Everbearing strawberries produce fruit throughout the entire growing season, unlike June-bearing varieties that yield one large harvest in late spring or early summer. Home gardeners prize these plants for their continuous supply of berries, typically offering a smaller crop in late spring and a second, larger crop in late summer and fall. Everbearing strawberries do produce runners—the horizontal stems that form new plantlets—but in significantly fewer numbers than June-bearing counterparts. This difference in growth habit is tied to how the plant allocates its energy over the season.
The Nature of Everbearing Runners
The reduced runner production in everbearing strawberries, often grouped with day-neutral types, results from their reproductive strategy. June-bearing plants focus energy on vegetative growth and runner production after a short, intense fruiting period. Everbearing plants are genetically programmed to prioritize continuous flowering and fruiting throughout the season. They channel the majority of their energy into producing berries rather than extending stolons (runners) for vegetative expansion.
The runners that everbearing plants produce tend to be less vigorous, fewer in number, and often appear later in the growing season. A single everbearing plant might produce only a handful of runners, while a June-bearing plant can create a dense mat of dozens of daughter plants. This limited runner formation keeps everbearing patches contained and manageable, making them suitable for container gardening or small spaces. The scarcity of runners also means that propagation from these plantlets is less reliable than with other strawberry types.
Runner Removal and Plant Health
To maximize fruit yield, runners that appear on everbearing plants must be removed. Runner formation requires a significant investment of the plant’s resources, drawing energy away from flower and fruit development. Removing these stolons directs the plant’s energy back toward its crown, encouraging the production of more flowers and berries.
Pruning should be done as soon as the runner, which looks like a thin, leafless stem, emerges from the mother plant. The technique involves snipping the stolon close to the mother plant using clean scissors or clippers. Regular removal, often once or twice a week during peak growth, is important for maintaining the continuous fruiting cycle of everbearing varieties. Consistent runner removal boosts overall yields and results in larger, higher-quality berries.
Alternative Propagation Methods
Since everbearing strawberries produce few runners, relying on them to expand a patch is inefficient. The primary and most reliable method to multiply everbearing stock is through crown division. Strawberry plants naturally develop multiple growing points (crowns) over time. An established plant can be carefully dug up and divided in the early spring or late fall.
Each separate crown, provided it has a healthy root system, can be replanted as a new individual plant. This process ensures the new plants are genetically identical to the parent, maintaining the desired everbearing traits. Another common practice is to purchase new bare-root or plug plants every few years to refresh the patch, as productivity often declines after the second or third year. While runners can technically be rooted, division or purchasing new stock remains the most practical approach.