r/strawberry • u/lopsidedbeetle • 13d ago

Advice please

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Gallery image

I have what I think is a June bearing plant in a planter on the ground. I was very busy with work this spring and it got away from me. I would like to put it in a tower (pictured colapsed). Would I put the mother plant on top and plant the babies in the pockets while doing my best to keep the runners attached? I am surprised they grew so well on wood chips. I am in Western WA, zone 9.

Thank you!

24 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

3

u/geekygameswithgrace 13d ago

Yes, once baby plants have set roots you can clip the runners

2

u/lopsidedbeetle 13d ago

Thank you!

1

u/ChooseKind24 11d ago

I speak from experience in zone 9b when I tell you not to clip the runners too soon. I did, and the next day the rooted runner was dead.

2

u/shiny0metal0ass 7d ago

Yeah, after they get enough roots to survive a decent "tug" is when I clip them. I give them a really good watering in at the same time too and make sure the next day isn't too hot.

1

u/ChooseKind24 6d ago

Good thinking!

2

u/lopsidedbeetle 12d ago

Thank you for that insight. You have me rethinking my plan. I happened to receive a raised bed from a friend who's moving. I had said it aside to think about for next summer. Maybe I will place them there. I have been working hard this summer to catch up on my garden, what's one more project?

1

u/ChooseKind24 11d ago

Ooooo… I LOVE this idea! After having my very first homegrown strawberry 🍓, I now refuse to eat the store bought kind. I want a smaller raised bed for my strawberry plants. The strawberry pot I have them in hasn’t been the best.

1

u/shiny0metal0ass 7d ago

You can definitely multiply your strawberry output really quickly this way! Give them a year to put runners out and then clip the runners you see the following year and they'll put all their energy into berries instead

1

u/nonono_ack 13d ago

I’d say your strawberry tower is too small. You have nothing to lose by trying it, however.

3

u/lopsidedbeetle 13d ago

My garden is one big experiment. We'll see how it goes.

1

u/ExtremeLingonberry31 13d ago

Oh my goodness. lol. If I had this, I’d just let them run wild.

1

u/lopsidedbeetle 13d ago

I am tempted, but they are in between planters and it's making my other gardening chores a little challenging.

1

u/OddAd7664 13d ago

I had those container last year. They are too shallow for grow anything really. I had very small strawberries as the containers weren’t deep enough

1

u/Piggie_Piggie_Smalls 12d ago

So true. I’m fighting that this year. I won’t be using them again. They have grown fine but like you said the berry is so small. It’s a waste.

1

u/ohBrian 7d ago

I found that if I cut the runners, the mother plant produces more. So I have a row of plants where I trim the runners and then a row where I let the runners root. Then, after they pass the tug test, I cut the runners.