In the market, there are three types of seedlings available: potted, green (dug up), and frigo. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. However, it’s not particularly important which type of seedlings we choose. The most important thing is that the seedlings are HEALTHY, i.e., free from serious diseases and pests!
Healthy, certified green seedlings (so-called dug up) are OK. Their price usually does not shock. A significant downside is the short period of their availability – it’s either autumn or early spring. Planted late in the autumn, they may not survive the winter (they won’t have time to develop a sufficiently strong root system), and those planted in spring may dry out and “fall out”.
Moreover, the root system of green seedlings, unlike frigo seedlings or potted seedlings, is very sensitive to drying out in the period between their digging from the nursery and planting in a new location. Digging, sorting, and transporting green seedlings requires high professionalism. The same goes for planting. I warn against “wrapping” roots and planting too shallowly or too deeply.
Frigo seedlings (of course, we’re talking about certified material) are great, although their star seems to have dimmed a bit in recent years. Indeed, they take root quite well and grow quickly. Their disadvantage is the high price (especially the “thickest” ones, e.g., class A+ or so-called multi-crown) as well as a short period of availability (in practice only in spring, until the beginning of summer). In recent years, there has been quite a buzz about frigo seedlings.
Some were even inclined to think that Frigo is the name of some new, cool strawberry variety😄 Nothing could be further from the truth. Frigo is a term for a certain technology of producing strawberry seedlings, and that’s it. If you decide on frigo seedlings, I advise choosing the thicker ones, i.e., class A+ or even thicker (A+ means that the crown diameter of the seedling is above 15 mm). Seedlings of lesser thickness will indeed yield a crop after about 6 to 8 weeks from planting, but in terms of quantity, it will be symbolic.
Potted seedlings (of course – only certified material) are in a class of their own. Their undeniable advantage is that they are produced in a sterile (in terms of phytosanitary) peat substrate, without contact with the soil, so there are no problems with their health. Additionally, we can plant them throughout the vegetation period (available from mid-March to mid-October) and there are never any problems with them taking root. Ready-for-sale potted seedlings have a fully formed root ball, so after removing them from the pots and planting them in the soil, they do not experience the slightest stress. On the contrary, they seem “happy” because after being removed from the tight pots and planted, they release a lot of new roots within 1-2 days, thanks to which they can strongly “anchor” in the soil in a short time. The long period of availability of potted seedlings allows planting strawberries in the most optimal period, i.e., in July and August. Plants planted at this time will have enough time before winter to form a very strong root system and generate a huge amount of flower buds, which will be responsible for the yield height in the following year (few know that strawberry flower bud primordia are already formed in autumn). (See available potted strawberry seedlings here) So – everyone must make their choice of seedling type themselves. And, in my opinion, any decision will be correct, provided that you use certified material for planting.
