Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
How to Pollinate Strawberry Plants
How to Pollinate Strawberry Plants. A strawberry is an herb although most of us think of it as fruit. The strawberry plants grown and sold by commercial growers are hermaphrodite. This means the individual strawberry plants can pollinate themselves. The plant will bare fruit based on how many flowers it produces and how effectively they are...
A strawberry is an herb although most of us think of it as fruit. The strawberry plants grown and sold by commercial growers are hermaphrodite. This means the individual strawberry plants can pollinate themselves. The plant will bare fruit based on how many flowers it produces and how effectively they are pollinated. Strawberry plants have traditionally been pollinated by bees, other bugs and the wind. To insure high crop yield, strawberry plants are hand pollinated.
Things You'll Need
Magnifying glass
Artist's paint brush
Watch for white flowers to start blooming on the strawberry plants.
Identify what the stamen and stigmas of the plant look like. The stamen is the the male, pollen laden part of the flower. In one flower head there are around 20 male parts. The stigma is the female, receptive part of the flower's anatomy. Each flower will have between 100 to 400 female parts.
Use a magnifying glass if the pollen can't be seen with the naked eye.
Take a small artist's brush and pick up pollen from the stamens with the tip of the the brush and brush it over the the stigmas. The stigmas will be at the center of the flowers and have open, tube-like mouths with which to receive the pollen.
Watch for the pollinated flower to wilt. This will happen anywhere from the time it's hand pollinated and 48 hours later. The flower wilting indicates the pollen successfully traveled through the stigma and down the style and fertilized the ovary.
Tips & Warnings
On average the flowers should produce fruit in 30 days from fertilization. If the weather has been cool and wet and it can take up to 40 days. With good growing conditions and warm weather it can take as little as 18 days.
