilization in depth. You may have a look at that article: Homemade fertilizers for fruits
Note: If you are desperate to see the flowers on your plant, use phosphorus-based foliar spray to see a quick result.
No flowers on the strawberry plant due to the heat
Strawberry plant performs well in a mild-cool climate (Not too cold, not too hot).
We can grow a strawberry plant from USDA Zone 4 to Zone 10. The temp. should be in this range: 60°F to 80°F.
Due to an excessive amount of heat, the strawberry plant goes under stress, and it will produce no buds or very few buds.
I suggest not growing strawberries in a humid and warm climate. The production yield will be unpleasant, and you will have to handle a lot of pests and bugs.
I have witnessed flowers coming out in the heat, but the flowers can't turn into strawberries due to the heat.
The strawberry plant goes into semi-dormancy in winter and grows very fast in the active growing season.
Cut the runners to save energy for your strawberry plant so that your plant can use that energy to grow flowers (unless you are planning to propagate).
And finally, check the variety of the strawberry plant that you are growing. There are some varieties out there that produce very less flowers.
Here I am sharing a simple variety chart for strawberries with the flower production rate.
| Strawberry Variety | USDA Growing Zones | Flower Production Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Albion | 4–9 | High |
| Chandler | 5–8 | Moderate |
| Seascape | 4–9 | High |
| Earliglow | 3–8 | Moderate |
| Ozark Beauty | 4–8 | High |
| Jewel | 4–8 | Low |
| Tribute | 4–8 | Moderate |
| Fort Laramie | 3–7 | High |
If everything is alright and you are still facing flowering issues on your strawberry plant, you should check your watering schedule.
I had faced brown and yellow leaves on my strawberry plant earlier. You may go through those pages:
- Strawberry leaves are turning yellow (Reasons and care)
- Strawberry leaves are turning brown (reasons and care)
Note: A lot of flowers might not always produce a lot of berries. I have seen a lot of flowers, and only a few among those turn into berries. This happens, and you need to bring more pollinators into your garden.
Try growing some native flowering plants in your garden.
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