Strawberry plants naturally produce long, slender, leafless stems called runners, also known as stolons, that creep along the soil surface. This is the plant’s primary method of vegetative reproduction, allowing it to expand its patch. Managing these runners is an important practice for any grower, as the decision to remove or use them directly impacts the health of the mother plant and the size of the fruit harvest. Understanding the biological role of these stems is the first step in making an informed decision about their management.
Understanding the Purpose of Runners
A runner is a specialized stem that extends horizontally from the mother plant, developing small plantlets, or daughter plants, at its nodes. This process is an efficient reproductive strategy, allowing the strawberry to quickly colonize the surrounding area with genetically identical clones. Producing and sustaining these new daughter plants requires a significant allocation of the plant’s resources. Every runner that develops effectively draws energy away from the primary plant’s ability to develop strong roots and produce large, abundant fruit. Therefore, the grower must consciously choose how the plant will use its limited energy: for propagation or for fruit yield.
Removing Runners to Maximize Harvest
The most direct way to encourage a large harvest of quality fruit is to aggressively remove runners as soon as they appear. By eliminating these offshoots, the plant’s photosynthesized energy is redirected back into the main crown. This focused energy allocation results in increased fruit size and quantity from the established plant. Use sharp, clean shears or scissors to snip the runner as close to the base of the mother plant as possible. Checking for and removing runners once or twice a week, often while harvesting, is an effective way to keep the plant focused on fruit production.
Using Runners for Propagation
Healthy runners can be used to generate new, vigorous plants, providing the simplest and most economical method to expand the patch or replace old plants. The best time to begin this process is typically after the main harvest, in mid-to-late summer. Select a robust runner that has developed a small plantlet with a few leaves. Pin the plantlet’s node down onto the soil or into a small pot using a U-shaped wire, ensuring it remains attached to the mother plant for nutrients. Once the plantlet is firmly rooted (usually four to six weeks), the connection can be severed, and the new daughter plant is ready for transplanting.
Adjusting Management for Different Strawberry Types
The ideal management strategy for runners varies significantly based on the type of strawberry being grown. Strawberry varieties fall into three main categories: June-bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral, each with a different fruiting habit and runner production rate. June-bearing plants produce a single, large crop in late spring or early summer, and then shift their energy almost entirely toward producing a large number of runners. For these varieties, allowing some runners to root is necessary for establishing the ‘matted row’ system, which creates a dense, productive bed for future years. However, for everbearing and day-neutral varieties, which fruit continuously or in multiple flushes throughout the season, runners must be removed aggressively. Removing their runners ensures that the plant’s energy is continuously channeled into maximizing the number and size of the berries over a longer season.