I don't know? But curious if they could go dormant? You kind of do want them to go dormant for the winter. Maybe put them in the fridge and if they grow, put under lights. I think they do need chilling to fruit. Keeping them growing all winter may screw up chilling requirements. They don't grow strawberries in tropical zones.
You could email the guy at http://strawberryplants.org/. He knows everything about strawberries

"No way they will keep in the refrigerator till spring is there?" - milehighgirl

They weren't shipped in a dormant, bare root state? If they were, I would put them in the usually light, moist medium and keep them in cold storage until the end of winter.

hmmm...

This post was edited by Waiting on Sat, Nov 22, 14 at 17:54

They were shipped in a green state without roots yet; just cut runners. I suppose I could put them under lights and let them develop roots, then at a certain point maybe I can put them into the garage to go into dormancy until our real spring comes. Does that sound feasible?

Yes, roots are probably essential. Sounds like a good plan.
Maybe expose them to the garage slowly, harden them off. Reduce light in the process. I would give them 12 hours at first. More than 8, 10 at least.

Very interesting. I always thought you had to root them good before cutting the runner.

They grow good for me here. It got down to 25 the other night. I have them planted in window boxes on a mat. I just covered them with old cafeteria trays and they were fine. I think they prefer cold in the winter. If you can keep them outside and keep them watered and it doesn't get much colder then the 20's they should be ok.

Usually strawberries are shipped as crowns with roots. No stems or foliage,just dormant roots attached to the crown, the roots shortened up to about four inches. Mine I received about a month ago and are now 6 inches tall and blooming. They are under a clear plastic cover. Our night temps are in the forties and daytime in the sixties. These were ordered on line from a North Carolina source. Nothing available from west coast nurseries would be shipped before spring and l did not want to wait. Sorry that I dont have any advice for what you have. Calistoga Al

Drew51. Strawberries grew well in zone 9a. We used to go to a U-pick farm in Vero Beach, Fl.

I also had some ARS runners show up at an odd time. I potted them up in my greenhouse and then put them out in early spring.

Scott

Have you ever planted them before? They need the crowns to be planted at just the right depth. I got a picture instruction when I bought mine. Just have the base of the crown level with the soil. Too shallow or deep will kill them. I keep adjusting the soil around them after I water. (Until they get established.) I just fertilized with Black Cow a month after I planted mine.

All you can do with the now is what you've said - try to get them to root inside. I don't know if you can get them to go fully dormant, or if that would even be a good idea. I like the idea of keeping them in low light, no more than 8 hours a day, to encourage them to be ready to fruit at the proper time in spring.

What makes them fruit is chill, not light.

Although it sounds like the plants you got were not properly grown (should have had roots), you need to deal with what you have.

I would follow your plan to root them indoors and then transition them someplace where they will go dormant. Once dormant, they should keep in a cool spot (refrig) until next spring.

I agree though, these plants are supposed to be rooted before they are separated from the mother plant. Whomever shipped them to you like this was cutting corners.