When the season for the development of strawberry inflorescences approaches, one can often note a disruption in such a process as flowering. It consists in the fact that, instead of flowering and moving into the stage when fruiting occurs, the strawberry bush begins to produce mustaches. Strawberries may grow tendrils and fail to bloom for a number of reasons. However, having studied each separately, you can choose the most appropriate way to combat this problem and not throw away a shrub that is still capable of being suitable for fruiting.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to unfavorable weather conditions
In areas characterized by cold winters with insufficient snow, flower buds may freeze. In such a situation, the strawberry produces whiskers, but does not bloom. To avoid this, it is worth insulating the beds with fallen leaves, straw, and agrofibre. It is worth throwing snow on the site.
Return frosts also pose a danger to strawberries. If there is a risk of freezing temperatures during the period when flower stalks appear, it is worth covering the beds with film or non-woven material. You should definitely take it off in the morning.
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Strawberries damaged by frost
Frost damage to strawberries is not uncommon, especially if there was an alternation of thaws and frosts. Sudden changes in temperature, coupled with exposure of the soil during a thaw, do not contribute to the health of strawberries.
When garden strawberry plants freeze, hearts and flower buds die. The bushes look healthy, but by the slow growth of leaves and deformation of the plants, it can be understood that the plants have become hypothermic during the cold period of the year.
So, a winter with little snow is the enemy of strawberries. What to do? It is necessary to cover strawberries for the winter in any available way, but without fanaticism, otherwise the plants will rot under the cover. It is recommended to use non-woven material, such as agrospan, as well as straw or hay for covering. In the spring, you need to remove the cover to avoid damping off.
Lack of lighting is a common reason why strawberries do not bloom. It is not the duration of illumination that is important, but the intensity. Any shadow from buildings or trees harms strawberries.
Remember, strawberries love the sun, which means it’s stupid to expect flowers and berries from them in the shade. Look closely at the strawberry plantation, especially on a sunny day. If you notice a shadow falling on the plants, then the reason is a lack of light. An urgent transplant of strawberries to a sunny area of the garden is required.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to loss of varietal qualities
If there are no berries on the strawberry bushes, and the fruits that are present look deformed, there are too many seeds, then changing the planting material will help solve the situation. First of all, you need to carefully dig up the beds. If strawberries have been growing in this place for more than five years, then it is time to plant them in another area.
It is undesirable to plant rosettes in a new territory that have not bear fruit, as they may be infected or attacked by pests. It is recommended to rejuvenate remontant strawberries that do not produce berries by dividing the bush. This method will only help once, since during the division of the old plant it will bear fruit for the last time. When planting strawberries, you should not use a distant outlet; the first ones are considered the most viable.
Internal reasons for the fact that there is little or no ovary
Sometimes the cause of a poor harvest of garden strawberries despite good and timely flowering is incorrect agricultural technology. If the gardener is inexperienced, he may not know or forget about some aspects of care on which fruiting depends.
Recessed growing point
When planting strawberries, it is important to correctly position the bush relative to the soil surface. Each seedling has a so-called heart - a growth point from which new shoots grow
If the “heart” is buried, garden strawberries will grow poorly and bear fruit poorly.
A properly planted strawberry has a growing point at ground level.
In properly planted garden strawberries, the growth point is located at soil level
If after planting the ground has settled and the bushes have become deeper, it is necessary to pull them out of the ground a little, and if, as a result of heavy watering, the “heart” has been washed out of the ground, it is necessary to sprinkle peat or fertile soil around the bush.
Video: how to plant strawberries correctly
Late boarding
If strawberry seedlings were planted at the end of last summer, you should not expect a big harvest. The bushes may bloom, but there will be very few berries, since the bush has not yet completely adjusted to the new place and does not have enough strength to bear fruit fully.
If strawberries were planted at the end of summer, then the next year the young bushes will not give a good harvest
For active fruiting next year, young strawberry bushes are planted in July.
