Winterizing Strawberry Plants: How to Winterize Strawberries

To winterize plants means to initiate processes whereby you protect your plants from the harsh conditions of winter. The drying winds of winter, not to mention the cold temperatures, frost, and short days, can do a number on fruit trees, flower beds, and vegetable gardens alike. Winterizing plants helps them withstand these conditions so they’ll be able to stay in good health until the next year. In particular, new plants and young trees benefit from winterization.

Strawberry plants are fruit-bearing perennials that thrive in USDA hardiness zones three to eleven. In cold climates where temperatures drop below freezing in the winter months, strawberries are typically planted as annuals. However, growers in these cold climates don't need to get rid of their plants after a single growing season; they can instead prepare strawberry plants for winter by winterizing them. Applying the proper winter care to your strawberry plants will ensure a thriving strawberry patch come summertime.

After the final harvest of the season but before the plants enter dormancy, follow these steps to prepare your strawberry beds for cold winter weather.

1. 1. Prune: Pruning will depend on which strawberry variety you're growing. If your strawberries have an upright growth habit, use clean, sharp garden shears to cut foliage down to an inch or two above the crown. If they lay flat to the ground, you can use a lawnmower set to a tall height to trim down a large strawberry patch. Only use a mower within a week of harvesting so as not to damage any new growth. Remove any diseased or damaged plants. Thin plants until they are four to six inches apart, or there are about five plants per square foot.
2. 2. Weed: Remove all the weeds and debris from around the strawberry plants.
3. 3. Fertilize: Apply a balanced 10-10-10 (NPK) fertilizer one month before your region’s average first frost date. Follow the instructions on your fertilizer for guidance on dosing and application.
4. 4. Water: In the absence of rain, continue to water your plants to ensure consistent soil moisture. You can stop watering after the first frost occurs.
5. 5. Mulch: After the first frost but before temperatures drop below twenty degrees Fahrenheit, apply a layer of winter mulch in the form of wood chips, loose straw, or pine needles. An additional layer of chicken wire can help keep mulch in place in windy locales. If you’re growing strawberries in raised beds, ensure that the mulch fully covers the plants by applying a layer six to eight inches thick.

Consider these gardening tips for growing strawberry plants in your home garden.

1. 1. Consider overwintering potted strawberry plants. Overwintering strawberries is the process of moving them indoors during the winter to protect them from cold weather. A shed or unheated garage will get the job done. If you plan to overwinter your strawberry plants, plant them in pots or hanging baskets so that they're easier to move at the end of the growing season. Provide additional winter protection by insulating your potted strawberry plants. Wrap them in burlap and stuff straw mulch between the burlap and the pot. Cover the top of the plant with six to eight inches of straw.
2. 2. Remove the first blossoms. To encourage your strawberries to put their energy into producing roots and shoots, prune off the first flowers. For June-bearing strawberries, remove blossoms the entire first year to ensure healthy plants for the following year. For other varieties, you can pinch off flower buds for the first four weeks and harvest strawberries later in the season.
3. 3. Maintain strawberry runners. Runners are shoots that produce new plants. As runners develop, decide whether to keep, remove, or propagate them. Place runners where you want the daughter plants to form and gently press the ends into the soil to encourage rooting. You can also transplant the daughter plants by putting a pot full of soil next to the mother plant and allowing the runners to take root there.
4. 4. Weed regularly. Strawberries have a hard time competing with weeds, so keep your strawberry patch weed-free with frequent hand-weeding and mulching.

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