How To Prune Strawberry Plants

Learning how to prune strawberry plants is a simple task that makes a huge difference in your garden. This guide will show you the exact steps for healthy fruit production year after year.

Pruning might seem counterintuitive. You’re cutting away leaves and runners from a plant you want to grow. But for strawberries, it’s the secret to bigger, sweeter berries and plants that live longer. It prevents disease, improves air flow, and directs the plant’s energy right where you want it: into making fruit.

Whether you grow June-bearing, everbearing, or day-neutral varieties, the timing and technique matter. Let’s get your plants in perfect shape.

This main process involves removing old leaves, managing runners, and thinning plants. The goal is to keep the plant focused. Here’s the foundational approach.

Why You Absolutely Must Prune Your Strawberries

Unpruned strawberry plants become crowded and stressed. They compete for light, water, and nutrients. This leads to several problems:

Smaller, Less Flavorful Fruit: The plant’s energy is divided among too many leaves, runners, and berries.
Increased Disease and Pest Issues: Dense, damp foliage is a haven for fungi like powdery mildew and pests like slugs.
Declining Plant Health: Older leaves stop contributing efficiently and can harbor disease over winter.
Messy, Uncontrolled Beds: Runners will root everywhere, creating a tangled mat that’s hard to manage and harvest.

Pruning solves all this. It’s like giving your plants a clear purpose and a clean space to achieve it.

The Essential Tools You’ll Need

You don’t need much. Clean, sharp tools are crucial to make clean cuts that heal quickly and prevent spreading disease.

Sharp Pruning Shears or Scissors: For cleanly cutting through leaf stems and runner vines.
Gardening Gloves: To protect your hands from prickles and dirt.
A Container or Bucket: For collecting all the cuttings. Do not leave them in the garden bed.

Always wipe your tool blades with a disinfectant (like rubbing alcohol) between plants. This is a simple step many gardeners forget, but it stops diseases in their tracks.

Understanding Your Strawberry Type: Pruning Depends on It

There are three main types of strawberries, and they fruit on different schedules. Your pruning strategy follows their natural cycle.

June-Bearing Strawberries

These produce one large, concentrated harvest in late spring to early summer. They send out lots of runners after fruiting. For these, you will do a major renovation prune right after the harvest is complete.

Everbearing and Day-Neutral Strawberries

These varieties produce berries in flushes from spring until fall. They produce fewer runners. Pruning for them is an ongoing, lighter process throughout the growing season. You’ll mainly remove old leaves and spent flower stems as you go.

The Step-by-Step Pruning Process

Now, let’s break down the actions. We’ll cover the renovation prune for June-bearers first, as it’s the most comprehensive.

Step 1: The Post-Harvest Renovation Prune (For June-Bearing)

Right after your last berry is picked, it’s time for the big cutback. This seems drastic, but the plants will regrow fresh, healthy leaves for the rest of the summer. Here’s what to do:

Mow or Shear the Foliage: If you have a large, matted row, you can use a mower set high (about 3 inches) to cut back the bulk of the leaves. For smaller beds, use shears. Don’t worry about being perfect—you’re removing the oldest leaves.
Thin the Plants: After cutting back, thin the bed to keep only the healthiest, strongest plants. Aim for plants to be about 6 inches apart in all directions. Remove the weakest, smallest plants.
Clear All Debris: Rake up and remove every single leaf clipping and runner you cut away. This debris can contain disease spores and insects you don’t want to leave in the bed.
Fertilize and Water: After pruning, give your plants a balanced fertilizer and a good drink. This supports vigorous new growth.

Step 2: Pruning Leaves Throughout the Season (For All Types)

No matter your strawberry type, you should routinely remove old leaves. Look for leaves that are:

Turning red or yellow.
Developing spots, mildew, or damage.
Lying directly on the soil.

Simply snip the leaf stem near the crown of the plant. Be careful not to damage the crown itself or any new, healthy leaves emerging from the center. Do this every few weeks to keep plants tidy.

Step 3: Managing Runners (The Long, Stringy Shoots)

Runners are how strawberry plants reproduce. They are long stems with a small plantlet on the end. If you want new plants, you can root these. If you want more fruit from the mother plant, you need to remove them.