Excess nitrogen
It is necessary to fertilize strawberries in most regions of our country, especially where the soil is poor and the summer is short. However, you need to do it right. Some inexperienced gardeners give the bushes too much nitrogen fertilizer, and the strawberries begin to “fatten”: there are a lot of leaves and flowers, but few ovaries and, accordingly, berries too.
For good fruiting, strawberries need phosphorus and potassium. Feeding options:
- in spring with a mixture of ammophosphate and ammonium nitrate (2:1);
- at the beginning of summer, use any mineral fertilizer for strawberries according to the instructions;
- during flowering, potassium monophosphate (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water) or ash solution (1 liter of ash per bucket of water).
Too old bushes
Garden strawberries cannot grow in one place for decades; plantings need constant rejuvenation. The most active fruiting of strawberries occurs in the second or third year after planting, and then the yield sharply decreases.
Strawberry plantations need to be renewed every three to four years, and seedlings can be prepared from the second year of life of strawberry bushes in a special mother bed (by planting rooted tendrils there from the most productive bushes).
Rooted strawberry tendrils are planted on the mother bed
Weed varieties
Sometimes very large strawberry bushes with a large number of tendrils are observed on the plantation. They bloom profusely, but produce practically no berries or produce small, irregularly shaped, unsweetened ones. These are weed varieties: Bakhmutka, Podveska, Dubnyak, Zhmurka - weed varieties that need to be gotten rid of.
Strawberry weed varieties can bloom very profusely, but you won’t get any berries from them
Incorrect ratio of male and female bushes
If we are talking about garden strawberries, which are more common in our gardens, then there is no problem: their plants are bisexual. But the less common strawberry (or Victoria), which was planted by our grandmothers, has female and male bushes.
Female strawberry flowers have a pistil, male flowers have stamens.
Bushes with 5–6 leaves and a heart with a diameter of 1 cm and a rounded-flattened shape are female and bear fruit well. And rosettes with 3–4 leaves and an elongated light green heart with a diameter of up to 5 mm are male. They produce a lot of whiskers, but few berries.
If it is strawberries that grow on your site, do not remove the female bushes, but also leave the male bushes in a ratio of approximately 1 “boy” to 4 “girls”.
Video: how to distinguish a female strawberry bush from a male one
An attentive gardener will definitely understand the reasons for the “bad behavior” of his strawberry bushes and, having found out the reason, will do everything possible to eliminate it. And then garden strawberries (strawberries) will delight you with an excellent harvest of large and juicy berries.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to late planting
The best time to plant strawberries is the second half of summer (late July - August). The deadline for planting strawberries in the middle zone is the beginning of September.
If you plant seedlings of this crop later, the plants simply will not have time to take root and grow a strong enough root system to bloom in the spring.
There is nothing “deadly” about this. If you care for your strawberry bushes correctly, they will most likely bloom and produce their first harvest next year.
Diseases and pests
Flowering is the first half of the growing season, when not every summer resident will notice signs of pest damage or an incipient infection. Symptoms appear later, when flowers can no longer be expected. Strawberries will not bloom if the plant is affected by:
- Spotting: ramularia - brown spots with a white core - a fungal disease; brown spot - similar specks throughout the plant.
- Gray rot and late blight that overwintered in the garden bed.
- Powdery mildew - a whitish coating on the leaves.
Treat the crop with fungicides throughout the season. For prevention, cleaned beds are treated before winter.
Pests - weevils, nematodes - prevent the bushes from blooming and bearing crops.
Strawberry beds require constant attention from the gardener, but the reward for the work is abundant flowering and excellent quality of berries.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to frost
Serious damage to the berry harvest can be caused by return spring frosts, which have been regularly repeated in recent years during the flowering period of strawberries, especially in low-lying areas. When the temperature drops to -1...-1.5°C, strawberry flowers are damaged.
