Pruning strawberries in July 2022 after fruiting

Pruning strawberries after harvest is a necessary measure to protect the plants and maintain stable fruiting next year. During the procedure, diseased and damaged leaves are removed and colonies of pests are destroyed. Partial rejuvenation of the bush occurs, fruiting is prolonged.

With the right approach and the right timing, pruning will benefit the plantation. It remains to find out how to carry it out so that the stress for the plants is minimal, and the crop has time to prepare for wintering.

Why prune strawberries?

Pruning strawberries in July after fruiting performs several functions at once:

Sanitary. Spring leaves on strawberries in July slowly begin to dry out and die. To prevent them from becoming a breeding ground for disease, they should be cut off.
Rejuvenating. If your plantings are more than 3 years old, then you need to cut off all the leaves. After this, the bush rejuvenates, produces new leaves and is able to bear fruit for some time.
Health-improving. By trimming the tendrils and leaves, you redirect the juices inside the plant and beneficial microelements to laying new flower buds and strengthening the bush’s immunity.

There is one more important fact. Strawberry leaves function normally only for 2-2.5 months. After which they almost lose the ability to participate in photosynthesis. That is, they become useless.

To prevent the plant from wasting energy maintaining such foliage, it must be removed.

Treatment and feeding after pruning

After pruning, the soil must be loosened and moisture is added on an ongoing basis. Since the peak of the strawberry growing season (namely, the growth of tendrils and leaves) occurs in the spring, this is when it is worth taking special care of it. With good care, the bushes will quickly grow green mass and begin to bloom.

It is recommended to trim strawberry tendrils, and some of them can be used to propagate strawberries

The main question that interests gardeners after pruning strawberries is how to protect them from parasites and bacteria? The answer is simple - improvised materials and chemicals will help you! You can start by watering the trimmed bushes with warm water and potassium permanganate. This solution should have a faint pink color. Next, we spray charcoal or ash over the bushes, which must be finely crushed. Repeated spraying is carried out after two to three days.

If weevils or other pests have been noticed on the plants, use the drug “Intavir”, which is used for double treatment.

To support plants after pruning and speed up the formation of flower buds, it is enough to feed the bushes with universal fertilizers, which can be found in any garden store. Dilute them in water at the rate of 10 ml per 10 liters of water. Nitrogen compounds together with ammonium nitrate will also be a good help for plants.

Photo gallery of strawberry care products

"Intavir" destroys a significant number of pest species

Universal and useful potassium permanganate

Charcoal for sprinkling bushes and soil

Wood ash for dusting bushes and soil

How to choose the right day to prune strawberries in July?

The right time to prune strawberries is approximately 1.5-2 weeks after the end of fruiting. That is, somewhere in mid-July.

It is at this time that pruning is carried out so that the plant has time to produce new leaves and prepare for winter.

The day should be dry and fine. Prune in the morning, but after the dew has passed and before the onset of heat.

It is also necessary to select a suitable day, checking the recommendations of the lunar calendar.

Why and how to prune strawberries in the fall

To get a good harvest next season, strawberries should be cared for immediately after harvesting the current one. An important role is played by high-quality preparation of plants for winter. They should be fully formed, with healthy, well-developed green mass. Pruning is usually done in early autumn. Only diseased, damaged parts of plants are removed.

You also have to cut off the tendrils, loosen the soil, and hill up the bushes to improve air exchange and speed up the development of the root mass. After this, the soil in the tree trunk circles is spilled, sprinkled with ash and covered with mulch. Renewed plantings with strong vegetative mass will easily withstand the cold.

Pruning strawberries in July 2022 according to the lunar calendar, favorable days

Strawberries are traditionally pruned during the waning moon, when the juices inside the plant move from the shoots to the roots. It is during this period that the procedure will be least traumatic for the culture.

In July 2022, the most favorable periods for pruning strawberries after fruiting fall at the beginning and end of the month:

July 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31.

Video: pruning strawberries and caring for them after harvest

Pruning strawberries is an important event for maintaining the health of the plantation and laying the future harvest. But only timely pruning will make it possible not to deplete the bushes, but to make them healthier and stronger.

Author: Irina Shkut
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When should you not prune strawberries in July 2022?

You definitely shouldn’t remove tops from strawberries on new and full moon days, as well as days “around” these lunar phases.

Thus, in July 2022, unfavorable times for pruning strawberries after fruiting will be July 9, 10, 11, 23, 24, 25.

There is no consensus among summer residents about the days of the waxing moon. Some people think that strawberry bushes will be sick for a long time and postpone pruning until a favorable time. Others are of the opinion that you cannot work only on the new moon and full moon.

