Can I save my strawberries?

Fosterdog

I'm pretty new to the whole home grown green fingered lifestyle but have had a bit more success this year than last year.

I bought six strawberry plants two weeks ago that were a bargain and planned on potting them up ready for next year. I woke up this morning to find all six eaten down to the roots by rabbits. Are the plants likely to survive this and regrow next year or should I just get rid and start again? A few of them do still have small bits of the stalks left but the rest really are down to the root.

I was really looking forward to having more than just the one plant I have now.

Also If they will survive when is the best time of year to out them in bigger pots and when should I put them under cover for winter?

valk_scot

When you tidy up a strawberry bed after the plants have fruited it's normal to just shear the tops right off. I usually end up with a bed of little stumps and they always regrow. They're established plants though so your's may have a bit of a struggle, unless they're still in the pots they came in?

I'd just leave them (somwhere rabbit proof) and see what happens. Nothing lost after all if they don't. Once they start growing again, repot them in some good long term growing medium if they're going to live out their lives in pots rather than in the soil. Don't use multi-purpose compost, it will be exhausted of nutrients in a few weeks. THey should get established in their new pots very quickly if you repot them soon. Strawberries are as tough as old boots btw, they don't need kept inside over the winter unless you're forcing them for early crops. A bit of fleece over the top is sufficient, unless we're down to -15'C like in 2010.

Fosterdog

Thanks, just what I wanted to hear.

They are still in the pots they came in, I was going to plant them in big pots this weekend. They will be in pots for a while but I do have huge tubs that they could go in instead (big enough for our potatoes, carrots and parsnips to grow well). They will be rabbit proof too, it was my own pet rabbits got out of their hutch and run last night and had a picnic, I guess they've just saved me the job of cutting back the tops