Should I trim off those bottom dead looking leaves on my strawberry seedling?
by physicalgraffiti123
Should I trim off those bottom dead looking leaves on my strawberry seedling?
by physicalgraffiti123
6 Comments
Was this transplanted recently?
I’m not a strawberry expert but I would just leave it alone till next year. I have a dedicated raised bed for them alone and last year they just made runners which started from 2 bundles. My bed is now covered and I already have a handful of flowers going. I will however start cutting the runner stem.
I treat them as self mulching. I would just forget about it until it surprises you with fruits. When I say forget, I mean emotionally disengage but still observe it, water it, etc (you probably fed it during planting). Put your emotional energy into another plant or bed, because you’ve gotta keep the fire alive but holding on too tightly and caring too much leads to disappointment.
I just trimmed mine all up, but they are 3 years old. I trim all the old ugly leaves and runners. Just don’t damage the crown. I would.
Trying again… first comment was removed 🙁
When they get like that, I snip them off. I also remove *all* runners. Unless there’s some obvious disease/fungus I leave ’em where they lay.
Others here have given great advice, and I just wanted to add that with these new lil dudes, you should snip off any flower budsand runners for at least 3 months after planting. This forces the majority of the plants energy to go into establishing itself (stronger roots and crown), rather than giving it all to the next generation.
OSU did a study and published some excellent info: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ec-1307-growing-strawberries-your-home-garden
And strawberries are popular, so your local Master Gardeners will have workshops and demos on strawberries & a bunch of other plant-related topics, with research-based info tailored to your specific locale. They’re a great local (& FREE!) resource, please use them!
Edited for clarity
I trim them off my plants when they look like that. it looks like there’s already new leaves starting to grow too so the loss shouldn’t be too detrimental to it.