For ambitious hobby gardeners, it is a matter of honor to propagate their strawberry plants themselves. Familiarize yourself with how easy it is to do this by sowing seeds and using offshoots.
Successful breeding of strawberries by sowing
As a collective nut, each individual strawberry provides plenty of seed for propagation. A ripe fruit is cut in half, dried and the seeds fall off in abundance. Sowing should begin without long delay, because fresh strawberry seeds germinate better. Proceed with these steps:
- The ideal period is from mid-February to early March
- soak the seeds in water for 4-6 hours
- fill a seed container with nutrient-poor substrate
- Scatter the seeds and press down lightly
- only thinly sieve the light germs with seed soil
- Moisten with room-warm water from the spray bottle
- Cover with foil or place in the greenhouse
At an ideal germination temperature of 18 degrees Celsius on the partially shaded windowsill, you can look forward to the first seedlings within 2-6 weeks. The duration until germination is significantly influenced by the selected strawberry variety.
Impeccable pricking
If the young strawberries present themselves with 4-5 leaves, pricking is the order of the day. For this purpose, small pots are filled halfway with pricking soil, in which you make a small depression. Carefully lift the strawberry seedling out of the ground with the pricking stick and plant it in your own growing pot. The heart bud must stand above the substrate. Pour on and place in a warm, bright place.
Easy propagation with offshoots
The stolons of the highest-yielding strawberry plants are far too valuable to simply cut off in the fall. Select the most vital specimens and use simple means to grow a new plant from them from July. How to do it right:
- the best offshoots are close to the mother plant, not overly rooted and perfectly healthy
- Lift out of the ground with a hand shovel and set aside
- Dig in an unglazed clay pot at this point and fill it with potting soil up to 2 cm below the edge
- place the runner in the middle of the pot, press and water
The clay pot is now buried in such a way that continuous contact with the ground is guaranteed. Shorten the superfluous part of the shoot. While the mother plant supplies the offshoot with nutrients, it is watered regularly.
Transplant at the right time
By late summer, a self-sufficient root system has developed on the young plant. Now cut off the offshoot with a sharp knife and dig out the pot. Planting is now very easy at the new location or in the flower box (€16.99).
tips and tricks
Don't have your own garden with a compost heap? You can still spoil your strawberry plants on the balcony with organic fertilizer. A vermicompost fits anywhere, doesn't smell, picks up kitchen scraps and turns them into nutritious humus. At the same time, he regularly delivers worm tea, the ideal liquid fertilizer for strawberries in flower boxes.