The choice between a matted row and an annual hill comes down to one thing: what happens to the runners a Strawberry plant sends out. Keep them, and you get a matted row suited to June-bearing varieties. Cut them, and you get an annual hill suited to everbearers and day-neutrals. Utah State University Extension lays out both systems in Strawberries in the Garden, and the runner decision is the hinge Everything else turns on: spacing, weeding, even how long a planting stays productive.
The short answer
Utah State University Extension’s Strawberries in the Garden identifies the matted row and annual hill as the two management systems best suited to home garden production, and the two differ in exactly one respect: how they handle runners produced by the mother plant.
In a matted row, meant for June-bearing varieties, dormant bare-root plants go in 18 to 24 inches apart within the row, with rows spaced three to four feet apart. Runners are left alone. Over the first growing season, blossoms and fruit are removed, not because the fruit isn’t wanted, but because the plant’s energy goes into runners instead, and those runners root themselves as daughter plants that fill in the row. The Extension’s target for a mature row is a width of about 8 to 10 inches, though it notes a wider 12 to 18 inch row is often more practical for home gardeners to keep up with. Left unchecked, a row that gets too crowded runs into a specific problem: the plants compete with each other, and the berries come out smaller.
The annual hill system, used for everbearing and day-neutral varieties, runs the opposite direction. Plants go in 12 to 15 inches apart in the row, with staggered rows spaced 12 to 15 inches apart and two to four rows per raised bed. Runners are removed as they appear, so only the mother plants grow and fruit. Because there’s no runner to make room for, plastic mulch becomes a workable option between plants, something the matted row’s spreading habit doesn’t allow. The tradeoff is that these mother plants usually run down after one or two seasons, so an annual hill planting needs replacing more often than a matted row does.
Both systems start the same way: with dormant bare-root plants rather than seed. Because the plants are dormant when they go in, there’s no need to time planting around the last frost the way you would with an actively growing seedling. The plant isn’t putting out tender new growth yet, so frost isn’t the risk it would be for a transplant already leafed out.
What actually decides it
Why the first season’s flowers come off
A Strawberry plant only has so much energy to spend in its first season. Spent on fruit, that energy doesn’t go into building runners or roots. That’s the reasoning behind two similar-looking instructions across the two systems. In a matted row, blossoms and fruit are removed during the first growing season so the plant channels its energy into producing runners instead, since those runners are what fill in the row. In an annual hill, the instruction is narrower: remove just the first flower cluster that emerges, which gives the plant more time to establish its root system before it starts fruiting for real. Same principle, different target.
Why the crown sits above the soil, not under it
Only the roots and the base of the crown should be covered with soil, leaving as much of the crown above ground as possible, according to the Extension’s planting instructions. The crown, the point where roots and leaves meet, is where new growth originates, and burying it invites the problems that come with a crown sitting in soil that never fully dries out. Planting too shallow, on the other hand, leaves roots exposed to dry conditions. There’s a narrow band that works, and it’s worth checking each plant by eye once it’s in the ground rather than trusting a single depth across the whole row.
Why row width has a ceiling
The matted row’s spreading habit is exactly what makes it easier to maintain than it sounds, but it also means the system polices itself only up to a point. Utah State University Extension puts the optimum row width at about 8 to 10 inches, while allowing that a 12 to 18 inch wide row is often more practical for a home gardener to manage. Past that width, the mechanism that made the system convenient turns against it: too many plants packed into the row start competing with each other, and the berries that result are smaller than they’d be in a properly thinned row.
Why containers get managed as a hill, regardless of variety
Strawberry plants have a small root system, which is exactly why they do well in containers in the first place, but that same shallow root system is easy to overheat or dry out. The Extension’s guidance is to manage container plantings the way an annual hill is managed, irrigating frequently to keep roots cool and moist, and avoiding dark-colored containers that heat the roots. That holds whether the variety in the pot is technically a June-bearer or not; the container itself is the deciding factor, not the plant’s natural runner habit.
How to do it
- Pick the system by variety type. June-bearing varieties are grown as a matted row; everbearing and day-neutral varieties are grown as an annual hill. This decision comes first because it sets every spacing figure that follows.
- Plant dormant bare-root stock. Because the plants go in dormant rather than as actively growing seedlings, there’s no need to wait out frost danger before setting them in the ground.
