Several questions about strawberry that maybe curious you... can Strawberries grow in the tropics? can Strawberries grow in tropical and or hot conditions?
this is my experience: gardening strawberry tropical and hot conditions,
i live in Java Island Indonesia, a tropical country in Asia region. you can see my strawberry plants through Youtube videos by clicking HERE or by clicking on the image below:
Strawberry is a plant that has the resilience and adaptation are quite extensive. generally good growing conditions for strawberries is like the following climatic conditions:
optimum air temperature 17-20 C and minimum temperature between 4-5 degrees Celsius.
Air humidity (RH) 80-90%.
Sunlight 8-10 hours / day.
- Rainfall ranging between 600-700 mm / year.
conditions as mentioned above is actually not an absolute requirement, I've tried it myself to
cultivate strawberries in which I live actual environmental conditions
are less suitable for cultivation of Strawberry.
at first I just try to buy seeds strawberry in pot, arround September
2007 when I travel and sightseeing in the market of flowers and ornamental plants
Bandungan Semarang district. Bandungan area is located on the slopes of Mount Ungaran, the air is cool fresh
and I estimate the altitude of about 800 m from the sea level. Initially I was skeptical of what might have strawberry plants can survive in the area where I live? even my friend had said that the plants that I bought in a minute will die.
The city where I live that Cepu city has a height of approximately 30
meters of sea level (this I know, based on the signposts height in rail station is +28 m) and my house is located not far from the rail station. air temperature ranges from 25 degrees to 33 degrees Celsius. rainfall is less than 500 mm / year. many people have told me that my City is hot temperature condition, perhaps as hot as the other major cities in Java Indonesia.
The Strawberry plants I keep next to the house that land is quite
narrow and receive direct sunlight about 6-8 hours a day, it is this
plant is not strong enough to withstand the heat.
many leaves are dried up, and then I tried to spray the leaves with a
sprayer filled with cold water in the morning and early afternoon and
late in the afternoon. In this way help to reduce the amount of dried leaves and I also watered the plants this morning and afternoon.
My strawberry plants began to grow with the advent of stolon plant
tendrils, from the end of the tendrils will grow new strawberry plants
and roots.
This tip can be accommodated in the new pot, after a new plant has 4-5
leaves of the vine are connected with primary plant can be cut.
for planting medium, I created from a mixture of garden soil and a little manure. pots I use a small 'size 17 to 20'. one pot containing between 1 to 3 plants. This new crop of plants I can from the parent plant stolon panhandle.
after a year I wait for my Strawberry garden finally beginning to bear
fruit, of about 30 pots, 3 pots of which there must be something
flowering later turned into fruit. nearly 4 days I can pluck the ripe fruit (marked with dark red fruit color) from one pot to 1-2 Strawberries are ripe.
I can enjoy strawberries from my garden cramped for 3 full months from
the month of September - November 2008. in December 2008 my garden did not
produce fruits. I expected to do in the month that is Strawberry season to fruition. I include photos one of my pots are already bearing fruit:
I actually do not know for sure what type and species of strawberry plants that I care for them.
characteristics of strawberry plants that I have is in terms of the
size of the fruit is being, has a flavor that is not too sharp, not too
sweet.