How to Manage Pests

Pruning strawberries

For best results with your garden strawberries, remove runners to encourage single plants to produce several crowns. During the first year of your strawberry planting, allow a few runners to form daughter plants, which can be used to replace any plants that die. Remove all other runners as they begin to form. Keep them removed during the life of the planting unless you want to start new plantings from them. If growth of day-neutrals is weak after they are planted, cut off the first two flower clusters that form, which increases the vigor of the plants.

Prune off most leaves from short-day plants in the late fall after the first full year of growth. From day-neutrals, remove the older leaves that are turning color. Be sure to remove any leaves that show signs of disease. Collect all prunings and discard them well away from the planting; they can be a source of disease inoculum.