A few decades ago, gardeners cut off the strawberry foliage completely in the fall after the entire harvest had been harvested. But recently, more and more summer residents prefer to leave foliage on strawberries until spring, and many do not remove old foliage at all, as a result, young foliage grows on the bushes at the same time, and old foliage lies below on the ground.
It’s worth figuring out whether this procedure is needed at all, and if so: when is it best to carry it out – in the fall or in the spring?
It should be remembered that not a single action in the garden should be carried out just for the sake of doing it. Each of them is aimed at correcting or preventing some problem and obtaining a positive result. And strawberries should also be pruned only if the plant needs this procedure.
Why prune strawberries?
Strawberry pruning is the removal of all foliage on strawberry bushes that have been harvested in a given season. This is done for the following purposes:
- to partially rejuvenate strawberry bushes;
- to remove damaged, dried or diseased foliage;
- for preventive purposes - to reduce the risk of bacterial or fungal diseases;
- reduce the number of harmful insects that can overwinter in old foliage.
You need to approach the pruning procedure wisely and choose the right time for it, only then will pruning benefit the strawberry plantation. Therefore, you should decide when it is better to remove old foliage so that the plants are least damaged.
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.
Bush processing
Strawberries require careful care. To get a good harvest, you need to work hard. Many summer residents are interested in how to care for Victoria in the spring.
Crop care begins immediately after the snow melts. At this time, it is recommended to scald the strawberries with boiling water. This will not harm sleeping bushes, and the soil around will be disinfected.
After this, you need to trim last year's leaves from the bushes. The entire plot should be cleared of debris, last year's mulch, plant debris and frozen bushes. They may contain pest eggs and pathogenic bacteria. It is recommended to cut the soil between the rows to a depth of approximately 3 cm, adding a new portion of humus
Additionally, the bushes are treated with a 3% solution of copper or iron sulfate, or a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture.
Strawberry pruning time
You can prune strawberries at different times from spring to autumn; each period has its own advantages and disadvantages, so we need to talk about each season separately.
Spring pruning
If the winter was cold and snowless, then even strong bushes of this berry crop may lose some of their foliage. This usually happens when growing strawberries in the middle zone or in Siberia. Usually, before the onset of cold weather, the root zone is mulched to save the root system from freezing, but this will not protect the foliage from the cold, so it needs to be cut off in the spring.
After the snow has melted and the soil has dried, you should carefully inspect the strawberry plantation and carefully cut out diseased, rotten and damaged leaves. When pruning, you should not touch young green foliage and buds that have not yet developed.
You must be careful when pruning strawberry bushes so as not to damage the flower stalks that have not yet begun to grow.
Autumn pruning
Pruning foliage in the fall can be an even more dangerous procedure than in the spring, because it can further injure the strawberry bushes.
Typically, summer residents carry out this procedure in the fall, because they want to free the garden from remnants of vegetation. However, such a measure often brings more negative consequences than benefits.
If trimmed leaves are damaged by pests and contain larvae or harmful insects themselves, they should never be placed in a compost heap. And if the gardeners did not pay attention to this and put all the remaining vegetation in compost, then next year they will feed all the crops in the garden with contaminated organic matter. And then you will have to destroy harmful insects throughout the area.
Strawberry bushes, deprived of natural protection from leaves, will have a hard time withstanding even slight cold snaps, and during severe frosts they can freeze completely.
Therefore, in the fall, the pruning procedure is carried out no less than 30 days before the onset of frost, removing only damaged or diseased leaves. In this case, they try not to damage the core of the bushes.
The trimmed foliage is destroyed outside the site, and the strawberry beds are covered with mown grass, pine needles or high-moor peat.
Pruning after harvest
It is best to prune this berry crop immediately after harvesting. In this case, during the remaining warm months before the cold weather, new foliage appears on the bushes, new flower buds are formed for the next season, and a sufficient amount of useful substances is stored. Therefore, they come to the cold period stronger and prepared, so they tolerate the winter well, unlike strawberries that were pruned at another time.
Protection from pests and diseases
Healthy and strong garden strawberry bushes will withstand the winter and produce a good volume of berries next year. If there are diseased or pest-affected plantings on the beds, then after fruiting and pruning they must be treated with fungicides and insecticides.
A dangerous enemy of culture is the strawberry mite. For pest control and prevention, Karbofos and acaricide solutions are used:
- Thiovit Jet;
- Kleschevitis;
- Actellik.
A solution of colloidal sulfur, a granular substance of inorganic origin, helps prevent fungal infections. But it must be used in warm weather, otherwise the effectiveness of the drug is reduced. Spraying the bushes with Bordeaux mixture also gives good results.
