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strawberry patch
JulieSH
Posts: 10
in Fruit & veg
I have about 24 strawberry plants, not all the same variety. In the autumn I tidied them up by cutting off all bedraggled leaves, doing exactly what Monty Don told me to do in the September or October Gardeners' World. Due to the very mild weather they went on growing as though it was Spring even produced flowers. Now they are a horrible sight, loads of yellow leaves all looking very unhappy. It is only their second year so I am not about to replant. Any advice as what I should be doing and when to do it?
0
Posts
Leave them alone till they start to grow again. They'll recover when the real spring arrives with warmer weather and more light. Then you can tidy up the dead foliage and, if you like, put a mulch of straw or some such to keep the new fruits off the soil. You can also peg new ruuners into small pots of compost to make new plants as strawberry plants need renewing every 3 years to maintain vigour and crops.
Thanks, and I have to say kneeling in the saturated bed right now does not appeal to me one bit, so I will wait for the real Spring. Of course that is probably going to be when we get out 'real' winter with snow!
I'd cut off the dead foliage, we are due a cold snap at the beginnig of Feb, so a trim now would suffice. Don't be tempted to mulch them as this would rot the crowns.
I always leave my dead foliage on as protection for the crowns and then clear it away after the worst of the frosts is over.
Good no work to do now; thank you wise advise.
Nothing to do with strawberries but, - beautiful cat Julie - is it yours?
Don't do anything now, strawberries are really hardy, it won't do any harm leaving on the yellowing foilage and dead leaves.
I too would be in the " leave well alone " camp. Those old leaves are adding a tiny bit of frost protection to the crown, which , if exposed , can be damaged by later frosts. As others have said, when the worst frosts have passed, and they're growing away well, by all means cut back the yellow leaves. My trouble is that deer and rabbits have discovered mine. Nature eh? pah. tee hee.
Forester2 Yes that was my cat; he lived to 17 then sadly died. His name was Napoleon. Thank you all for the helpful feed back.