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I don't pretend to be an expert on strawberry growing, so please don't assume I know all the tricks of the trade folks !
I've got to say that I have never spent much time reading about strawberries in catalogues bendipa, but I would guess that "fresh grown, virus free open ground runners" are either runners that are taken from the first year plants originally grown from seed, or are described as open-ground runners because that is their growth pattern - in the same way that tomatoes are either bushes or cordons. Commercial growers will always take their seed stock from "elites" - plants that are noticeably better than the rest of the crop - so improving the health of their first generation plants, particularly when growing from seed, so that would counterweigh against losing a year by growing runners to sell as stock. Heavens only knows how they keep them virus free, I can only assume they dose them with antivirals - for how can you guarantee to keep aphids off plants for even just one year ?
Heggied, I'm sure I have heard of strawberry seed to buy in catalogues, but very much as a rarity. Growing from seed so as to create uniform plants is commercially possible for growers only because they know all the genetic provenance, F1 and F2 lineage, and can do closed pollination etc, thus creating a genetic bottleneck. Growing from seed from your own strawberries can give mixed results, as FB says.
For what it is worth, in my opinion you can only supplement, not actually replace, what you have bought, by rooting up runners. As FB says, you destroy diseased plants, and take runners from healthier ones; but sure as eggs is eggs, you will need to buy more at some point to keep numbers or yield up because the runners will gradually lose vigour.
The reason I think this is that in the past when I helped grow strawberries on a large-ish scale we used to root up runners year on year to maximise yield by increasing the number of plants; but it was a case of diminishing returns, as the overall vigour decreased. Eventually - sometimes not so eventually ! - there came a year when they were all discarded and new ones bought in wholesale, with their numbers increased from rooting up their runners. I always assumed that this was what everyone had to do periodically, it is simply not possible that you can keep runners indefinitely.
I know about cell biology, so you can take that to the bank; but when I say they will last five years I am quoting the figure I have read and been told (and have seen myself), it may well be that in some areas or varieties they will last longer under certain conditions, eg if they keep being shifted. With us viruses were a major problem, no doubt about it.
Maybe there are areas where lack of viruses makes all the difference ? I'd like to know how long other folk here have their plants for, in different incarnations...
I've got to say that I have never spent much time reading about strawberries in catalogues bendipa, but I would guess that "fresh grown, virus free open ground runners" are either runners that are taken from the first year plants originally grown from seed, or are described as open-ground runners because that is their growth pattern - in the same way that tomatoes are either bushes or cordons. Commercial growers will always take their seed stock from "elites" - plants that are noticeably better than the rest of the crop - so improving the health of their first generation plants, particularly when growing from seed, so that would counterweigh against losing a year by growing runners to sell as stock. Heavens only knows how they keep them virus free, I can only assume they dose them with antivirals - for how can you guarantee to keep aphids off plants for even just one year ?
Heggied, I'm sure I have heard of strawberry seed to buy in catalogues, but very much as a rarity. Growing from seed so as to create uniform plants is commercially possible for growers only because they know all the genetic provenance, F1 and F2 lineage, and can do closed pollination etc, thus creating a genetic bottleneck. Growing from seed from your own strawberries can give mixed results, as FB says.
For what it is worth, in my opinion you can only supplement, not actually replace, what you have bought, by rooting up runners. As FB says, you destroy diseased plants, and take runners from healthier ones; but sure as eggs is eggs, you will need to buy more at some point to keep numbers or yield up because the runners will gradually lose vigour.
The reason I think this is that in the past when I helped grow strawberries on a large-ish scale we used to root up runners year on year to maximise yield by increasing the number of plants; but it was a case of diminishing returns, as the overall vigour decreased. Eventually - sometimes not so eventually ! - there came a year when they were all discarded and new ones bought in wholesale, with their numbers increased from rooting up their runners. I always assumed that this was what everyone had to do periodically, it is simply not possible that you can keep runners indefinitely.
I know about cell biology, so you can take that to the bank; but when I say they will last five years I am quoting the figure I have read and been told (and have seen myself), it may well be that in some areas or varieties they will last longer under certain conditions, eg if they keep being shifted. With us viruses were a major problem, no doubt about it.
Maybe there are areas where lack of viruses makes all the difference ? I'd like to know how long other folk here have their plants for, in different incarnations...
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