Hi sun: Welcome the site:
I live in s. Chandler and grew strawberries in my raised bed garden last year. The crop wasn't very big but it was steady. I think I bought my plants at Home Depot. Unfortunately,when we were draining our pool a little some of the clorinated water got on my strawberry plants and killed them off so I will have to get some new ones. Good luck on your and let us know how you do.

About a month ago I planted 4 plants and they seem to be doing ok so far. I didnt want to buy too many because I'm still in the trial and error stage of gardening. How many plants do you have and about how many strawberries per plant can one expect.

I have about 15 strawberry plants with a couple of daughter plants on them, They spread with time and add new plants all the time. I read that a plant can produce a pint of strawberries if well taken care of. I can imagine that pool water would do them in as they are very susceptible to salts (fertilizers/water/soils) which makes them a bit of a challenge around these parts!

I've spoken to a few gardeners around town who suggest that you pinch off all of the flowers the plants produce in the first year. This concentrates production into plant growth and runners and increases fruiting in year 2.

I've managed to pinch off the flowers, but I can never get the plants to pull through to year 2 in my containers. Never attempted in my raised bed garden.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I wondered about the flowers in the first year. I have heard in Arizona it is best to treat strawberries as annuals. I guess to get them through our summers you would have to shade them. Right now my strawberries are kind of just sitting there, they have put out a couple of runners some of the leaves are tinged red I think it is because of our cooler nights. I hope they are putting all their energy into a good root system and then take off in February and really grow. On frosty nights I will cover them so there are no setbacks! I will try to take care of those flowers next spring...thank you for the advice! Sunsprite

I'm in North Chandler. I've had potted strawberries for about 6 months, but I haven't see any strawberries. I keep them mostly in the shade. I think it's just too hot. I'm going to try buying some plant food.

I'm so glad to see a strawberry post! I'm in Mesa :)
I boght a plant from Target in June, looked good. Got 3 berries the first week! Then a heat wave hit and the leaves turn brown & crusty on the tips. I moved it to the shade, no improvement, so when the monsoon hit the other week I moved it inside to a sunny South window. It's slowly looking better- not producing though. I put it in Miracle grow soil & sprinkle MG organic fertilizer & sometimes some a sprinkle of coffee grounds. Should I plant it in some other mix? I'm a 20yr old rookie so any advice appreciated :)

I'm trying some this winter. Has anyone succeeded on growing them year-round or should I just treat as annuals? I'm going to try some rhubarb roots as well. I love rhubarb!
Planning to put these in a location that is too shady for my other stuff, along with the lettuce/greens this winter. Save my sunnier locations for garlic, onions and peas.
Also want to plant favas this winter. Any advice on them?

tracy,

per Gardening in the Deserts of Arizona, Mary Irish:
Plant new Strawberry starts (Camerosa, Chandler, Sequoia & Tioga) in August - September, 12" apart, mulch HEAVY and deep water 12" when top soil dries out.

We lost 2 already, and the 3rd is finally coming back. Had to move it to a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade. We'll see how they come out, have a 3 fruits 2 of them are close to being ripe but are very small, size of a quarter maybe. Hopefully next year they'll give up some better fruit.

Thanks for the info! Do you know when to plant rhubarb? I've got the perfect, shady spot for the strawberry/rhubarb pie patch.

According to Mary Irish: February

According to the AMGM, they are not adapted to our elevation, but above 2000 ft. elevation October 1 - March 1

personally, if I were to "experiment" I would plant according to the celery planting dates:

County Extension:
September 15 - the end of October for seeds and transplants

or from the AMGM:

anywhere from August 15 - October 15 depending on elevation

I have a friend growing rhubarb in Gilbert, although I haven't asked her lately if it's still alive.
I'll try both strawberries and rhubarb this fall in a partly shady spot and see what happens.

Mangledmind, is that book worth buying?

Which one Tracy?

The Arizona Master Gardeners Manual is available online, but kinda hard to navigate so we asked the daughter to pick up a hard copy for us, as she is at UofA in med school.
Gardening in the Deserts of Arizona, Mary Irish, is a month by month guide and is pretty useful for us, as I hate writing things down :)

Hope that helps,
Ant

I picked up a pot of strawberries at a store, don't know what variety. Really need to know just how much sun they need in central AZ. I have a large, mostly shaded area that I was hoping to plant them in. Would they survive there? If not, does anyone know what 'might' do well in mostly shade?

I too am a planting rookie somewhat- I was hoping to grow some healthy producing strawberries in containers, since my soil is mostly clay and very poor. I already have had to replant one of them, I tried it in the clay and it did poorly. I have read through all the advice and it seems to differ... Should I pinch off the flowers and let it just grow? And should I be giving them plant food for veggies and herbs, or something else? They are in basic potting soil, do I need to add sand and compost? Any help would be great. Btw I am in Prescott Valley, so mid to high elevation if that matters.