Do Strawberries Keep Dividing From the Mother Plant?

Branch Crowns

• The strawberry's crown is the center point of growth -- stems, foliage and flowers all originate from this point. During the growing season, strawberries can form multiple crowns, or branches, off of the main portion so that more flowers and fruits grow from one plant. Although this division process helps the mother plant produce larger crops, a crown with more than six branch crowns reduces plant vigor and berry size. If a particular plant becomes too mountainous, it is best to remove it from the garden and cultivate the remaining single- or double-crowned plants instead -- you cannot physically divide the branch crowns to create two separate strawberry plants.

Runner Production

• Another growing strategy that the strawberry uses is runner production. Instead of dividing the crown into smaller branches, stem runners grow laterally from the plant and slowly descend to the ground. Terminal buds touching the ground slowly form a root system and new crown -- your runner thus creates a daughter plant. As the new plant grows, the runner portion succumbs to dieback. If ideal conditions exist in your garden, your mother plant could send out so many runner plants that the surrounding area fills in with new plants. In this case, your mother plant does not need to be removed.

Benefits

• Runner production allows the mother plant to use the natural resources in the garden that may be too far for its original roots to reach. For example, daughter plants absorbing moisture in one area help the mother plant, because the runner stem is still an active participant in sharing nutrients and water between the plants. Your mother strawberry plant can also concentrate on berry production rather than seed creation as more runners spread across the topsoil.

Excessive Growth

• Runner plants surrounding the mother plant cannot grow to full size because soil resources are limited. Thin the daughter plants periodically so that strawberry fruits remain large and plentiful. Physically cut the runners and transplant the daughter plants into another garden area for the best yields. In general, allow 10 inches of space between each plant so that nutrients, moisture and soil air pockets are available to all mother and daughter plants. If you mother plant crowded by daughter plants, berry size and quantity diminish.