By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior garden writer
Bare-root strawberries have to be among the best bargains ever. A few days ago I spent $7 for 25 bare-root ‘Seascape’ strawberry plants — that’s right, 28 cents each. The local feed store keeps the bundles, each secured with a rubber band, in big bins of damp sawdust. I pull out what I need, head home, and have them in the ground within a few minutes.
For this small amount of work I’ll be picking fresh strawberries from June through frost. ‘Seascape’ is my current favorite (I planted 50 last year) because its fruit is very large, aromatic, tasty, and tolerant of the root diseases that eventually kill most strawberries. This is also a good variety for preserving.
Bred for commercial strawberry fields along the coast, it turns out that ‘Seascape’ also performs remarkably well in the interior. The difference between the two location is length of harvest: ‘Seascape’ is everbearing in mild coastal climates, but only produces one or two crops (one in June and the other in fall) in cold-winter, warm-summer regions.
Plant ‘Seascape’ in compost-amended soil in full sun, and don’t let the roots dry out between purchase and planting. ‘Seascape’ strawberry's only flaw is that it doesn’t send out runners, so plants don’t naturally multiply over time. But no matter: buy an extra bundle or two and you’ll have plenty.
