Removing runners from strawberry plants is a common point of confusion for many gardeners. These long, slender growths are a natural part of the plant’s life cycle, but they greatly impact the size and quantity of your fruit harvest. Managing runners depends entirely on your specific gardening goal: maximizing berry yield this season or expanding your strawberry patch for future years. Understanding the biological function of runners is the first step toward making an informed choice for a healthy and productive strawberry bed.
What Runners Are and Why Strawberries Produce Them
Strawberry runners are specialized stems, technically known as stolons, that grow horizontally above the soil surface from the main crown of the plant. This is the plant’s primary method of asexual reproduction, creating genetically identical clones, or “daughter plants.” As the runner extends, nodes along the stem develop adventitious roots, which are triggered to grow downward upon contact with the soil.
Once the daughter plant roots and establishes itself, the connecting stolon will eventually dry up and sever, leaving two independent plants. This reproductive strategy ensures the survival and spread of the strawberry patch. This ability to colonize surrounding areas quickly is a highly effective, natural adaptation for a low-growing woodland plant.
Cutting Runners to Prioritize Fruit Yield
For most home gardeners prioritizing a large, high-quality harvest, removing runners is a necessary management practice. This decision hinges on energy allocation, as a strawberry plant has a finite amount of energy (photosynthates) to distribute. Every new runner the mother plant produces diverts a significant portion of this energy away from reproductive growth, including flowers and fruit development. If left unchecked, the plant prioritizes vegetative growth and propagation, resulting in fewer and smaller berries.
Aggressive runner removal is particularly beneficial for day-neutral and everbearing strawberry varieties, which produce fruit continuously throughout the season. Clipping the runners off as soon as they appear forces the plant to channel all resources into increasing the size of its crown and producing more flower buds. This concentrated energy allocation translates directly into a more robust mother plant and a higher yield of fruit.
Leaving Runners for Plant Propagation
The alternative to maximizing fruit yield is allowing runners to root to expand or rejuvenate your strawberry patch. Strawberry plants naturally lose productivity over time, with yields declining significantly after three to four years. By allowing a limited number of runners to root, you cultivate a continuous supply of young, vigorous replacement plants.
This method is commonly utilized in the “matted row” system, popular with June-bearing varieties that produce a single, large crop early in the season. In this system, initial plants are spaced widely, and runners are intentionally allowed to spread and fill the space, creating a dense network of plants. While this sacrifices some immediate fruiting potential, it ensures the patch remains productive by constantly replacing older plants with new, healthy clones. Runners can also be directed to root into small pots filled with potting mix, allowing them to establish a strong root system while still receiving nutrients from the mother plant.
Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Runners
Whether removing runners to boost fruit production or to separate new daughter plants, the technique is straightforward and precise. The ideal tool is a pair of clean, sharp scissors, hand pruners, or garden shears, which create a clean cut that minimizes stress on the plant. Regular maintenance, ideally every two to three weeks during the peak growing season, is more effective than a single, large pruning session.
To prioritize fruit, locate the runner and snip it off as close to the mother plant’s crown as possible, without nicking any leaves or the main stem. If propagating, wait until the daughter plant has developed at least three or four leaves and established its own roots in the soil or a pot. Once the daughter plant is well-rooted (typically after four to six weeks), use your sharp tool to sever the connecting stolon approximately one inch from the new plant’s crown. This minimal stub ensures the new plant’s stability and health as it begins its independent life.