Purple Strawberry Leaves

Question

This is my strawberries second year, for the first year I pinched off many blossoms so that the plants would grow stronger. During the season I made sure to fertilize them whenever the leaves began to look purple as I was told this was a phosphorus deficiency. Right now the snow is starting to melt and they bed is full of new growth (tons to honest) and all of it looks purple. It still seems too early as the ground is most likely still frozen and much too wet to fertilize. Should I wait until later in the season?

Answer 1

Before fertilizing, make sure that you test your soil. Purple can, certainly, be an indication of a phosphorus deficiency. It can also be a symptom of being cold (which they handle just fine) or that your pH is too low to absorb phosphorus.

Testing your pH and nutrient content will give you all of the information that you need to know, exactly, what the strawberry needs. These two articles will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

This article will help you with general strawberry care:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/strawberry/growing-strawberry-plants.htm