How to Prune Strawberry Plants for Optimal Growth – The Spruce
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Why Should You Prune Your Strawberry Plants?
Pruning strawberry plants has a few purposes. Primarily, it helps the plant to focus its energy on producing fruit, rather than leaves. Strawberry plants also produce fruit on last year’s growth, so by pruning away the foliage from last year, you’re encouraging the plant to put all of its energy into creating new growth—and new fruit—for this year. Finally, pruning helps to keep strawberry plants from getting too leggy, which can make them more susceptible to disease and pests.
When Should You Prune Your Strawberry Plants?
Early Spring
The best time to prune your strawberry plants is in early spring, before they start to produce new leaves and flowers. This will give the plants a chance to recover from the winter and produce strong, healthy growth.
Summer
You can also prune your strawberry plants in summer, after they have finished producing fruit. This will help to keep the plants tidy and encourage them to produce even more fruit in the following year.
How to Prune Your Strawberry Plants
Pruning your strawberry plants is an important part of plant maintenance. Pruning helps to remove dead or diseased leaves and stems, which can improve plant growth. Pruning also helps to encourage the growth of new leaves and flowers.
Step One: Remove Dead or Dying Leaves
Pruning your strawberry plants is important for several reasons. First, it helps the plant focus its energy on producing fruit, rather than leaves. Second, it removes damaged or diseased leaves, which can spread disease to the rest of the plant. Third, pruning encourages new growth, which gives you more chances to harvest strawberries.
Here’s how to prune your strawberry plants for optimal growth:
Step One: Remove Dead or Dying Leaves
Remove any dead or dying leaves from the plant. These leaves can spread disease to the rest of the plant, so it’s important to remove them as soon as possible.
Step Two: Cut Back Foliage After Harvesting
After you’ve harvested your strawberries, cut back any foliage that is touching the ground. This will help prevent rot and fungal diseases.
Step Three: Remove Runners
Runners are long, thin stems that extend outward from the main plant. While they do produce new plants, they can also lead to a decrease in fruit production. To increase fruit production, remove runners as soon as you see them.
Step Two: Cut Back the Stems
After the first year, cut back the stems to about 6 inches (15 cm.) above ground level. This will encourage the plants to produce new shoots, which will result in more fruit. You can also remove any stems that are growing outside of the rows.
Step Three: Trim the Roots
After cutting away the leaves, it’s time to trim the roots. strawberries are a surface-rooting plant, which means that the majority of their roots are in the top few inches of soil. When you prune the roots, you’re helping to encourage new growth closer to the surface of the soil.
To trim the roots, use a sharp knife or pruning shears and cut away any root that is longer than about four inches. Be careful not to damage the crown or main stem of the plant as you trim away the roots.
How Often Should You Prune Your Strawberry Plants?
It is important to prune your strawberry plants regularly to ensure optimal growth and production. For best results, you should prune your plants every 2-3 weeks during the growing season. This will ensure that the plants have enough leaves to produce fruit, but not so many that the fruit is small or of poor quality.