Advice on extra strawberry plants

13 years ago

Hey all, I posted this to the Georgia forum too but thought I'd try here as well. I'm in Alabama but pretty much on the state line so I love both groups.

I've been growing some old store-bought Quinalts for years in my older veggie garden. This Spring I decided to make some new strawberry beds and buy some different bareroot varieties online, Chandler and Annapolis. I am absolutely ASTOUNDED at how the Annapolis exploded. I started with only a dozen pathetic looking bareroot plants in this one bed and now 7 months later there are hundreds in just one season. I actually ended up with a double order due to a mix-up on the online company's end so the extra bareroots went into a monster-sized bed at my father-in-laws. I can't even guess at how many are in his now which I am also taking care of, thousands??. I wish I was kidding.

Anyway, they are vastly outgrowing the bed, into the aisles and invading the bed of the nearby Chandler strawberries so something has to be done now. I hate doing a hatchet job on so many healthy looking plants in the aisle but have no need or interest at this time in making a new bed to move them to, that would be an endless cycle.

I'll be glad to give extras to any family or gardening friends that want them but I was also looking for advice about selling them either now or next year. Namely, what do I do with these plants in the meantime. Should I pot them up individually now for sale in the Spring? That would be ALOT of potted plants. Do I dig em' up and pot them in big bundles to get them through the winter? Do they need to overwinter in the ground? I have literally done nothing with my old Quinalts but stick them in the clay and leave them be so I have no real experience with potting strawberries or worrying about overwintering, let alone how/when to sell them? I'd love some advice. I have alot of potted Perennial shrubs and daylilies I was going to try to sell for the first time in the Spring but the Strawberries might just outnumber them lol.

I'm in Heflin, Alabama about 8 miles from the GA state line on I-20. If any of you need strawberry plants I'll be glad to share.

Danielle

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Comments (3)

alabamanicole
13 years ago
I need some plants this year to start a new bed but I'm unfortunately too far away. My Chandler's are starting to out-compete the wild strawberries; I guess these new varieties are vigorous!

You don't need to dig them up for the winter but they'd be fine in pots if you do, especially big ones. It we get a really cold few nights in the single digits you might want to put the pots in a sheltered location and add a little insulation and protection, but I'm not sure that's really needed.

Me... I'd probably leave them in the ground for now. Then at a plant sale in the spring sell bags of bare root plants. You won't get as much for them as potted plants, no doubt, but it's a lot less work!
squirrellypete
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Nicole,

maybe I can squeak by until Spring and just hack the few that continue to crawl into the Chandler bed. I just didn't want to let them get away from me and take over. The aisle between beds has now essentially become another Annapolis bed and it's damaging my calm lol. I'd rather sell them bareroot for cheap anyway, much less work and no investment for potting soil, pots, labels etc....

If you do ever happen to get out my way send me an e-mail and I'll dig you some goodies.

It's funny, you mentioned how well your Chandlers are doing. I planted a total of 50 Chandlers and 50 Annapolis this Spring in two different locations (one bed for each at my house and one bed for each at my father-in-laws). The soil had the same make-up for both Chandler and Annapolis. Part top soil and part rabbit manure at my place (cow manure in my father-in-law's bed). The Annapolis exploded right out of the gate while the Chandler slowly died off one by one. I was kinda glad when it finally got down to one last plant right in the middle of my bed figuring soon I'd have an empty bed to move the extra Annapolis to. But it just wouldn't die......finally weeks later it sent runners out in each direction and that one plant has colonized about 1/3 of its row now and is doing well. I have no idea why the Chandler's were so fragile and the Annapolis never showed signs of problems, it's strange. They were adequately watered via the same drip system and we had no late freezes.

Danielle
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alabamanicole
13 years ago
Ha ha... my Chandler's were heeled in for two weeks in a tub in my garage after I ordered them due to late freezes, then went into a mostly shady spot under some blueberries in super-compacted rocky soil with no supplemental water at all. I wouldn't call mine fragile!