Ask John Stoa, Our Gardening Expert: Should I Remove My Strawberry Plant’s Runners?


hands in gloves pruning raspberry with secateurs in the garden. strawberry runners

John Stoa, ask the gardening expert, strawberry runnersEven the most experienced gardeners need a little advice sometimes… especially from a gardening expert! Our gardening guru, John Stoa, answers your queries during this change of season.

 

Q. My strawberry plants have finished fruiting but they are still producing lots of runners. Should I remove these?

Strawberry plants produce runners in the first few years to keep the stock going, but then this slows down.

To ensure you get the best fruits, replace the strawberry patch after two or a maximum of three fruiting seasons.

Use strong runners to form the next strawberry patch.

Runners not needed for this can be trained along the rows to thicken them up and increase fruiting.

Feel like September has just crept up on you? Not to worry, John Stoa also your September Garden Checklist sorted!

And he answers more queries over here…

 

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Hannah McLaren

I've worked at DC Thomson for six years! I began as an intern at My Weekly and The Scots Magazine, which was extended by a few months to help out at The People's Friend. I then covered maternity as Celebrity Editor for My Weekly, before I became Multimedia Journalist at The Scots Magazine. Currently I'm writing digital content across each title.