How to water strawberries in summer

In the second half of summer, almost all garden and garden crops require watering. Strawberry beds that stop bearing fruit fade into the background, but you shouldn’t forget about them. If the weather is dry, hot, strawberry rosettes may die.

Nikolai Zvonarev in the book “Strawberries. Strawberry. Varieties, care, seasonal calendar” focuses on the watering needs of strawberries. For normal plant growth, the moisture content in the plant leaf tissues must be at least 90%. When it decreases even by 10%, the leaves wither and their work is disrupted.

In summer, strawberries need enough moisture because:

new leaves are growing after pruning;
the root system is strengthened;
buds are laid for the future harvest;
the process of absorption of dry and liquid fertilizers by the roots is improved.

In dry, hot weather, two buckets of warm, settled water are required for every square meter of planting. The surface of the strawberry bed should be slightly damp in July, so watering is carried out 2-3 times a week.

Watering strawberries in summer: YouTube/Away from the garden

In what cases is July pruning of strawberries contraindicated?

Late varieties are not pruned in July, as they can bear fruit. In any case, after the end of fruiting, there will be too little time left before the cold snap begins. Strawberries will not have time to grow new foliage and will not overwinter well.

Also, remontant strawberries are not pruned in July. More precisely, with these varieties, only sanitary pruning is also carried out, removing dried flower stalks, tendrils and leaves.

Do not carry out the procedure on a rainy day, as there is a high probability of infection with pathogenic fungi. Also, do not prune in hot weather.

Young strawberries (1-2 years old) are not heavily pruned in July.

Trimming dried leaves

If you promptly remove all dried and damaged leaves, there will be much more flower stalks next year. Leaves should be trimmed with sharp pruning shears. Many people make mistakes and mow down the foliage. This can damage young leaves, causing damage to the bushes.

5 mistakes in spring strawberry care that can seriously affect the harvest

How to properly prune strawberries to increase yield?

Having chosen the appropriate day for pruning according to the weather and the lunar calendar, you should carry out the procedure itself correctly.

You need to trim with sharp pruners or scissors, and put gloves on your hands.

Remove the lower old leaves. They turn red and may be wilted or dried out and covered in spots. They are carefully cut off. New leaves that grow higher are left untouched. There should be 4-5 of them left.

It is necessary to cut as close to the central stem as possible. So that there are no cuttings left.

Having trimmed the leaves, they move on to the mustache. You need to remove all the tendrils except those bushes from which you plan to obtain planting material for further propagation. In this case, only the first two rosettes are left, counting from the mother bush. They are the ones who will show normal fruiting.

IMPORTANT! Bushes with obvious signs of disease are pruned last, so as not to infect other plantings.

After completing the procedure, all cut tops and mustaches must be collected and burned. Some gardeners put it in compost, but the fact is that the leaves may be diseased, so it is better to destroy them.

No experiments, only proven techniques (video)

Considering that any pruning for a living plant is shock therapy, there is no room for experimentation here. You should not try in practice a variety of new methods of pruning bushes when there are long-tested and approved options for how to do this.

There is a category of people who are convinced that strawberries do not need any pruning. They explain this by saying that leaves are the main source of photosynthesis in a plant, and without them it will lose its strength and will not be able to survive the winter. In addition, this method does not work against pests either - they will simply move from the leaves to the ground and wait for their chance next season.

If strawberry leaves are not trimmed in time, there is a high probability that similar spots may appear on them, signaling a disease.

One can argue with this, since leaving the leaves in place after harvesting, you can often observe their reddening, browning and other color metamorphoses, which are not at all pleasant for the plant. Pests and fungal spores love to settle on old leaves, and from there spread to young ones, gradually destroying entire bushes. In addition, no one has stopped treating the soil with fungicides and pest control agents, so they are unlikely to be so comfortable in the ground while waiting for new food.

It is recommended to trim strawberry tendrils in the summer - this way you give the plant the opportunity to direct all its strength into the leaves and prepare for cold times. Most of the whiskers will simply have to be thrown away, but the strongest and most reliable ones can be used to propagate strawberries.

As for cultivating the land, water with potassium permanganate and ash from different tree species can be an excellent combination. This technique is used when transplanting a diseased bush or when a healthy bush is planted in the place where diseased plants grew. The same should be done after regular pruning of bushes.

What else needs to be done when pruning strawberries in July?

After cutting off excess leaves and tendrils of strawberries, do not forget to feed the crop with complex fertilizers.

It is best to use ready-made specialized complex fertilizers of the brands Fasko, Fertika, Gera, Buiskie fertilizers, Organic Mix, Gumi-Omi Yagodny, etc.

