Strawberries

[rhyswales]

How do you care for strawberrys in winter? Do you remove all dead leaves? In the past I have just left them and not bothered touching them, but what's the best way to do it?

Do you remove everything and just leave the green?

[rustylady]

cut the dead leaves off

[21up]

I just cut them back grab a bunch of leaves and cut about 2 or 3 inch from ground.
mind you i do mine in autumn

[rhyswales]

I just cut them back grab a bunch of leaves and cut about 2 or 3 inch from ground.
mind you i do mine in autumn

Ah so am I a little bit late in doing it then?

[starloc]

I just leave them till they start to grow and then chop the dead ones off, I think the dead leaves keep the frost off the plants a bit

[Alison]

I give them a good hair cut after they've fruited and I've taken off any runners but then leave them (unless there are diseased bits) until spring. The don't need any protection though, they're tough as old boots.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I am like Starloc waiting until spring then tidy them up. No particular reason just something I have always done.

[Deano's "Diggin It"]

Like Alison, once fruited n harvested, I give em an haircut, then as the winter draws in I take off the dead n browning leaves for no other reason than to eliminate any problem from diseases!

Yep! They are tough as old boots!

But remember, a strawberry bed once set up will only give you an optimal yield over a 3 year period!

So runners being produced in year 3 need nurturing to replace the parent plants that have now done there bit, and the total bed now needs to be renewed!

That's where I'm at this year! So my runners are gunna be well looked after!

[Alison]

I replace a third of my plants every year so they're a mixture of years 1, 2 and 3. As they tend to produce most in years 2 and 3 then I ensure I don't have a low yield year by replacing them all at the same time.

[rhyswales]

Thanks everyone, took off a few of the dead leaves/runners today, will do rest in a few weeks.