Pick Flowers, Not Fruit! 

Removing strawberry flowers in the first year after planting is crucial for long-term plant health and productivity.

If you planted a June-bearing variety this spring, you should be picking flowers this summer, not fruit!

Why We Recommend Flower Removal:

Flowering and fruiting add stress to young plants. We recommend pinching off all flower buds in the first year of growth to allow the plants to invest energy in becoming established and, in turn, yield a larger crop in their first bearing year. It will also encourage runner production and support winter survival.

How to Remove Flowers?

Click here to watch Grower Christian explain how to remove strawberry flowers from plants.

Daughters/Runners:

Fill in your rows by allowing 2–4 daughters (runners) to take root on each side of the mother plant (Click here to read or previous blog, Strawberry Plant Structure). Space the plantlets evenly in the bed, 5–8 inches apart, and lightly press them into the soil to ensure good soil contact around the roots. Cut off any additional runners that form during the season. Overcrowded beds produce small berries and can cause more disease problems.

Everbearing/Day-Neutral Instruction:

If you planted a day-neutral or everbearing variety this spring, remove the first flush of flowers 3–4 weeks after setting out your plants. We recommend removing all runners during the plant's lifetime. Removing the first flush of flowers and all runners will help the plant focus its energy on producing large crop yields.