Question: How to Save Strawberry Runners for Next Year?
Cathy Piger asked:
I will live in NW PA and am moving there this winter. I would like to dig up some strawberrie runners and save them to plant in the new location in the spring. How do I go about bear root storage?
Answer to: How to Save Strawberry Runners for Next Year?
Cathy,
The easiest way is to dig up the already-rooted runner plants you want to keep, dirt and all, and put them into cheap plastic pots. Keep the plastic pots somewhere where it won’t get too warm or too cold (avoid extreme freezing and keep the plants in their dormant state). Putting them in pots or other suitable containers will allow you to water them through the winter. If their roots dry out, they die. If you do shake off all the dirt from the roots (not recommended), you can store them in sand, peat moss, wood chips, re-cover with dirt, or just about any moisture-holding medium. Re-plant them in the spring as you normally would. Much more information can be found here: Storing Bare-Root Strawberry Plants. In addition, be sure to check out the additional information on overwintering strawberry plants. Also, if you don’t have a plan for how you intend to deploy your perennial plants, consider the methods discussed on the Transplanting Strawberry Plants page. Good luck!
This is a question submitted to StrawberryPlants.org by a reader. See the Strawberry FAQ for more questions and answers.
Tom
Hi, for some reason my question disappeared from here, here is it again. What temperature and relative humidity level are optimal for storing strawberry runners? A strawberry breeding related question: does anybody know what temperature is optimal for storing strawberry pollen? Thanks in advance.
Tom
Robin
Hello I’m a newbie at trying to grow strawberries this season I bought plants and they didn’t do any good and I also bought the bare roots and they didn’t even grow. What did I do wrong please and the strawberry plants that I have will they come back back next year ? Cause they were blooming strawberries all summer just not big enough to eat or do anything with so I was told to cut off the flowers all summer and next year I would get an abundance
Mary Ward
Hard to say what went wrong with your bare root plants, but it sounds like you probably had bad stock–old and dry or dead. For the plants that did grow, you did the right thing cutting off the blossoms to let the plants develop and with good continued care, you should be in good shape next year. It is probably a good idea to fertilize the patch once this fall, then mulch it for the winter.
Tom
Hi, I am doing an assignment on strawberry breeding. I am interested to knnow what exact temperature and relative humidity level are optimal for storing strawberry runners. What place/environment would be best to put the plastic pots with already-rooted runner plants?
Besides that, I have another strawberry related question maybe someone will know the answer to. In strawberry breeding, pollen are stored in Eppendorf tubes and put in the fridge. What temperature would it be in the fridge/ what temperature is optimal for storing strawberry pollen? Thanks in advance, T.
Mervyn
Hi, I have a raised bed approximately 2m long X 1m wide 7 inches deep with soil 6 inches deep. I have grown strawberries for the past two years this year was extremely bountiful. The runners are out and establishing quite well. There are about 20 plants all now with runners, the bed looks as though it could be overcrowded. Each plant has about 6 stems can I prune them back to say 3 stems per plant to make room for the runners, or should I move some plants to another bed. Will it be suitable to use 4 – 6 inches of straw over the winter months.
Mark Hill
I’ve just bought bare root strawberry plants (Gigantella Maxim) approx 20 in the pack. I live in South Wales UK. I don’t want to plant them now can I freeze then in-till planting next Spring. Or is there another way of keeping them? Thanks in advance.
Mr. Strawberry
Mark Hill,
It is not advisable to freeze them. It is best to go ahead and plant them, let them develop roots, and then mulch them over the winter. The success rate is much higher that way. If you absolutely want to try to keep them un-planted over the winter, here’s how. Good luck!
Darlene Fremeau
I have a greenhouse and I plan on starting strawberries in the spring in a strawberry tower.
My question is. We go south for the winter and I was wondering how to save the plants for future planting.
I have bought bear root plants in the past and would like to know how to do it so I don’t have to buy new plants every year
Mr. Strawberry
Darlene Fremeau,
Here is how to store bare-root plants. However, in your situation, it will be difficult to make it work all winter due to the monitoring and watering needs. Good luck!
billy
I live in zone 9 and trying to keep my plants till October how do I do that
Mr. Strawberry
billy,
I’d recommend starting here. Good luck!
