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 page, read 2026-09-27: Strawberry Diseases |
| 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Strawberry Diseases |
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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Strawberry Diseases | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Common Leaf Spot of Strawberry |
| 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Strawberry Diseases | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina |
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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Strawberry Diseases |
| Rhizoctonia root and crown rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says plants often collapse right around the time fruiting begins. Source page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina |
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 page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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 page, read 2026-09-27: Strawberry Diseases |
| Anthracnose fruit and leaf rot | Clemson Cooperative Extension says on the berries themselves it causes round, firm, sunken brown spots. Source page, read 2026-09-27: Growing Strawberries in South Carolina | 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
- 2026-09-27 · Growing Strawberries in South Carolina, Clemson Cooperative Extension
- 2026-09-27 · Strawberry Diseases, Colorado State University Extension
- 2026-09-27 · Common Leaf Spot of Strawberry, University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension