Good afternoon, my reader. After the strawberries bear fruit, they must be prepared for wintering. And one of the best preparation methods is pruning
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Advantages and disadvantages
Pruning has its pros and cons.
Its main advantages:
- Leaves and antennae are not needed for the winter. The roots are underground and the stems are covered with artificial material.
- The roots will not feed the parts that will inevitably die off, and the strawberries will winter better.
- There will be less space for wintering pests.
But there are also disadvantages:
- The harvest will decrease. Berry buds will appear only on young shoots.
- The harvest will ripen later - it takes time to restore the green mass.
- Beetles and aphids wanted to sneeze for pruning: they hibernate in the soil.
- The procedure itself is quite complicated, it takes time and effort, and a good gardener always has something to do on his site.
If in doubt, divide the area in half and trim on one part and not on the other. Next year in the summer you will see for yourself whether it is necessary to cut your particular variety. The procedure is not suitable for everyone.
When to prune?
It is necessary to prune, based on the timing of maturation and the climate in your region. Focus on the following:
- end of fruiting;
- no frost;
- no young growth;
- dry cool weather.
Usually in central Russia, pruning is done from late August to the second half of September. In Siberia, you need to cope by September 10, and in the Kuban time endures until the first days of October.
How to trim?
It is necessary to work with a sharp and disinfected instrument (scissors or pruning shears). Pruning is done like this:
- The strawberries are watered every day a week before the procedure.
- Before pruning, the bed is cleaned of weeds and debris.
- The upper leaves are clamped at the stem and cut off. 10 cm sprouts with young leaves should remain on the flowerbed.
- Cut off shoots are spilled with a disinfectant.
IMPORTANT: The seedlings of the first year are not cut! Only from the second and later.
The whiskers are removed in the same way as the leaves. Cut out all the old and dried out. 1-2 mustaches with rosettes are left on the bush.
Both regular and remontant strawberries are pruned.
Typical mistakes
You can't:
- Tearing off leaves or whiskers with your hands is a big injury, the bush will die.
- Cut at the root.
- Mow the garden. Minimal shoots should remain.
Follow-up care
When the pruning is completed, you need to loosen and feed the garden, and then insulate for the winter. What do we have to do:
- Water daily with warm water (room temperature). It is necessary to water from a watering can with a fine sprinkler.
- To pickle the ground from pests.
- Loosen the area between the bushes. The row spacing should be loosened especially deeply, at least 10-15 cm.
- Apply top dressing between the rows.
- Before cold weather, cover the area with straw, spruce branches or special agrofilm. Be sure to remove them in the spring when the snow melts to keep the strawberries from rotting.
In general, pruning strawberries is a good way to rejuvenate the bushes and get a later, but larger harvest. There will be a little less berries, but they will be larger and sweeter. However, this technology requires the plantation to be covered for the winter. If you grow strawberries in a "natural" way, that is, without shelter, it is better not to touch it before winter and let it overwinter as it is, without cutting off any leaves or antennae.
Do you know how to care for strawberries after harvest?
Original articleand many other materials, you can find on ourwebsite.
Read also about feeding strawberries in the following article:Feeding strawberries during flowering for a good harvest