STRAWBERRY RUNNERS

eghamrecruiter · July 2020

Good. Morning all, i am moving to an allotment nearer to me than my current one, question is I have 3 or 4 beds of Strawberries, question is if I take some cuttings of the runners are they OK to put in now at my new allotment to get them going so they have a good start for next year, last question is do they like being planted in manure, thanks all

KeenOnGreen · July 2020

You plant the runners into the ground or into pots of compost, and wait until they have established healthy foliage BEFORE cutting the stem that connects them. You can then plant them in your preferred location, but keep well watered during the summer. A weekly liquid feed will also help them to produce more fruit next year. Our plants are just fruiting so the runners have hardly begun to show, I suspect that might be the case for you. It’s a bit too early for them yet, and they tend not to send out runners until after they have fruited.

You can’t plant anything in pure, fresh manure, it is too strong. I wouldn't plant them in pure manure (even well rotted). I would mix the manure with some soil, it will give them a better planting structure into which to plant, plus the soil contains lots of beneficial organisms. You can also divide Strawberry plants, so consider doing that with some of your larger plants, it will be much quicker than waiting for the runners.

Biglad · July 2020

Having left my garden alone for a few years (due to work commitments), the only things that survived was a rhubarb plant and several strawberry plants (I originally bought two). The strawberries were strewn all over so I've dug them all up and planted in individual pots (multi-purpose compost/top soil mix). Throughout all the neglect, manhandling and general ignorance of all things green-fingered, they've never been fed and only occasionally watered during dry spells. They're now nicely fruiting and a couple of the 15 plants are sending out runners, which I will bury in another pot to increase the 'army'. Once it looks like they've established the new plant, I'll wait even longer, before cutting the runner from the mother plant just to make sure. I wouldn't move them whilst fruiting or midway through forming new plants via runners though.

Fairygirl · July 2020

Yes peg down and wait until rooted before detaching, as @KeenOnGreen indicates. They often root themselves into their surrounds anyway, which is even easier. You can then move them if needed. They're very easy.
I wouldn't use manure unless it's well rotted, but it's certainly beneficial when they start into growth in spring.
I've frequently moved them, regardless of what they're doing @mattpope5. Easy here with our weather- they barely know they've been moved. After a few years, the original plants are less productive so it's better to have a new stock of runners to follow them, and discard the old plants. Taking the runners after a couple of years, to give them time to develop, is the best method, although I rarely remember.

STRAWBERRY RUNNERS

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