How to Grow Strawberry Plants Using Runners

Growing strawberry plants from runners is easy and saves money required to purchase new plants. Strawberry plants should be replaced after four years, as after the fourth year fruit yield and quality decreases dramatically. You can cut runners every year and grow them in pots, ready to replace older plants. You should also change the positioning of the plants. Keeping a plant in the same bed or area can lead to reduced fruit yield and susceptibility to disease as the plants cannot find enough of the minerals they need to flourish, having used them in previous years.

Things You'll Need

Knife
Compost

Plant pots
Spade

Instructions

- 1
  Untangle the runners coming from the plants -- after mature strawberry plants have finished producing fruit -- using your fingers, preferably without gloves. The runners are quite delicate and can be damaged if you wear bulky gloves.
- 2
  Cut the runners with a sharp knife, leaving a 1-inch length of stalk near both the established plant and the undeveloped plant on the runner. Discard the remaining stalk.
- 3
  Fill a plant pot with compost, gently pressing the compost down until it is slightly firm and the pot is 3/4 full.
- 4
  Place the small, undeveloped plant on top of the compost in the plant pot. Take a small amount of additional compost and place it around the base of the plant, but do not cover the small green leaves. You will find that the plant is still loose in the pot, but this is normal. The plant takes several weeks to fully develop long roots and anchor itself in the pot.
- 5
  Water the plant lightly and move the pot immediately to a sunny but wind-sheltered location so the plant is not blown out of the pot before roots have fully developed and anchored into the compost.
- 6
  Maintain a winter watering schedule. During the winter, the plant will die back and you may not be able to see any leaves at all. You must keep it watered. It is dormant and will regenerate in the spring.
- 7
  Dig a hole with a spade in the new permanent location for your strawberry bed and water the hole.
- 8
  Transfer the plant from pot to ground. In the spring, once the plant has regenerated and produced healthy green foliage, grip it gently at the base between your thumb and index finger and turn the pot upside down. With your free hand, tap the bottom of the pot to loosen the roots. Grip the pot with your free hand and gently pull away. Place the strawberry plant into the hole and replace the soil around the plant, ensuring you do not cover the leaves.

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