Strawberries are among the most popular fruits to grow at home. To ensure a healthy plant and a bountiful harvest, pruning the old leaves after the fruiting season is essential.
Why Should You Prune Strawberries?
Pruning strawberries after the harvest is crucial for their vitality and health. This simple step helps prevent diseases and promotes fresh new growth for the next season. Strawberries are perennials, which means they can regrow year after year. By cutting back the old leaves, you allow the plant to grow more vigorously, resulting in stronger plants and better fruit production in the future.
One key point to remember when pruning is to avoid damaging the heart of the strawberry plant. The heart, located at the center of the crown, is where fresh growth emerges from the root system. Protecting it ensures a healthy regrowth, which in turn leads to better flower bud development for the following season.
How to Prune Strawberries
1. After Harvest Care for Once-Bearing Strawberries
For once-bearing varieties, prune the plants immediately after harvesting, usually in mid-July. Use a sharp knife or garden shears to remove the outer leaves and runners. Leave the central part (the heart) intact. You can also trim back larger strawberry beds to about 5-10 cm high. In larger fields, a hedge trimmer or a high lawnmower can be used, as long as the plant’s crown is not damaged.
2. Pruning Everbearing Strawberries
Everbearing strawberries need to have any yellow or diseased leaves removed throughout the growing season, particularly after winter. Even after the main harvest, it is a good idea to remove any damaged or dead foliage to ensure continued health.
Additional Tips for Pruning
Remove Runners
Strawberry plants often produce runners with small « baby » plants, called « offsets » or « daughter plants, » to propagate new plants. While these runners are a natural way for the plant to multiply, they can also drain energy from the mother plant. After the harvest, cut these runners off unless you are using them to propagate new plants. If you are propagating, wait until the runners are detached and replanted before pruning the mother plant.
Prevent Disease
Pruning not only encourages healthy growth but also helps prevent fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew. Removing old leaves reduces the risk of fungal spores taking root. Additionally, always dispose of the cuttings in the trash—never compost them—since doing so can spread diseases back into your garden.
Mulch and Fertilization
After pruning, it’s also a good time to remove any straw mulch placed under the plants to keep the fruit clean and prevent diseases like gray mold. Fertilize your strawberry plants with berry-specific fertilizers, but avoid using too much nitrogen, as this can encourage excessive leaf growth over fruit production. Two grams of nitrogen per square meter after harvest is usually sufficient.
Conclusion
Pruning strawberries is essential for maintaining healthy plants and ensuring a fruitful harvest in the following season. By cutting back old leaves, removing runners, and managing disease, your strawberry plants will thrive, offering you delicious fruit year after year. Be sure to follow these simple tips to keep your strawberries strong, productive, and free from disease!