[suziequeue]

I am planning to propagate my strawberries as much as possible this year so that we have enough to plant out in a row next year.


I have started potting some of the suckers but I have a few questions:


Am I supposed to be sticking the end of the sucker into a pot or just staking it down halfway along?


Should I graze/roughen the outer skin of the sucker to encourage root growth in the pot (like you do when pleaching hazel)?


How will I know when the sucker has taken root?


Grateful for any advice

[Mel]

Once a sucker is thrown a tuft,I just cut off around an inch before the foliage at the end and stick it in,it has always worked for me.
If you put it in a small peat or coir pot you shall know as the roots shall start growing through if propagating in a greenhouse,or if you are keeping them in the earth they soon take,I have never roughened to encourage growth,they seem quite happy by their own means,you can lift them gently to see the roots if need be.

[deepinthewoods]

it doesnt matter what you do to them, theyll root in anything! i just put 3 inch pots around the plants, tuck the baby plant in a bit and leave it connected to the mother plant until its taken, normally within a week, then cut the connecting stem. or you can just leave them in the bed for next year.i think a strawberry is only good for 3 yrs, so its worth introducing new stock every three years.

[suziequeue]

Oh - well that's encouraging. We have potted a few and will try the cutting off before the tuft method aswell.


If the strawberries only have a life of three years - does that include the ones that are propagated or do the propagated ones last three years. i.e. if I have a whole row - would i be looking to propagate a third of the row each year - say??

[deepinthewoods]

yes. or move the bed as part of a 4 yr rotation, so one bed getting going, one 2 yr bed in full production and one tailing off. they will live more than 3 years but the crop drops off.
according to LDH the august planting gives the best crop in next summer, use 2lb of bonemeal to 4sq yards, plus loads of compost, line the trench with feathers or daggings. plant through straw, or weed membrane.
2 years ago i made my strawb bed, and planted wild ones in with the cultivated, this year ive been eating the hybrids. their about twice the size of wild ones but still as tasty. but not very many of them. ill collect the seed this year and see what i end up with, its quite exciting!

[deepinthewoods]

im sorry, ive ust reread and i didnt answer the question . the propogated runners are the august planting so will bear well for 2 yrs, then slow down.
removing the old spent plants to the compost will keep disease at bay (so ldh says)

[suziequeue]

Right - I get it. Brilliant. So basically we have four beds: 1st year bed: babies, second year bed: full production, third year bed: OAPs, fourth year bed into which I plant suckers from the 2nd year bed??

[deepinthewoods]

yes, but ideally you would stop any suckers from the 2nd bed, so it cropped more and take the suckers from the 3rd 'oap' bed which would still be cropping but less so.

[Mammyshaz]

Our small strawberry bed is a bit more self sorted.  My son planted one plant years ago and we let the baby ones self root and grow. We only interfere with the bed when one is old and not producing much, then we remove it. There are plenty around self rooting to replace it.

Too lazy to have separate beds or noting ages of plants. If they are producing well they can stay    if not  then they go.   

[suziequeue]

So I have been out this morning and cut a bunch of suckers and put them straight into pots of potting/cutting  compost.


Half of them have been dipped in organic rooting gel and half have had nothing.


Watch this space 

[deepinthewoods]

it looks like youve cut them a bit early, they will make proper mini plants if left on the runner.

[suziequeue]

They were well developed suckers so I cut then to an inch or so from the tuft and planted them.


Be interesting to see what happens 


.....and whether the rooting compound makes any difference

[deepinthewoods]

thats cool. i like experiments! strawberries are great fun to play with.

[suziequeue]

I'll wait until the tufts are a bit more advanced before cutting them next time.

[Lesley Silvester]

I'm with you, Mammyshaz, but then I'm not very organised - ok, not at all organised.  I have tried writing it all down but then lose the bits of paper/notebook.