You can use any of these products, since they are similar in their principle of action and composition.

IMPORTANT! All cut parts of plants must be destroyed.

Also, continue to water your strawberry beds after pruning. July is a hot month, so watering should be frequent (about once every 3 days) and quite abundant. The earthen lump should not dry out.

For this purpose, by the way, mulching is used. It is best to mulch with straw, but it is quite possible to use other materials (sawdust, agrofibre, etc.).

ON A NOTE. Also, during pruning, you can root first- and second-order rosettes to produce new bushes.

How to prune strawberries if the plants are affected by diseases and pests

If the strawberry bushes are affected by mites or there is severe spotting on the leaves, it is necessary to remove all leaves, even young ones. Leaves with signs of disease should be trimmed as close to the base of the bush as possible, since disease spores can persist on the petioles. When pruning, try not to touch the heart of the bush - the plant will be able to recover faster. By doing this pruning, you will not harm the bush, since strawberries grow green mass very quickly. By cutting off old leaves, you will immediately see where you can loosen the ground and where you need to remove weeds.

Of course, removing all the leaves from strawberries will not get rid of all pests and diseases. They will remain on the stumps of leaves and the ground. Simply, such a bed is easier to treat with drugs against diseases and pests. This treatment is more effective.

Now you can feed the “rejuvenated” bed. At this time, as I already said, fruit buds are being laid - the basis of the future harvest, so do not forget to periodically water your strawberries. And if there is no rain, keep the soil moist.

Feeding and watering at this time are required. It is at this time that the strawberries will build up leaf mass, which in winter, covered with snow, will protect the root system from freezing. That is, the more foliage your bushes go into winter with, the better they will overwinter. And from this your harvest will increase.

If during the harvest period you notice berries affected by gray rot, then after the end of fruiting the strawberries need treatment. Treat the entire plantation with some kind of fungicide - it could be Bordeaux mixture, Topaz or Horus.

Tips and Tricks for Pruning Strawberries

Experienced summer residents know some tricks that will allow them to trim strawberries after fruiting with better quality and with less stress on the crop.

Do not tear off the leaves and tendrils so as not to damage the “heart”.
Scissors must be periodically treated with alcohol or a solution of potassium permanganate to avoid infection.
Cut off diseased leaves last, and after each trimming, wipe the blades with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol or potassium permanganate.
Cut off all the leaves from old bushes, leaving nothing behind. This is necessary for rejuvenation.

Do I need to prune remontant strawberries?

Caring for remontant strawberries differs from caring for ordinary garden strawberries. Remontant varieties produce crops up to 3 times per season, so after each fruiting, the peduncles are removed from the bush, and the tendrils with first-order rosettes are left. It is on the tendrils that the new harvest will ripen.

Foliage showing signs of aging and disease is selectively removed from plants throughout the season. The above-ground part is completely removed (leaving the “heart” of the bush intact) in the fall, after harvesting the last berries. Pest control and fertilizing are carried out in the same way as regular strawberries. It is recommended to insulate remontant varieties for the winter with non-woven material or straw or wood shavings.

It is up to the gardener to decide whether to trim strawberry leaves or not. The work is labor-intensive and painstaking, and is not feasible over large areas. If the plantation adheres to crop rotation and regularly treats strawberries against diseases, there is no need to trim the foliage.

Common mistakes

Mowing with a scythe. As a result of this pruning method, only the upper leaves are removed, while the lower ones remain unharmed. If you mow too low, you can damage the strawberry hearts.
Cutting off the tendrils can damage the stem or central shoot.
Carrying out the procedure during fruiting. If berries continue to appear on the strawberries, then it is too early to cut off the tops.
No post-processing. After pruning, the remaining cuttings will have wounds. To prevent the crop from getting sick, these wounds must be treated with fungicides and insecticides.
The cut tops remain in the garden bed. Everything you cut must be collected and taken away from the garden. You can throw it in the trash, or better yet, burn it. The resulting ash is useful as fertilizer.

Is it possible to mow all strawberry leaves?

Not long ago, walking along my dacha street, I saw that my friends were mowing strawberry leaves with a scythe. Their berry plot is large - several hundred square meters - and they believe they can’t do it without a scythe. At first I thought that this was their way of deciding to get rid of the old strawberries, saying that it was time to start a new plantation. But it turned out that everything was wrong. The owner of the dacha said that they mow down the strawberry leaves every year three to four weeks after the last harvest. But this year, some circumstances prevented them from doing it on time and they mowed in mid-August. According to them, their strawberry harvest is always good, and they get sick less often.

If you have a large plantation and it is older than 3-4 years, then you can follow the example of my friends.

