Achieving the correct spacing for strawberry plants is fundamental for maximizing harvest and maintaining plant health. Proper distancing prevents overcrowding, which causes poor air circulation, reduced fruit size, and the spread of fungal diseases like gray mold. The ideal space between plants depends entirely on the strawberry variety and the specific planting system used.
Understanding Strawberry Plant Types and Growth Habits
Strawberry varieties are classified into three main types based on their fruiting and runner production habits: June-bearing, Everbearing, and Day-Neutral. June-bearing strawberries produce a single, large crop over a two to three-week period, typically in early summer. These varieties are highly vigorous and produce a significant number of runners (horizontal stems) that form new plantlets, or daughter plants.
Everbearing varieties generally produce two or three smaller crops throughout the season, one in early summer and another in late summer or fall. Day-Neutral strawberries are less sensitive to day length and fruit continuously from mid-spring until the first hard frost. Both Everbearing and Day-Neutral types produce far fewer runners than June-bearing varieties, making them better suited for systems focusing on individual plants.
Spacing Requirements for the Matted Row System
The matted row system is the traditional and most common method for growing June-bearing strawberries, utilizing their prolific runner production. Initial planting spacing for the “mother” plants should be 18 to 24 inches apart within the row. This generous spacing allows the mother plants to establish a strong root system before sending out runners.
Rows need significant space between them, typically 3 to 4 feet, to accommodate spreading plants and allow for walking and harvesting. The goal is to let runners fill the space, creating a dense, matted row about 18 to 24 inches wide. Allowing the row to fill with new daughter plants creates a continuous, productive bed for the following season’s harvest.
The first-year yield from a matted row is generally smaller, as plants focus on growth and runner production rather than fruit. The subsequent year, the matted row reaches full maturity and productivity with a dense population of established plants. However, allowing density to exceed about five runner plants per square foot leads to overcrowding, negatively affecting fruit size and disease resistance.
Spacing Requirements for the Hill System and Containers
The hill system is preferred for Day-Neutral and Everbearing varieties because they produce fewer runners, simplifying maintenance. In this method, the focus is on maintaining individual, high-yielding plants rather than a dense mat. Plants are set much closer together, typically 12 to 15 inches apart in all directions.
A common practice is to plant in staggered double or triple rows on raised beds, with plants spaced 12 to 15 inches apart within and between rows. Aisles between these multiple-row beds should be 1.5 to 2 feet wide for access. The tight, uniform spacing maximizes yield per square foot of garden space in the short term.
Spacing in Containers
Day-Neutral strawberries are well-suited for container growing due to their continuous fruiting and minimal runner production. The container size dictates the number of plants you can successfully grow. A good rule of thumb is one strawberry plant per 2-gallon pot size. For a common 12-inch diameter pot, you can plant up to four individual strawberry plants. When using specialized planters with side pockets, ensure each pocket offers sufficient depth and volume for a single plant to establish roots. In all container setups, spacing is fixed from the start, as any runners that form are immediately removed to focus energy on fruit production.
Managing Runners and Maintaining Spacing
Once strawberries are established, ongoing management of runners is necessary to maintain desired spacing and prevent overcrowding. In the matted row system, actively limit the width of the row to the target 18 to 24 inches. This involves removing or redirecting any runners that attempt to root in the aisles or outside the designated row area.
Allowing the matted row to become too dense causes competition for light, water, and nutrients, resulting in smaller berries and increased humidity around the foliage. After the desired plant density is achieved (usually by late summer of the first year), all subsequent runners should be pruned off. This thinning ensures the remaining plants have adequate space for air circulation and fruit development in the following season.
For the hill system and container planting, runner management is straightforward: all runners must be removed consistently throughout the growing season. Since the goal is to maximize the productivity of the original mother plant, energy diverted into producing daughter plants is taken away from fruit production. Regularly inspecting the plants and pinching off runners before they root is necessary to maintain fixed spacing and promote larger, better-quality fruit.