- Space to the system. For a matted row, set plants 18 to 24 inches apart within the row, with rows three to four feet apart. For an annual hill, set plants 12 to 15 inches apart in the row, with staggered rows spaced 12 to 15 inches apart and two to four rows per bed.
- Set planting depth by the crown, not a ruler. Cover only the roots and the base of the crown, leaving as much of the crown above ground as possible.
- Remove the first flowers. In a matted row, take off blossoms and fruit through the whole first growing season to push the plant toward runner production. In an annual hill, remove just the first flower cluster that emerges, to give the plant more time to establish its root system.
- Manage runners as they appear. Let them run in a matted row, guiding daughters in to fill the row toward that 8 to 10 inch target width (12 to 18 inches if that’s more practical to maintain). Cut them off in an annual hill, so only the mother plants grow and fruit. This is also the point where plastic mulch between plants becomes an option.
- Feed in August. Apply the season’s fertilizer application in August, timed to the plants’ needs heading into fall.
- Mulch in late November. Spread winter mulch in late November to carry the planting through dormancy.
- Grow container plantings as a hill. Regardless of variety, manage potted strawberries the way an annual hill is managed: irrigate frequently to keep the small root system cool and moist, and avoid dark-colored containers that heat the roots.
What goes wrong
- Matted row left to fill in unchecked. Runners keep rooting daughter plants until the row is packed solid, and packed plants compete for light, water, and nutrients, with smaller berries as the direct result. The fix is thinning the row back toward the 8 to 10 inch optimum (or the more practical 12 to 18 inch width), pulling the excess before crowding sets in rather than after.
- First-season flowers left on the plant. Letting a new matted-row planting fruit in its first year sounds like a win, but it comes at the cost of runner production, since fewer daughters mean a thinner row the following year. In an annual hill, skipping the removal of that first flower cluster shortchanges root establishment before the plant starts carrying fruit. Removing the flowers, even though it feels like throwing away a harvest, is the remedy in both systems.
- Crown planted too deep or left too exposed. A crown buried under soil sits in conditions that invite rot; a crown planted too shallow leaves roots exposed to dry out. Reset the planting depth so only the roots and the base of the crown are covered, with as much of the crown as possible left above ground.
- Containers in dark plastic or ceramic. Strawberry roots are shallow and small to begin with, and a dark container in direct sun heats that root zone past what the plant can handle. Switching to a lighter-colored container and irrigating frequently keeps the root system cool and moist instead.
- A variety mismatched to a cold climate. Utah State University Extension flags this directly for its own region: Honeoye is “not well suited to many parts of Utah,” and Chandler “may not be hardy enough for the coldest regions of Utah.” Day-neutral varieties also stop producing during the hottest stretch of a Utah summer. None of that is universal; it’s specific to Utah’s climate, but it’s a reminder to check regional guidance for whatever variety is under consideration before planting a whole row of it.
- A virus in the planting. Stunted growth, yellowing, or distorted leaves spreading across a section of a bed can point to a viral infection carried in with the original stock or passed along through runners. There is no cure for a plant virus. The only response is removing and destroying the infected plants before the problem spreads further through the row.
Common questions
Can I switch a matted row into a hill system partway through?
Not really without starting over. Once daughter plants have rooted in, separating mother plants from runners defeats the point of either system. The decision needs to be made at planting, based on whether the variety is a June-bearer (matted row) or an everbearer or day-neutral (hill system).
Do everbearing varieties ever get grown as a matted row?
Utah State University Extension pairs the matted row with June-bearing varieties, and the annual hill with everbearing and day-neutral types. Growing an everbearer as a matted row works against the point of the plant, since it encourages runners on a variety chosen for repeat fruiting on the mother plant itself.
How long does an annual hill planting last before it needs replacing?
The Extension notes that mother plants in a hill system “usually run down after one or two seasons,” which puts the bed on a shorter replanting cycle than a matted row, where the planting can be maintained longer by managing its runners.
Is a raised bed necessary for the annual hill system?
The spacing given for the hill system, staggered rows 12 to 15 inches apart with two to four rows per bed, is written for a bed-style planting, but the same approach carries over directly to containers, which the Extension says should be managed the same way as an annual hill.