Everbearing strawberries spread using long, thin stems called runners, or stolons, to create new plants. However, they are significantly less aggressive than common June-bearing varieties. Everbearing types, often including day-neutral cultivars, are bred to allocate energy primarily toward continuous flower and fruit production throughout the growing season. This trade-off means they produce fewer runners, making them easier to manage in smaller garden spaces or containers.
The Specific Growth Habit of Everbearing Varieties
Everbearing varieties dedicate less energy to vegetative reproduction because their primary function is continuous fruiting, typically yielding two or three smaller harvests per year. This continuous cycle of flowering and setting fruit diverts resources away from producing stolons, the specialized stems used for cloning. In contrast, June-bearing types focus energy on one large harvest, redirecting resources into aggressive runner production only after fruiting is complete.
The genetic difference involves genes that regulate the switch between flowering and runner formation. Everbearing types often have a mutation that favors persistent flowering, making the plant reluctant to stop producing berries to start spreading. Consequently, a healthy everbearing plant may produce only a few runners throughout the season, sometimes as few as one to three per mother plant. This reduced output makes the everbearing type an ideal choice for gardeners who prefer a more contained patch.
Managing Runners for Optimal Berry Production
Maximizing the harvest requires actively preventing the few runners everbearing strawberries produce from establishing themselves. Allowing the mother plant to invest energy in creating new daughter plants diminishes the size and quantity of the fruit. Runners should be clipped as soon as they are observed, ideally where they emerge from the main crown. This maintenance ensures the plant’s resources remain focused on filling existing berries and initiating new flower buds.
Due to their low runner count, everbearing plants perform best in systems emphasizing individual plant health, such as the hill system or a spaced-row system. In the hill system, plants are spaced 12 to 18 inches apart, and all runners are removed to focus energy on the central crown. This contrasts with the matted-row system used for June-bearing varieties, where runners are encouraged to fill spaces. Consistent runner removal is the most effective practice for maintaining a high yield throughout the long harvest season.
Intentional Propagation of New Plants
Although the goal is usually to remove runners for better fruit production, the stolons created can be intentionally used to generate new plants and replace older crowns. The process involves selecting a healthy runner and allowing the small plantlet at its tip, known as the daughter plant, to root. Rooting is accomplished by pinning the daughter plant directly into the soil or into a small pot filled with potting mix while it is still attached to the mother plant.
Once the new plant has developed a healthy root system, typically after four to six weeks, the stem connecting it to the mother plant can be severed. This new, independent plant can then be transplanted to a fresh bed or container, ensuring a continuous supply of productive strawberry plants. Another method for increasing stock is crown division, which involves digging up an older plant and carefully separating the multiple growing points to form several new plants. This allows gardeners to easily refresh their patch without purchasing new stock every few years.