01Yellowing leaves
| Possible cause | Colorado State |
|---|---|
| Red stele root rot | Colorado State University Extension says older leaves turn yellow or red earlier than they normally would. Source: Strawberry Diseases · checked 2026-09-27 |
| Iron chlorosis | Colorado State University Extension says iron chlorosis shows up as yellowing tied to alkaline, lime-rich soils, and it gets worse when plants are watered too often. Source: Strawberry Diseases · checked 2026-09-27 |
02Spots on leaves
| Possible cause | Clemson | Colorado State | Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf spot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says small round purple spots show up on leaves and later fade to gray or white in the middle while keeping a purple edge. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | Colorado State University Extension says spots start out purple in the center and gradually turn tan, gray and eventually almost white as they age. Source: Strawberry Diseases · checked 2026-09-27 | University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension says young spots on the upper leaf surface start out deep purple to red before the centers fade lighter. Source: Common Leaf Spot of Strawberry · checked 2026-09-27 |
| Leaf scorch | Clemson Cooperative Extension says leaf scorch shows as dark purple blotches with no light centers, which can look almost burnt on badly affected leaves. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | Colorado State University Extension says look for many small, irregularly shaped purple spots that, unlike leaf spot, stay solid purple all the way through with no pale center. Source: Strawberry Diseases · checked 2026-09-27 | No matching line in the Wisconsin pages we checked. |
| Angular leaf spot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says early symptoms are small, angular, water-soaked spots on the undersides of leaves. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | No matching line in the Colorado State pages we checked. | No matching line in the Wisconsin pages we checked. |
| Phomopsis leaf blight | Clemson Cooperative Extension says dead tissue spreads along the veins in large V-shaped patches, starting from circular red to purple spots that develop gray centers. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | No matching line in the Colorado State pages we checked. | No matching line in the Wisconsin pages we checked. |
03Curled or distorted leaves
| Possible cause | Clemson |
|---|---|
| Rhizoctonia root and crown rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says leaf undersides can turn purple and curl upward. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 |
04Wilting or dying back
| Possible cause | Clemson | Colorado State |
|---|---|---|
| Red stele root rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says infected plants look stunted and can wilt during hot weather, producing little or no fruit before eventually dying. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | Colorado State University Extension says plants look stunted and lose their normal glossy green color, and younger leaves can take on an unusual metallic, bluish-green cast. Source: Strawberry Diseases · checked 2026-09-27 |
| Rhizoctonia root and crown rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says plants often collapse right around the time fruiting begins. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | No matching line in the Colorado State pages we checked. |
| Anthracnose crown rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says plants stunt and wilt around midday in a way that's easy to mistake for simple drought stress. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | No matching line in the Colorado State pages we checked. |
05Stems and canes
| Possible cause | Clemson |
|---|---|
| Anthracnose fruit and leaf rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says small dark lesions form on runners and leaf stalks in summer and can girdle them, killing leaves and any daughter plants that haven't rooted yet. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 |
06Fruit, pods and tubers
| Possible cause | Clemson | Colorado State |
|---|---|---|
| Botrytis fruit rot (gray mold) | Clemson Cooperative Extension says decay can begin anywhere on the berry, most often near the cap where moisture tends to collect. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | Colorado State University Extension says infection typically starts where berries touch the soil, or where one berry touches another that's already decaying, or touches a dead leaf. Source: Strawberry Diseases · checked 2026-09-27 |
| Anthracnose fruit and leaf rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says on the berries themselves it causes round, firm, sunken brown spots. Source: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina · checked 2026-09-27 | No matching line in the Colorado State pages we checked. |
What to do about it. This site only covers how to recognize a problem. For what to do next, open the Extension page linked in the row: their advice is written for their region and is kept up to date by them.
Pages compared on this chart
- Growing Strawberries in South Carolina, Clemson Cooperative Extension (checked 2026-09-27)
- Strawberry Diseases, Colorado State University Extension (checked 2026-09-27)
- Common Leaf Spot of Strawberry, University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension (checked 2026-09-27)