Pot up strawberry runners

HERE is my advice for those who grow strawberries and want to increase their production. During summer, most strawberry plants develop long shoots known as ‘runners’. Each runner carries a baby plant at its tip.

If the plants grow in the ground, their runners develop roots as soon as a tip comes into contact with the soil. Left untouched, these would stay attached to the parent while developing individual plants. You can remove runners from the parents as soon as they’ve developed roots and plant them elsewhere.

If you grow your strawberries in containers, runners will also appear and carry plantlets. If removed and potted in good growing medium, these will also develop into vigorous young

plants. After planting your runners, apply a dilute feed to stimulate growth. Water the developing plants frequently during dry periods. You can then pot them up or plant them out during autumn for strawberry production next summer.

Strawberries are prone to virus disease — plant viruses cannot be cured — so make sure both parent plants and any progeny are in perfect health.

If you suspect it’s a virus, remove the plants and any runners and dispose of them.

Virus symptoms include poor growth, young leaves yellowing at their edges or leaves becoming crinkled and developing yellow spots or blotches.

On mature plants, if any flowers develop green petals rather than the usual white and fail to develop normal fruits, they could be infected.