Metaldehyde helps in the fight against snails and slugs that become active in damp weather. The granules are scattered between the rows, lightly embedded in the soil. In addition to it, dry mustard powder mixed with hot pepper and dusting with wood ash are used.
Proper and timely pruning of strawberries will allow the plants to rest after fruiting and quickly form new shoots. Stronger, healthy plants will easily endure the winter and will again delight you with a high harvest next year.
How to carry out the pruning procedure
To carry out this procedure, you need to prepare the following tools and materials:
- sharpened and disinfected scissors or pruning shears;
- container for cut leaves;
- ripper;
- mulch;
- work gloves.
All foliage and tendrils should be trimmed but not torn. They are too strong, so trying to pull out a leaf can tear out part of the bush. When pruning, you cannot remove only the tops of the leaves, since the main harmful insects “live” on the root part of the petioles, so there will be no particular benefit for such pruning. You need to trim the foliage down to the very base.
You should gradually move along the strawberry bed, removing all questionable leaves, tendrils and flowering stalks, putting them in a container. If the cut parts of the bushes are not damaged by diseases or insects, they can be taken to the compost heap. Otherwise, all cut green mass is burned outside the site. After the pruning procedure, you need to loosen the rows and irrigate, as well as spray the soil with insecticidal preparations to destroy pests that may remain in the soil.
In order to increase the immunity of pruned plants, after pruning they are fed with a solution of manure diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10, or with a solution of chicken manure (1:20), then powder the bushes with wood ash.
All of the above procedures are included in a set of measures aimed at preparing strawberry bushes for wintering. In addition, strawberry bushes have a unique development cycle - preparation for their active fruiting next year begins in early autumn. During this period, plants actively form flower and vegetative buds. And thanks to the autumn application of fertilizers, nutrients and sucrose accumulate in the vegetative part of the strawberry and the root system - they help the strawberry to better withstand frost.
All strawberry bushes that are severely damaged by diseases or harmful insects must be completely removed from the garden bed and burned outside the site. The place where the diseased bush grew is disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
After pruning the foliage, strawberry bushes should be sprayed with a solution of fungicidal preparations for preventive purposes to prevent the risk of future fungal and bacterial diseases. The most effective of all fungicides intended for preventive treatments is Ridomil Gold. Thanks to this remedy, strawberries will more easily withstand winter cold in the future and will be more resistant to diseases in the future.
How to deal with a mustache
When pruning foliage, gardeners often think about what to do with the mustache. There is only one rule here - in order for the strawberry harvest to be high, it is necessary to regularly remove the mustache. If gardeners did not remove them during the summer season, then it’s time to do it after harvesting. They cannot be pulled out by hand, just like the foliage, since they are firmly bound by the bushes.
All the mustaches from the bush are collected together and trimmed, leaving a section from the base 10 cm long. When pruning, it is important not to damage the heart, which is located in the center of the bush - it is from this that new leaves and flower stalks will appear in the future.
If there are no plans to create a new strawberry plantation this season, then it is better to remove the mustache completely. Otherwise, the bushes of the crop itself will not be visible behind the new rosettes.
Common mistakes
With proper pruning, the first harvest is expected within a month after the strawberries awaken. But gardeners, especially beginners, make mistakes that prevent fruit formation or even lead to the death of the bushes.
The most serious problem is excessive pruning of shoots. It is important to use moderation, otherwise the plants will take a long time to recover after treatment. Only the damaged part is removed. It is customary to leave at least 1/4 of the total green mass.
The wrong time can lead to a decrease in yield. The pruning period depends on the weather conditions of certain regions. It is important that care activities are carried out in calm weather, when there is no risk of frost or precipitation. Changes in climatic conditions are detrimental to bushes that have undergone pruning.
Caring for strawberries after pruning needs to be organized correctly. Here it is important to maintain a constant microclimate in the garden beds and to take moderation in everything. Insufficient watering leads to drying out of the roots and rapid withering of flower stalks. Fertilizers containing caustic substances (for example, chlorine) stop growth and vegetation. Careless loosening damages fragile roots, which in 70% of cases ends in the death of plantings.
Video about the rules, features and procedure for spring pruning of strawberries
When and how to prune strawberry bushes in spring. Detailed description of the cutting process. How not to harm the future harvest. Join the viewing!
Based on the above, it becomes clear that the best time for pruning strawberries is the end of summer after harvest, after which the plants have time to gain strength before frost. But if necessary, this procedure can be carried out in early spring or autumn - during September and early October. The main thing is to carry out pruning according to all the rules, so as not to damage the bushes themselves.