Identify the Runner: It looks like a long, skinny stem growing out from the main plant, often with little nodes and a tiny plant forming at the end.
Decide Your Goal: For maximum fruit production on the original plant, cut off all runners as soon as you see them. Use your shears and snip them close to the base. If you want new plants, allow a few runners to develop and root, then you can snip them from the mother plant later.
Stay on Top of It: Check for runners every time you visit your garden. They grow quickly and can drain energy from fruit production fast.

Step 4: Removing Spent Flower Stems and Unproductive Plants

After a flower stem has finished producing berries, it will turn brown and woody. Cut these spent stems back to the base of the plant. This keeps things looking neat.

Also, at the end of each season, take note of any plants that performed poorly. It’s often best to remove them in the fall or early spring to make room for healthier ones.

Seasonal Pruning Calendar

Here’s a quick guide to what to do and when.

Early Spring

As new growth begins, gently clear away any dead leaves that remained over winter. Be careful of the tender new green leaves emerging from the crown. This is also a good time to thin out any overcrowded plants before they start flowering.

During the Growing Season (Spring to Fall)

Continuously remove runners from plants you want to focus on fruiting.
Regularly snip off old, damaged, or diseased leaves.
For everbearing/day-neutral types, remove spent flower stalks after each flush of berries.

After Fruiting (For June-Bearers)

Complete the renovation prune within a week or two of the final harvest. This gives them plenty of time to regrow before winter.

Late Fall / Early Winter

After several hard frosts, you can do a very light cleanup. Remove any obviously dead or moldy foliage, but leave healthy green leaves to help protect the crown over winter. A mild layer of straw mulch can be added after the ground freezes.

Common Pruning Mistakes to Avoid

Even with good intentions, it’s easy to make a few errors. Here’s what to watch out for.

Pruning at the Wrong Time

The biggest mistake is pruning June-bearing plants heavily in spring. If you do this, you will cut off that season’s flower buds and get no fruit. Always wait until after harvest for the major cutback on these types.

Damaging the Crown

The crown is the short, thick stem at the base where all leaves and roots emerge. Never cut into this. Always make your cuts on the leaf stems or runners, leaving the crown intact. A damaged crown can kill the plant.

Leaving Cuttings in the Bed

It’s tempting to just let the clippings decompose in place. But this invites rot, slugs, and disease. Always remove and compost or dispose of all pruning debris away from your strawberry patch.

Not Pruning Enough

Being too timid won’t give you the benefits. A light trim here and there isn’t the same as a proper, thorough pruning. Follow the steps for your strawberry type to see real results in fruit size and plant health.

FAQ: Your Strawberry Pruning Questions Answered

Should I cut back my strawberry plants in the fall?

Only do a very light cleanup in the fall, mainly removing dead or diseased material. Avoid heavy pruning, as the remaining leaves help protect the plant over winter. The major pruning for June-bearers should have been done in summer.

How do you prune strawberries for more fruit?

To maximize fruit, consistently remove all runners during the growing season. This forces the plant to put its energy into flower and fruit production instead of making new baby plants.

Can you cut strawberry plants all the way back?

For June-bearing varieties, yes—right after harvest. You can cut the foliage down to about 1-2 inches above the crown. For other types, never cut all the way back; only remove select old leaves.

What happens if you don’t prune strawberries?

Unpruned plants become overcrowded, produce significantly smaller and fewer berries, and are much more susceptible to diseases like gray mold and leaf spot. The bed will become an unmanageable tangle within a couple seasons.

Do you prune strawberry plants every year?

Yes, pruning is an annual task. June-bearing plants need their yearly renovation prune. Everbearing and day-neutral plants need ongoing light pruning each growing season to stay productive.

How long do strawberry plants live?

A well-maintained strawberry plant can remain productive for 3-5 years. After that, they often decline. Regular pruning and thinning helps them reach their full lifespan potential. Many gardeners replace their plants every 3-4 years for the best yields.

Pruning your strawberry plants is one of the most effective things you can do for a succesful harvest. It keeps them healthy, productive, and easy to manage. By following the simple steps for your specific type of strawberry, you’ll ensure that your plants put all there effort into creating the delicious fruit you’re waiting for. Remember the key cycles: renovate June-bearers after fruiting, manage runners all season, and remove old leaves regularly. With just a little effort each month, you’ll enjoy the rewards for years to come.