Jake wrote in
:

On Mon, 09 Sep 2013 09:12:57 +0100, thescullster
wrote:



Firstly, are new "runner produced" plants as good/strong as the parent?
Do the new plants inherit all properties e. g. disease resistance,
tolerance to drought or whatever?

Yes to all.

My strawberry patch was looking a bit old and tired, so I am in the
process of relocating it. Last year, I took a small number of new
runner plants and established them in a new position in the garden.

What surprises me is that this year these new young plants have
produced
runners galore, but the older plants have hardly produced any. Does
their interest in reproduction diminish as the plants get older? The
fruit yield on the old plants was very low as well, so maybe the plants
are just plain worn out?

I work a 3-year cycle for strawberries (all varieties).

Year 1 - new runner-produced plants - they will fruit well. I remove
any runners as soon as they form - I want the energy to go into
fruit/plant growth, not reproduction!.

Year 2- they reach their peak fruit production. Runners removed again!

Year 3 - the fruit production will naturally start to tail off a bit
as the plants age. This year I allow a couple of runners to develop on
each plant. These will be potted and overwintered in a cold frame. In
the spring, I remove the old plants and replace with the best of the
new runner-produced ones and the cycle starts again.

Because I spread the original plant purchases over 3 years, in any
year I'm only replacing a third of them.


I take any strong runner, any year and peg it down in a compost filled
pot with the stem still intact until I see a nice root forming. Then I
sever the stem. I leave them outside even in winter.
I always have a good crop..
I am going to dig out my 3 year old plants and replace them with this
years runners. I have 3 strawberry beds to make it easy to remember.
I always have at least a few dozen plants to trade with other gardeners'
excess.

Baz