Strawberry runners: making new plants and renewing a tired bed

Your strawberries cropped less this year than last, the berries were smaller, and the plants are sending long runners all over the path. Those two things are connected. Strawberry plants crop well for a few years and then fade, and the runners are the plant offering you its replacements for free. Root the best ones in late summer, plant them in fresh ground, and you can keep a strawberry bed going for years without buying plants. There's one important condition: only take runners from healthy plants.

01At a glance

Replace plants every three or four years. The RHS says a bed usually stays healthy and cropping for up to four years.
Late summer is the time to root runners. The RHS calls it ideal.
Peg runners into 9cm pots of compost beside the parent, then cut them free once rooted.
Never propagate from sickly plants. Viruses pass straight into the runners.
Put the new bed somewhere different to avoid replant problems in the old soil.

02Tidy the bed after fruiting

Once summer-fruiting strawberries have finished, give them a reset.

Cut the old leaves off about 10cm above the crown. Leave the crown itself alone, because that's where new growth comes from.
Remove unwanted runners so the bed doesn't fill up with crowded young plants. Keep the few you want to root.
Take away the straw mulch by autumn. Damp straw can harbour fungal disease, slugs and snails.

03Rooting runners into pots

Choose your parents first. Pick strong, healthy plants that cropped well. Skip any that are stunted or have crinkled, yellow-spotted or yellow-edged leaves.
Fill 9cm pots with peat-free multipurpose compost and set them in the soil beside the parent plant.
Peg the plantlet down onto the compost with a U-shaped piece of wire about 15cm long. A bent paperclip or garden wire works.
Keep the compost slightly moist. Small pots dry out fast in August.
Cut the runner free once the plantlet has rooted. A rooted plantlet resists a gentle tug.

Spare rooted runners can also go into gaps in the row or replace old plants. Pots make the young plants easier to move to a new bed.

Perpetual (everbearing) varieties make far fewer runners, so the RHS notes you often have to buy new plants of these.

04Plant the new bed

August or September is the best time to plant. It gives young plants time to establish before they fruit the following year. Spring planting also works.

Choose a different spot from the old bed. The RHS recommends this to avoid replant disorder. Some strawberry viruses are spread by soil-living nematodes that persist in the ground.
Space plants 35–40cm apart, in rows about 75cm apart. In containers, about 20cm apart.
Set the crown at soil level. The base of the crown should sit on the surface. Planted too deep, it rots.

A rolling system works well. Each year, plant one new row from runners and take out the oldest one. You always have plants at their peak.

05Is it just old, or is it a virus?

The RHS describes several strawberry viruses, mostly spread by aphids, with some spread by nematodes or thrips. Look for:

Yellow edges on the younger leaves, with stunted plants.
Yellowish spots and crinkled leaves.
Yellow spots or blotches that may later turn red, on stunted plants.

There's no chemical cure, and insecticides don't control the aphids well enough to help. If your plants look like this, dig them up and dispose of them, and don't use their runners. The RHS says runners from infected plants will certainly be infected. Restart with certified virus-free plants from a reputable supplier, and don't accept plants from a friend's old bed.

Plain old age looks different. The plants are healthy but crop less and produce smaller berries. The RHS growing guide gives a healthy bed up to four years, while its virus page says yields usually fall after two or three. If you're unsure, renew sooner rather than later.

Save your money

Don't buy new plants every year. Runners from healthy summer-fruiting plants replace them for the cost of some compost and a few small pots.

Don't save money by taking runners from a tired, diseased bed. It just moves the virus to new ground. Buying certified plants once is cheaper than a second failed bed.

Make pegs from old wire rather than buying special runner clips.

How we checked this

Every care and safety claim on this page is verified against horticultural and veterinary sources.

Sources: RHS — How to grow strawberries · RHS — Strawberry viruses

Checked 8 October 2026. If our advice ever conflicts with the RHS, believe them and tell us.