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When can you plant strawberries with mustaches in the summer?
Most often, early varieties and especially the first opened flowers suffer from frost. In damaged flowers, the middle becomes black as the pistils and stamens die.
To protect strawberries from frost, it is most effective to cover them with spunbond, film, matting, and newspapers. In this case, you need to place branches and grass under the film so that the flowers do not touch the film.
A protective canopy of shrubs or tall vegetable crops planted on the north side also reduces the likelihood of frost damage. Drip irrigation of plants is also carried out quite often. This is a very effective way to combat frost, and the death of strawberry flowers is sharply reduced when it is carried out.
In large collective gardens, smoking has a great effect to protect against frost. It begins immediately before freezing and ends 1–1.5 hours after sunrise.
Features of cultivation
One of the characteristics of this plant is that it sometimes stops blooming. This can be seen too clearly at the productive age for strawberries - 2-4 years.
An important factor influencing flowering is weather conditions, especially air and soil temperature. In cold springs and cool summers, strawberries do not always bloom profusely, resulting in few berries. If there is a lack of heat for the plant during the formation of flower buds, a complete absence of berries may occur.
This berry crop takes root very well and grows in greenhouses. If the experience of growing strawberries in natural conditions was not entirely successful, then it is quite possible to try to plant and grow them in an artificial - greenhouse - environment.
Another common problem can be an incorrectly selected plant variety. Ornamental and weedy varieties rarely bear fruit, and some elite varieties require careful and competent care.
The so-called “imposters” who adapt to fruiting strawberries can be distinguished by the multiple mustaches that appear on them even before the fruiting period begins.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to lack of nutrition
A starving crop does not produce a harvest - this applies to any fruit planting. Strawberries require regular feeding: in early spring - nitrogen for greens, after 2-3 weeks potassium, phosphorus for flowering and fruits, after processing during the season and always before winter - mulching with humus or compost. A plant that has enough macro- and microelements blooms on time and bears fruit abundantly.
Errors in landing
The berry is one of the plants whose fruiting is prevented by improper planting. The bush grows from a heart - a dense nodule above the roots. By burying or leaving this part above the ground, the gardener deprives himself of the harvest. The base of the bush rests on the ground and is not covered with soil - correct planting. While cultivating the bed, weeding, or loosening, soil may accidentally fall into the center of the rosette - and the strawberry bushes will no longer bloom. What to do, there is only one answer - plant correctly, monitor the condition. If the soil has been washed away from under the heart, dig it up, if it has fallen asleep, clean it.
Too dense planting interferes with normal vegetation and increases the risk of diseases and pest damage. This rule of agricultural technology must also be observed so that the plant blooms on time and bears fruit abundantly.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to excess nutrition
Each type of fertilizer stimulates different crop resources. The first fertilizing is nitrogen - for increasing green mass. A strong bush produces good fruit. But all subsequent fertilizing does not include nitrogen, otherwise the strawberries will begin to fatten: powerful spreading bushes with huge green leaves - and not a single flower.
This happens when an inexperienced summer resident, wanting to stimulate vegetation, manures the garden bed well in early spring, applies nitrogen-containing nitrate under the roots, and spills urea over the leaves... All these fertilizers contain nitrogen. As a result, the strawberry does not bloom, but produces tendrils and grows. And for flowering you need potassium and phosphorus. Compliance with the feeding schedule and the correct “menu” will ensure the timely appearance of flower stalks.
If an overdose occurs and the strawberries do not bloom, what should you do to correct the situation? In dry summers, frequent heavy watering will dilute the concentration of fertilizers; the addition of phosphorus-potassium complexes stimulates flowering. But it is rarely possible to get rid of the consequences of an overdose this season.
