Strawberry plants

A question about : Strawberry plants

I bought some strawberry plants a couple of months ago and put them in my planters but I have a question. The shoots that come off them and I presume are supposed to stick in the ground and regrow, if I nip these off and put them in hanging baskets, will they grow again next year or are they only for a year and then you have to buy more?

Thanks.

Best answers:

• The shoots are runners, if you want more strawberries they are yours, for free, each runner will have 3 or more plantlets on them, put plant pots under each plantlet and peg it down with a hair pin, when it's rooted well cut it of from it's mother and you have a new plant.
  The plants don't produce much in the first year but by year 2 and 3 you will have heaps of strawberries, they then tail off after that and need replacing
• What you need to do is to fill some little pots with compost and pin down the runners into the pots, once they are growing strongly cut them off at the plant and then plant out either in pots or in the baskets where you want them to grow. Keep them well watered and fed, they will not fruit heavily in the first year, I do not allow my plants to fruit the first year, I take the flowers off as I see them, they then fruit much heavier the next year. I chuck my plants after the third year and replant with the runners that come off the previous year.
• Can anyone suggest the best places to buy strawberry plants. Once winter has pasted I'm tuffing out my pansy and planting up two hanging baskets with strawberries, but I don't know where is the cheapest types of places to find them, can you give me any ideas?