Strawberry Propagation

The strawberry is sending out runners with sets like mad, so I decided to pot some of them up for giving away or planting elsewhere (maybe I can use it as a groundcover). But just setting the sets into pots was definitely not working: I needed some way to pin them in place.

Enter the paperclip.

A small paperclip

Unfolded, a small paperclip makes a nice, strong little plant pin. I've used them for propagating lots of times, mostly for pinning begonia leaves down or something like that. And the best part is that it's usually easy to find a few around the house (I had a box, as it happens).

You can also use a hairpin (not a bobby pin, but the wider, looser hair pins), but I didn't feel like hunting my box of those out. Also, I use them for hair, not gardening (much).

Paperclip becomes plant pin

As you can see, deadheading roses without wearing gloves is not a great idea if you want your hands to be smooth and unscratched. Anyway, the pin slides nicely over the set without interfering with the plant. When the sets have rooted, I'll cut off the runner that connects them to the mother plant, pull out the pins, and voila! New plants.

Pinning the sets into their pots