[DanielCoffey]

I will be putting some new heritage strawberries in a planter this season and since there is limited space, I wondered how I should handle the inevitable runners?

The container is one of those raised table planters on legs and the growing area is around 16" x 38" and is 16" deep. I intend to put only three young strawberry plants in this year to avoid overcrowding.

I am wondering how many runners to permit and what to do in a few years time when the original plants need removing.

Any thoughts?

[JayG]

A few things to consider:

The plants should be most productive in years 2 and 3 - ideally they shouldn't be allowed to produce either fruit or runners in their first year (OK, perhaps just a few strawbs then!  )

They should be replaced in year 4, so to maximise production the replacements should be 1 year old plants, which means allowing a few runners to develop from your original plants in year 2.
Best to use new soil/compost to avoid the build up of disease.

I'm sure there are many different versions of this outline plan depending on the facilities you have and also whether you can remember which year you did what! 

[Goosegirl]

Wise advice from JayG. If they're only first year plants they need their first flowers nipping off so they can put their strength into building themselves up for next year and when you see any runners appearing leave the first plantlet and cut the rest of the runners off. Peg the plantlets into a pot and hold them down with something like a long fence staple, then when it's rooted separate it from the parent plant and grow it on for next year. Label the pots with the year date so you know where you are when you do it again next year.

[DanielCoffey]

Thanks folks - excellent advice. I will start a notebook with what goes in and when.

The planter needs checking every four to five years anyway to make sure the slats on the base are still sound so that is my opportunity to empty the entire thing and replace the whole contents.