Garden strawberries bear fruit well in one bed for four to five years. After this time, it is time to renew the plantings and move the rosettes to a new location.
One of the best ways to propagate strawberries is by using runners, since in this case it is possible to preserve the maternal characteristics of the plants.
How to choose a mother plant
To propagate garden strawberries, do not use runners collected from bushes in the first year of fruiting.
Experienced gardeners do not advise leaving rosettes on such bushes, because the mother plants are still young - where should they spend their energy on developing runners? Let them better form the bush and lay the foundation for the future harvest.
The ideal option for propagation are second-year bushes. When these plants begin to yield a harvest for the first time, carefully examine each bush to take note of its characteristics: yield, number of berries, quality, taste, and so on.
Once you have selected suitable mother plants with "worthy" characteristics, mark them with sticks or write them down - this way you will not forget which plant to use for propagation next year.
On the selected mother bushes, in the third year of fruiting, remove all flower stalks.
This is necessary so that the plant does not waste energy on the formation and ripening of berries, but directs it to the development of rosettes.
We previously wrote about how eggshells can double your harvest.
