How to layer strawberry plants: runner stems and timing

Updated on 22 September 2026Published on 31 December 2018

Runners of strawberry plants guided along a cement driveway to spread and multiply.

A strawberry plant sends out long runners, each bearing one or more buds that will root wherever they meet soil. Pegged into a pot of soil mix and kept slightly moist, that bud turns into a vigorous productive shoot: a free replacement for tired plants whose harvest shrinks year after year.

Layering is an easy technique which is quite simple and quick. It renews growth of your strawberry plants while producing offshoots, too.

Ideal timing for layering strawberries

Fall

Required tools

1 pot or 1 nursery pot
soil mix
1 or 2 small metal hoops, or smallish stones like broken terra cotta pots

Popular strawberry varieties worth propagating

Runners are the free way to increase whichever strawberry you already grow, so it pays to know what you are multiplying. These are varieties commonly sold in garden centres and seed catalogues.

Popular strawberry varieties worth propagating
Variety	Type	Cropping season	Best known for
‘Mara des Bois’	Perpetual (everbearing)	Early summer to early autumn	Intense woodland-strawberry flavour
‘Honeoye’	Summer-fruiting, early	Early summer	Heavy, dependable first crops
‘Elsanta’	Summer-fruiting, mid-season	Midsummer	Firm, glossy, well-keeping fruit
‘Symphony’	Summer-fruiting, late	Midsummer to late summer	Extending the main season
‘Flamenco’	Perpetual (everbearing)	Midsummer to early autumn	A long, drawn-out picking season
‘Albion’	Day-neutral (everbearing)	Late spring to early autumn	Large, conical, sweet fruit
‘Alexandria’	Alpine, raised from seed	Early summer to early autumn	Tiny aromatic berries; few or no runners

How to layer a strawberry plant and when

Strawberry layering — Pick a runner bud, the most vigorous one, to root

If you observe that your strawberry plant harvest diminishes year after year, it is time to think of layering them.

This relatively easy and quick technique replaces older, unproductive plants with vigorous productive shoots – for free.

As shown on the picture,

Choose a runner that is bearing 1 or more buds.
See which of the buds is the most vigorous.
Place that bud in a nursery pot filled with soil mix, without burying it entirely (only the base of it should be tightly pressed against the soil).
Ensure the bud and the soil mix stay in tight contact with the small metal hoop that you can plant into the nursery pot.
Cut the part of the runner opposite to the mother plant off.
Water when the soil mix dries up, so as to keep it slightly moist.
Once roots have developed well, you can cut the runner and separate your new plant from the mother plant.
Plant in the ground in the following spring.

This is how it looks like after a while:

Steps for layering strawberry — Once well rooted, the runner is cut free

Read also on strawberry plants and strawberries:

To grow strawberry plants, read this
A fabulously simply strawberry jam recipe
Additionally, check our tricks on how to grow tasty strawberries

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to layer strawberry plants?

Early autumn is the moment to do it: the start of fall is a great time both to plant strawberries and to layer them. Peg the chosen bud down then, and let it root while the soil is still warm and moist. The rooted youngster is planted out in the ground in the following spring.

How do I peg a strawberry runner down?

Pick a runner bearing one or more buds and choose the most vigorous of them. Set that bud in a nursery pot filled with soil mix without burying it entirely, so only its base is tightly pressed against the soil. Hold it in tight contact with a small metal hoop planted into the pot, or with smallish stones such as broken terra cotta pots.

When can I cut the runner and move the new plant?

Cut the part of the runner opposite to the mother plant straight away, then leave the pegged bud to root. Once roots have developed well, cut the runner and separate your new plant from the mother plant. Water whenever the soil mix dries out to keep it slightly moist, and plant out in the ground the following spring.

Why is my strawberry harvest getting smaller every year?

A harvest that diminishes year after year is the signal that the plants are ageing and need renewing. Layering replaces older, unproductive plants with vigorous productive shoots, and it costs nothing. It is a relatively easy and quick technique that renews growth while producing offshoots at the same time.

Images: CC BY-NC 2.0: Ariel Mieling, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0: John Sheldon

Ideal timing for layering strawberries

Required tools

Popular strawberry varieties worth propagating

How to layer a strawberry plant and when

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