keeping strawberries over winter

[buzzingtalk]

I have taken lots of cuttings from my strawb plants (i had 3 this summer) and now have the original 3 plants, and around 15 cuttings...the question is where do i store them? they are all in nice smallish pots with some john innes number 2, a few of them have rooted down to the bottom of the pots...is it too late to pot on?

How do they deal with the winter? I live in a house with no garden (live in central norwich) but have a small back bit inbetween where the car goes and where the bins are. i have grown lots of tomatos, chillis, rhuarb, strawberries, courgettes and abour 10 types of herbs since movin in here last winter. I have a small greenhouse (just a plastic one) with 3 shelves, this is where the strawbs are at the minute...should i put them in there over winter with the door closed? will they be OK outside?

[Two_Sheds]

My strawbs stay outside all year long, no probs

[rustylady]

Strawberries are hardy, they can cope fine outside but if they are in small pots and the pots get frozen the roots will die. Can you get them planted in your little bit of ground? PS, please add your location to your profile - it will save us having to keep asking where you are.

[Jax]

Mine are all outside, they always survive. I believe they need a period of dormancy in the winter.

[buzzingtalk]

I live in Norwich, Norfolk. In the city centre, and we don't have a garden as such, more just some concrete round the back. I've grown a lot there but there is no soil/grass, so putting into the ground is not an option.

will they be OK just outside? I work shifts, sometimes am away from home a few days on the trot too...so how can I protect from the frost? will they be OK outside in small pots, or should i put them in the greenhouse and shut the door.

[FB.]

Providing that the strawberries are acclimatised, they are as tough as old boots and will survive almost any British winter.
Mine don't get any protection whatsoever and the amount of strawberry plants I lose during each winter is negligible - and probablythose that died were from some other cause than frost.

Mine are in a mixture of barrels, pots and in the ground.
Last winter the pots were deep frozen for days on end. At least four out of every five runners survived and those that didn't may not have had good enough roots when planted, so might have died anyway - yes, I just shoved the runners into barrels, with little care or attention as they're such tough little survivors and will quickly root into just about anything.

Mine really do border on neglect.

.

[robD]

I usually pot up my runners into small pots over winter and leave them somewhere down the allotment. Last winter they were covered in snow and frozen for ages and survived fine. The only problem they had was spring when it was a dry and I didn't water them!

[vixylix]

Jumping on this thread really late...

I was going to bring mine into the garage over the winter, but tempted now to keep them outside and see what happens. Do I need to trim them down and remove leaves (as with overwintering chillies), take any leftover fruits or flowers off or just leave them to their own devices entirely?

[skeggijon]

Strawberry plants perform better the following year if you give them a 'haircut' after they've stopped fruiting. I just crop them all with garden shears, but you can use scissors if you don't have too many