[Grubbypaws]

I am trying to fathom how I should care for my summer-fruiting strawberries once they have finished fruiting. I am growing them in containers. Should I leave the leaves until they naturally die back or should I be 'tidying' them up? If the later which leaves do I cut off and which do I leave?

[snowdrops]

After fruiting I cut all leaves off & give them a feed & good water, leaves soon reappear &runners to propagate new plants, keep them on if you want more plants. If the plants are new this year only allow 1 or 2 runners ,cut others off & only let the first ‘baby’ on the runner root, cut it off after first one this will not cause undue stress on the mother plant& allow it to grow bigger & better for next year

[Kleftiwallah]

Good evening Grubbypaws,  cut off the foliage down to about 3" in late summer, this gives the plants enough time to grow new leaves before winter sets in. 

I agree with Snowdrops, don't forget a good feed (for the strawb's)...

[vikingraider]

I've never done anything, just left them to it. Didn't realise cutting them back to the ground helped

[Kleftiwallah]

Not all the way to the ground, leave 3 inches or so, so new leaves will grow before winter.
Cheers,  Tony.

[Grubbypaws]

Not all the way to the ground, leave 3 inches or so, so new leaves will grow before winter.
Cheers,  Tony.

Tony, I dont understand this. The leaves have long stalks. Surely you dont leave 3" of stalk sticking up  I had presumed that you took out older leaves from the base?

[Kleftiwallah]

The new leaves come out from the base.
Cheers,  Tony.

[vikingraider]

So what benefit does leaving 3 inches of stalks do? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

[snowdrops]

I just cut all the leaves off to the ground

[Grubbypaws]

I just cut all the leaves off to the ground

Even the young ones?

[New shoot]

I just cut all the leaves off to the ground

Even the young ones?

I don’t cut them all.  There is usually a clump of baby leaves at the heart of the plant, so I trim off the older leaves down as close as I can without damaging these.  Once done, the plants look like runners you have just planted, but I think it does give the new leaves a better chance to develop without fighting with the old tired foliage.

They get a good sprinkle of something like pelleted chicken manure to boost them afterwards.  With container grown plants, I usually feed with something more balanced early spring to get them going like Growmore.  I have 2 bottles of liquid feed on the go over the summer for container plants - a more general one for growth and tomato feed.  Strawberries get the general one until I see flowers, then the tomato one. From trimming back to early spring, I just leave them to get on with it 

[Goosegirl]

As Snows says, just cut off the old tired leaves as far down as you can so as to let the newer growing ones have a chance to get some air and grow.