What to do with strawberry plants when they've finished fruiting / over winter?

[Russel Sprout]

Hi all

I've been reading about this and finding mixed opinions, so I thought I'd post here to get some more opinions and find a consensus

Some say strawberry plants can just be left to their own devices. Others say you should just remove any dead, dying and diseased leaves. Others still say to give the plants a massive haircut, taking them down to three inches above soil level.

I've gone for the first of those but more because I have not got round to dealing with them! What do others think I should do? Pic below...

Many thanks

Max

[veggiechicken]

I'd say they're overcrowded! How old are they?

[Jungle Jane]

Remove all the strawberries now,insects could be inside them waiting for spring. Remove any brown yellow leaves,that's all I do,you could thin those now they're dormant.

[lolie]

I cut mine back hard and put them into a pot to free up space. I don't put them back in a bed until they start showing new growth.

How old are the plants? They tend to become less productive over time and if they're just doing their own thing it's difficult to work out which plants are old and which ones are newer runners which have established themselves.

[Baldy]

Most reckon after 3 years productivity goes down. I'd remove dead and brown to improve air circulation and reduce pest possibilities...

[BUFFS]

I have put some into large pots and shoved them into the greenhouse so they will produce an earlier crop..

[Potstubsdustbins]

Me too Buffs 6 plants in Morrison's buckets every year, by my reckoning it takes a good month of the fruiting time.

[Russel Sprout]

Hi

Many thanks for all the responses! I'll go through them in order....

Spacing / overcrowding. I cannot remember now how closely we planted them, but I do know we looked it up and followed advice. I've got a pic from the 1st June this year - not long after they'd been planted out - which gives a better idea of their spacing. I must admit, they grew much larger than I expected and did rather take over the bed! Photo below.

As to their age... The plants were bought as plugs last spring. They were grown in pots last year because the area was still being developed and prepared. So I guess that makes them 2.

I'll get out there tomorrow and remove any strawberries and brown leaves. As to thinning them, do you mean remove some of the healthy leaves or remove whole plants?

I have tried to keep on top of runners since they've been in there, so I don't think many plants are newbies but you never know!

The plan was to give them another year, then grow all new plants from runners (probably into pots) for the year following that.

As an aside, when we do do that is it ok to grow the new plants in the same area or is it best to practice crop rotation with strawberries?

Thanks again

Max

[Jungle Jane]

By thinning the plants I meant remove some of them where it's particularly crowded,plant them somewhere else but they'll probably be alright like that,they won't grow that much bigger in their third year.