How do you grow on strawberry runners?

[ItsEssexRob]

I have 2 strawberry plants in my garden and one of them has two runners from it.

I heard that you should just bury the runner into the ground so the 'shoots and leaves'are sticking out as though you have just planted a new plant.

Should you eventually cut off the runner though to make a totally indepedant plant or do they have to be attached? Can you cut the runner off from the very start and will they make their own roots and form a totally new plant?

Thanks.

Rob

[veggiechicken]

You can just poke the end of the runner into the soil a bit and it will root. Once it looks healthy and is putting on new leaves you cut the runner to leave a separate plant. If your parent plant is just a year old, you may want to limit it to one runner so that you don't put too much stress on the parent.
You can also poke the runner into a flowerpot of compost, rather than into the soil. This way you have a ready potted plant to move to its new location without digging it up.

[flowertot]

I know that you are supposed to plant them in soil and let them develop before cutting the runner. However I had loads last year and not much space so I cut a load off and bunged them in soil in a container. I'd say a good 60-70% of them took infact Ive had my first bowl of strawberries of them this morning - so not fool proof but maybe an idea if you've loads of runners and space around your existing strawberry bed is limited?

[singleseeder]

I have read (perhaps on here) that you can put a little compost in a square of clingfilm and wrap it around the 'root' area of the runner. Once you can see roots have developed into the compost, you can cut the runner and pot it up.

[ItsEssexRob]

I wasnt expecting this to happen. The runner I planted appeared to 'root' as larger new leaves have formed, however the runner has carried on 'running' I thought a runner only formed ONE new plant. Do I carry them on in a line? would cutting the original parent plant from it kill the runner even though it has a rooted 'child plant' halfway in between? I domnt have much room you see and will need to get them rooted then uproot them and transplant before winter.

[veggiechicken]

They keep on running, Rob. You can snip them off after the first group of leaves/roots so that all the energy goes into the first off-shoot.