Can You Dig Up Strawberries and Transplant Them?

Strawberries in the Garden

• Grow strawberries for their fruit or as an ornamental ground cover. Wild strawberry plants can tolerate light shade as well as full sun. As a ground cover, wild strawberries create a dense dark green cover and produce small white flowers in spring. The small fruits are fully edible and sweet. Growing strawberries for fruit requires a spot in full sun for best berry production and development.

Strawberry Root Systems

• Strawberry plants grow 3 to 12 inches tall. The roots from the parent plant develop runners that grow along the top of the soil or just under it. At the end of the runner root, a new plant develops. A single strawberry plant can develop 30 to 50 runners and new plants in one growing season, according to the Oklahoma State University Extension. You can dig up the new small plants and transplant them. Strawberries transplant well. You can also dig up mature plants if you want to move them to a new spot.

Transplanting Strawberries

• Like with most spring-flowering herbaceous perennials, spring provides the best conditions for transplanting and dividing strawberries. Dig up strawberries early in the season after the ground thaws and the first new growth begins to emerge. In areas with mild, generally frost-free winters, transplant strawberries in winter or early spring. Sever the runner roots between plants with a sharp shovel. Slide the shovel under the strawberry plant and lift it out of the soil. Keep the roots damp and protected from direct sunlight during transplanting.

Replanting Strawberries

• Replant strawberries in a prepared garden bed. Strawberry plants thrive in deep, well-draining soil with high organic matter content. Position the plants in the soil so the base of the leaves, called the crown, is level with the soil line. Pat down the soil around each plant. Planting strawberries too deep causes the crown to rot, killing the plant. Soak the soil 12 inches deep after transplanting. Alternately, plant strawberry plants in containers filled with potting soil. Pick a container 1 to 2 inches larger than the root ball.