I bought some strawberry plants in the sale bin at the garden centre. I think we had 3 berries from them. ;D What do I do now? They are in a gro-bag in the greenhouse and growing like mad with shoots coming out everywhere (okay slight exaggeration there!). Do I leave them or what?
Help please, I've not grown strawberries before and I can't find my gardening books as dh has "tidied" them onto the shelves in the loft!
They were in the sale as they had fruited already.
At the end of the shoots, you should get a small plant, make sure it touches the soil.
Hold it down with a stone or small wire hoop and it will root.
You'll have loads of plants for next year.
Is there a 'healthy' maximum number of runners to take off a parent plant, or should I just pot up anything that sprouts ?
I grow strawberries, at the end of fruiting they send out lots of runners. Lay a runner into a pot of compost and in a few weeks time you get a new plant. I use 3 runners per plant this way the remainder of the runner's cut off as they will weaken the mother plant. In the autumn chop of the old leaves with a clipper this encoarages new leaf growth and helps build up the crown for fruiting next year
Have a look in here this should help; http://tinyurl.com/284egs
n.b. click on pictures to enlarge
Thanks for that, I'll try and do that in the next few days.
So, at what time of year do you plant the strawberry plants outside?
Any time! They will even transplant in Summer when fruiting.
If you want some early ones plant in a frame.
Mine are still fruiting now. I have to keep chasing the chooks off who keep picking them before they have even turned red!
Should they pruned once they have finished fruiting or in the autumn ?
I hope so because I have stick insects who will like a change of diet.
You can pick a few leaves now for your insects it wont hurt the plants.
Autumn or early spring best time to plant them, usualy the weather is damp enough for them to establish ( bit of a laugh with the weather at the moment) but potted ones can be planted anytime.
the growbag does not need to be in the greenhouse outside is best so they get hardened off will still send runners and grow
Dont overwater them they can get mold forming good luck with your plants and the free ones as well.
Thanks for that. I have lots of runners and plants that I want to move. So I should do it in September ?
Do I need to prune or not ?
You can let the runners root into pots, I let mine mostly root into the soil.
Prepare a bed for them now if you can, dig it over and if you have some rotted compost, dig that in, but they aren't too fussy. Around September - Nov (depending on weather & location) take the rooted runners and sever them from the parent plant, and put then into their new positions in a new bed. If it's dry I water them in, if not I don't. Planting out at that time, they then get the chance to carry on growing and get established and I always get a crop of fruit from them the following summer.
There's no need to have them in a grow bag, they do better direct in the soil.
This bed was planted out in October last year, the picture was taken end April this year, they do establish nicely if you do them like this.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/jennympics/StrawbbedendApril2007.jpg)
Thanks for the advice, I should have said though I have to grow strawberries in containers. I live in London and because it is expensive here I only have a small garden (hence I have fruits in the front garden which some people don't like).
So I have most of them in a tub but the runners I will put in a flower pots in a small greenhouse on the patio.
On yesterdays GQT, Bob Flowerdew's tip of the week was ...
To pin runners into a pot, don't let that runner run on and remove any flowers that the runner may produce. That way a new strong plant will be produced.
Keep watered over winter.
Move into a greenhouse in early Spring, then they will be cropping in early May.