Pam
We live in Arctic Canada and I would like to keep my strawberry plants until next spring. I think digging them up and bringing them in would be the only way. If not how can I do that? How do I keep them alive but dormant inside?
Mr. Strawberry
Pam,
It is difficult to do. The light and the warmth triggers them to leave dormancy. If you can control the humidity and prevent mold/fungus from growing, you can keep them in a refrigerator. You do have to make sure the soil doesn’t dry out, and some may die regardless, but that can at least save a few. The refrigerator should be dedicated to only storing the plants, however, as there will be mold spores of some sort in most refrigerators. Good luck, and let me know if you are successful!
Bharthari
Hi! I m from India . We plant strawberry in sept till may . As from May temp raised to 45 degrees . My question is how can I preserve runners in that extreme conditions ( May to August ?
Mr. Strawberry
Bharthari,
You’ll most likely need to keep them in a climate-controlled room to avoid overheating or pathogen contamination. Good luck!
Dave
If I put down a fabric for weed control, can the runners still set root through them?
Thanks
Mr. Strawberry
Dave,
They will be hampered significantly, although some might root well enough to survive. It is better to poke a hole in the fabric or cut small “X” in it and then place the runner node into it so that the root will be in contact with the soil. That will work much better and allow the runner plant to flourish. Good luck!
Hazel MacKenzie
When we get out new strawberry plants each year they seem to come
directly out of a freezer and are frozen together. We thaw them out and plant them right away.
We want to save our runners or plants in this way for next season. When would we dig the plants ? and are they really kept all winter in a freezer?
Mr. Strawberry
Hazel MacKenzie,
You can store them in a freezer, but you will need to control the humidity as well as the temperature. In order to survive, the plants need appropriate temperature AND moisture. Usually, the plants aren’t kept in a freezer all winter by the suppliers, but are kept in the freezer for a time to induce dormancy, and then shipped out as demand requires. To learn more, see this post on overwintering. Good luck!
T.
Dear Mr Strawberry,
Do you know the temperature and humidity level for an optimal storage in the freezer? Thanks in advance.
Mary Ward
Temperature is the real issue, and that should be 0 F or -18 C. More on freezing strawberries here: https://strawberryplants.org/freezing-strawberries/
Barbara
Should I fertilize the new plants I am potting for next year ?
Options: Cedar Grove Booster Blend; all purpose 10 10 10;12 special blend 4 4 2 with mineral, bacteria & fungi. The soil is pretty good. (I also have the leachate of vermicompost).
Mr. Strawberry
Barbara,
10-10-10 is a good blend for strawberries. See here for more: Growing Strawberries. Good luck!
Cole Meyo
Hi, I planted one of those Topsy Turvy strawberry things and it grew very well long runners but not but a few berries. The runners are still on the pot hung outside but I was just trying to find out if I should just leave them or clip them down so they won’t have to feed all the runners next spring?? I live in Omaha Nebraska and this was my first planting of them this last spring of 2012. I would aprreciate and advice on what to do with them to actually produce berries nex year, Thanks.
Mr. Strawberry
Cole Meyo,
You might have difficulty producing a good harvest of strawberries with the Topsy Turvy planters. I have written about them here, if you are interested: Topsy Turvy Strawberry Planters. For other reasons why your strawberries aren’t producing strawberries, see here: Runners but no Berries. Also, the runners should have been rooted and separated from the mother plant once the roots for the daughter had established themselves. For more, see the Strawberry Runners and Transplanting Strawberries pages. Good luck!
Heidi Elwanger
I cut runners off and transplanted them. I know the answer to this question is probably the one I fear, but will the baby plants grow a root system without the attatchment to the parent plant?
Mr. Strawberry
Heidi,
Unfortunately, no. If you snip the runner prior to the roots developing, the runner plant will die.
brenda
hi, we are a small ky farm. we are trying to start up a strawberry picking farm. i have around 500 plants that includes original parent plants . this year we have had few strawberries, and many more runners then i thought possiable.
i was wondering how do you know how many to grow to sell and save for your own family. if i was to plant let say once acre.
and do they need water all year long if we are low in that area.
thank you b shaw
Mr. Strawberry
brenda,
See the Growing Strawberries reference page as it will answer most of your questions. Also, be sure to check the links at the bottom of the page as many more topics are covered there.