Reason 3: weed varieties
If proper care does not give a positive result, it is likely that along with the seedlings purchased on the market, you received weed varieties, for example, Dubnyak, Podveska and others. In the garden beds the bushes look absolutely healthy, but they do not bear fruit. If berries are formed, they are small and deformed; you don’t even want to pick them. During the season, each weed bush produces about 40 rosettes. They quickly take root and fill the garden bed. If you do not get rid of these bushes in time, they will crowd out cultivated varieties. Then you definitely won’t have to wait for the harvest.
- The Zhmurka variety is easy to identify by its very low bushes and numerous wrinkled leaves. Strawberries bloom well, but instead of forming ovaries, the flowers simply close and dry out.
- Bakhmutka is a tall variety with pubescent leaves. This is a profusely flowering plant with small and pink berries. The bones are pressed in, but come off easily.
- Features of the pendant: pinkish inflorescences are clearly visible against the background of other flowers, small elongated red berries.
- Dubnyak does not form flower stalks at all.
Weed bushes are removed by double “cleaning”:
- during flowering, when among the flowering bushes the non-flowering Dubnyak bushes and the “Pendants” bushes blooming with pink flowers stand out clearly;
- during the fruiting period. At this time, weed varieties produce small berries or a complete absence of berries.
If the weed varieties have managed to fill the entire garden bed, you will have to uproot all the bushes and purchase new seedlings in a safe place. As you can see, getting rid of weeds is not so easy. That is why gardeners recommend removing any suspicious bushes from the garden.
Strawberries do not bloom or bear fruit due to poor pollination
The lack of green ovaries may be due to a disruption in the pollination process. This usually happens during prolonged rains during the flowering period. Light rain is not a problem for insects, but heavy rain prevents bees and bumblebees from doing their work. Of course, you can’t do anything about the weather, but you can attract insects on clear days by treating the bushes with warm water with the addition of honey or a few drops of anise or coriander oil.
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It is possible that the cause of the problem lies in the abuse of fertilizing and chemical treatments of flowering bushes. Insects that pollinate flowers are afraid of the smell of chemicals. Add to this the number of honey bees that are decreasing every year.
Perhaps the gardener's mistake is that from year to year he grew only one variety that he liked. And although most varieties do not need pollinator varieties, experience shows that if they are nevertheless planted nearby, strawberry yields will increase by almost 30%.
The practice of experienced summer residents shows that it is more effective to grow two or three varieties of berries at once. The main thing is not to go wrong with early varieties that bloom in early May. At this time, even minor night frosts are destructive for strawberries. A striking example of this is the Bouquet berry, which dies completely during accidental frosts. In areas located in the lowlands, it is better to completely abandon the cultivation of early varieties, giving preference only to mid- and late-ripening ones.
Lack of lighting
When choosing a place for strawberry beds, check the lighting intensity all day long. Buildings and trees casting shadows on the site are a reason to move the berry plantation. The more shading factors, the fewer flowers, the lower the quality of the crop.
A summer resident who has discovered a lack of lighting in a strawberry plantation due to the absence of flowers is forced to either eliminate the cause of the shading (cut down a tree or bushes) or transfer the berries to another place. And this is the loss of at least one more harvest. Therefore, agricultural technicians recommend choosing the planting site for berry crops especially carefully.
Malnutrition
Less hospitable owners, on the contrary, forget that garden strawberries are a living creature and also want to eat. On poor soil and in the hands of a lazy summer resident who does not bother to feed the plants with vital nutrients in such conditions, this garden crop completely loses interest in life and refuses to bloom and bear fruit.
The correct feeding regime is the key to lush flowering and abundant fruiting of strawberries. Since you have taken up the tug, do not forget that you are responsible for those you have tamed. Mulch the plantation with strawberries with a garden mixture of humus and fertile soil (1:1), after a couple of weeks, feed the plants at the roots with a solution of complex fertilizer containing macro- and microelements, and in early August strengthen the bushes by fertilizing with phosphorus-potassium preparations or wood ash. Next year they will definitely thank you for your care with a generous harvest.
