strawberry help please!

[garden dabbler]

hiya-lookslike i have managed to over winter my strawbs from last year! (didnt realise it was possible-just starting with this gardening malarky!

anyhoo-the plants are looking really strong,but they have runners everywhere into the pots close to them (they are in a strawberry planter on there own) can i dig these out to get new plants? they all have a healthy root system on these babies do,but if i do-can i just leave them outside where they have been all winter,or do i shelter them when they are removed from the parent plant? ( i have a unheated poly tunnel i can shove em in when transplanted if needs be)

if i brought a couple of the new baby strawberries indoors,could i get strawbs off them earlier in the season?

Any advise will be great as i have not a clue what to do with them all! (i presume i should remove the dead leaves? some have a couple of brown leaves on them )

thanks again-jennie

[Two_Sheds]

Strawberries are hardy, they sit outside all year round no probs

Cut off all runners unless you want new plants from them

April is the best time for planting (and transplanting)

Don't let your strawbs fruit in their first year - they will then do much better in their 2nd and 3rd years

[vicky]

And you'll get fruit earlier if you have a few in the greenhouse

[garden dabbler]

righty ho-thanks both,

will pot up runner plants in april maybe get a couple off earlier and pop em in the polytunnel see how they go.

they didnt fruit very well last year really,had a few fruits but not many-think thats how they got forgot about and managed to overwinter quite happily,so hopefully they might do well this year!

[Dottie]

they didnt fruit very well last year really,had a few fruits but not many-think thats how they got forgot about and managed to overwinter quite happily,so hopefully they might do well this year!

If this is the 2nd year for your original plants, then they give you a good crop if you snip off runners as soon as they sprouts. It can feel like a full-time job, but if you let them use energy on runners, then it takes away energy from fruiting.

[garden dabbler]

ahhh thanks dottie that makes sense,will keep a much closer eye on them this year-on the look out for runners,i'll transplant the runners that have taken root in various other nearby pots,and then snip any others that emerge this year.

yes it is the second year for my original plants,brought and planted them quite late in the season last year thats why i thought we didnt get many fruits!