Guide to Multiplication of Strawberries via Runners
Propagating Strawberries from Runners: A Step-by-Step Guide
Propagating strawberries from runners is an easy and effective way to ensure a plentiful crop in future years. Here's a simple guide to help you get started.
- Choose the Right Runners Select healthy strawberry runners with one or more leaves. Look for runners that have small baby plants (daughter plants) at the nodes.
- Prepare the Soil Fill pots with a suitable soil mix for rooting. A good option is a mix of three parts compost to one part sand. This mix provides the right balance of moisture retention and drainage.
- Plant the Runners Gently pin or peg the runner’s baby plant down into the prepared soil so that the roots can contact the soil without detaching it from the parent plant.
- Maintain Moisture Keep the soil consistently moist by watering regularly. Avoid waterlogging the soil.
- Wait for Roots to Develop After about 3 to 4 weeks, the baby plant should have developed its own healthy root system and new leaves.
- Separate the New Plant Once rooted, snip off the runner stem connecting the new plant to the parent to separate it.
- Transplant the New Strawberry Plant Transplant the new strawberry plant to its permanent location or pot for further growth.
During this rooting phase, the soil should be sandy loam or well-drained potting mix, kept moist but not soggy, which helps the roots establish successfully. Regular watering and moderate sunlight are important during this period.
This method leverages natural vegetative propagation by layering the runner’s daughter plant above soil to encourage independent root growth before separation. The key is to maintain moist soil and allow time for roots to mature before cutting the runner.
For a visual guide, Monty Don provides a video on how to propagate strawberries from runners.
By following these steps, you can easily multiply your strawberry plants, leading to more plants and a bumper harvest next summer.
Additional Tips - Clearing away straw or matting from strawberry plants discourages slugs and snails. - The newsletter sign-up allows access to gardening advice and inspiration. - Remember to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. - Users agree to site terms and conditions and privacy policy upon sign-up. - reCAPTCHA protects the site, and its privacy policy and terms of service apply.
Adapting the home-and-garden lifestyle to include gardening, specifically the propagation of strawberries, can be achieved through a simple process of rooting strawberry runners. For example, you could create a home-and-garden project by carefully selecting healthy strawberry runners, preparing the soil with a suitable mix of compost and sand, and allowing them to root for 3-4 weeks before separating and transplanting the new plants to your home garden or pots. This layering technique, as demonstrated by Monty Don, is an effective method for multiplying strawberry plants and ensuring a bountiful home-and-garden lifestyle in the upcoming seasons.