There is another reason for completely cutting off strawberry leaves with a scythe or pruning shears (scissors) - this is severe damage to the plantings by diseases and pests. After completely cutting off (mowing) the leaves, the plantation should be treated with some fungicide or pest control drug. Be sure to feed your strawberry - help it grow leaf mass faster.

There is no need to mow young healthy strawberry plantings; this depletes the bushes and you deprive yourself of the harvest.

Answers to frequently asked questions

What to do with strawberries after pruning?

It is necessary to organize regular abundant watering, fertilizing with complex liquid fertilizer and mulch the bushes. You should also treat with fungicides and insecticides.

How to prune remontant varieties?

Pruning remontant strawberries is slightly different. After each fruiting, the flower stalks should be cut off. The mustache is not touched, leaving the rosettes closest to the mother bush. They are the ones who will bear fruit.

The foliage is trimmed as needed, removing diseased, dried and damaged leaves.

Is it necessary to mulch strawberries afterwards?

No, but mulch suppresses the growth of weeds, retains moisture (you will have to water less often) and has a beneficial effect on the soil, protecting it, among other things, from overheating.

Summer and autumn pruning – which is more necessary?

People are often perplexed when they hear about pruning strawberry bushes in the summer, immediately after flowering. They believe that in this way all the power of the bush and its effectiveness are reduced to nothing. However, in reality everything is completely different.

By autumn, trimmed bushes have time to grow fresh green mass and reserve strength for the winter. This applies to complete pruning of bushes, which has to be done if they are affected by various fungal diseases. In a normal case, it is enough to rid the bush of the entire mass of mustaches growing to the sides, leaving only a few for reproduction. If, of course, it is included in your plans. That's the whole point of summer pruning.

Only non-repairing varieties of strawberries are pruned in the summer; remontant varieties require completely different care

The autumn process involves removing damaged and diseased leaves, which have become a target for various fungal spores and pests. Damaged parts are carried far to the side and buried or burned. After pruning, the bushes themselves are treated with insecticides in combination with Bordeaux mixture.

Watering before pruning

Pruning can be done in the fall or after harvest, when the strawberry bushes gradually begin to prepare for winter. And the first thing such preparation begins with is watering.

If the weather is dry after harvesting, then this berry crop is watered daily. It is also worth mulching the beds after this - such a procedure allows you to maintain soil moisture longer. Rotted sawdust or straw can be used as mulch. If summer residents do not forget about mulching, then you can water strawberries less often - once every 2-3 days.

Step-by-step instruction

To carry out pruning, you will need sharp scissors, pruning shears, gloves, and a container for collecting debris.

During flowering

During this period, they mainly trim dried leaves and unnecessary mustaches. The procedure is carried out by slowly moving along the rows of strawberry bushes:

carefully inspect each bush;
cut off unnecessary mustache so that nutrition from the roots is directed to the formation of the ovary;
dried leaves are cut out. Leaf blades that have questionable spots are also removed.

When removing foliage, it is important not to catch the heart and young green leaves. Otherwise, such damage can cause plant disease or even death.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

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Important! The leaves are cut as close to the root as possible, leaving short roots.

Experienced summer residents do not recommend simply picking off the leaves by hand, as you can accidentally pull the bush out of the ground. However, it should be noted that strong, healthy plants are difficult to pull out of the soil by pulling one leaf.

During the fruiting period

During the ripening of the harvest, some gardeners also prune strawberries:

Remove dried leaves from each bush. The bushes are inspected carefully so as not to break the stalks;
Leaf plates covered with unhealthy spots must also be removed;
You also need to cut off the mustache, leaving shoots no longer than 5-10 cm. Do not remove the mustache, the rosettes of which are rooted to rejuvenate strawberries.

The growth of the mustache should not be allowed, since nutrients must be directed to the formation and ripening of fruits. Sometimes gardeners remove the lower leaves from lush bushes when rainy weather sets in. This measure ensures ventilation of the plants and prevents the emergence and spread of fungal diseases.

See also Strawberry Vima Kimberly: description of the variety and growing rules

After the berry harvest

As soon as the fruiting of the bushes has completely finished, be sure to tidy up the beds of the plant:

First of all, you need to trim the lower leaves lying on the ground. There is no need to sort healthy or damaged leaf blades;
in the upper tier, leaves are removed selectively. The healthy and young are left behind, and the withered, sick and old are removed;
cut out fruit-bearing flower stalks with pruners or scissors;
Be sure to trim the mustache to stimulate the formation of flower buds for the next season.

All procedures are performed with sharp devices. Otherwise, when you pull out leaves or tendrils, you can damage the root system of the bushes, and the strawberries will begin to hurt.