How to Prune Everbearing Strawberry Plants

Everbearing strawberries produce two crops each summer -- one in early summer and a second in late summer or early fall. The everbearing strawberry varieties require only minimal pruning and renovation to remain productive. These plants don't survive and produce as well as June-bearing varieties, but they require less time-intensive cultivation. Pruning improves berry yield and plant health by minimizing disease and encouraging healthy root growth.

Things You'll Need

Shears

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the flowers off the strawberries as soon as they open in newly planted beds. Continue to remove the blossoms until the beginning of July, and then allow the plants to flower normally. Blossom removal in the first year encourages healthy root growth.
- 2
  Prune off all runners that form on the strawberry plants, cutting them off where they emerge from the main plant. Runners grow as long tendrils from the crown of the plant. The runners set down roots and become new plants if left in place. Runner removal on everbearing plants creates larger plants that produce more and larger berries.
- 3
  Thin the strawberry bed after harvesting the last berry crop. Pull out excess plants so the remaining plants have a 6- to 8-inch space between them. Allow any runners that form after thinning to set roots.

Varieties of Everbearing Strawberries

The Best Way to Plant Strawberries

Growing Strawberries