How to grow and care for ampelous strawberries?

The plant, known to many gardeners as "ampelous strawberry", is actually a subspecies of strawberry with very large fruits. One of the key features of this culture is that it is curly. When grown correctly, such strawberries can not only delight you with delicious sweet fruits, but also become a real decoration of your home or garden. In addition, caring for this plant is quite simple.

Features and varieties

Ampel strawberries have a number of differences from the usual garden varieties, in addition to the fact that they curl. However, this word in relation to this plant can be used very conditionally - in order for the mustache to twist around the support, you will have to tie them.

Features of ampelous strawberries:

• flowering and fruiting not only shoots, but also whiskers;
• harvesting several times a season, and in apartment conditions - all year round;
• tolerates poor lighting well, which allows it to be grown indoors, in particular in city apartments.

For the best results when growing curly strawberries, the following varieties are recommended:

• Homemade delicacy;
• Tuscany;
• Queen Elizabeth.

Landing

At the planting stage, caring for ampelous strawberries practically does not require any effort. Growing climbing strawberry bushes in pots is the most common way of keeping this plant. Planting is usually done at the end of July - August. The desired container size is about thirty centimeters deep. Holes for water must be made in it.

A layer of drainage is laid at the bottom of the pots or pot, and then covered with prepared earth. Do not plant strawberries too tightly or too deep.

Advice

If, after planting, there are excessively sunny days, it is worth keeping the immature plants in the shade for about a week.

A bush of such a strawberry grown in a pot looks very decorative due to the flowering and fruiting whiskers, beautifully descending down the walls of the pots.

It is also possible to grow curly strawberries directly in the beds. The sprouts are planted at a distance of at least thirty centimeters from each other. With this method, you can either just let the mustache creep along the ground or tie it to the props, or come up with some more decorative version of their location.

For example, a lattice is often used for this purpose, preferably no more than a meter high. A low wicker fence will also work. The whiskers start up in random order between the cells of the lattice, gradually entwining it all over. It may be necessary in some places to additionally tie the plant to this support.

Also, some people create pyramid beds for growing strawberries. Three boxes of different sizes are stacked on top of each other. Big below, then medium, and at the top the smallest. The sizes are selected so that the plant has enough room for normal growth and development. All three containers are filled with soil, after which strawberries are planted in them.

For any planting option, it is recommended to use a soil mixture: peat and turf in a 2: 1 ratio with the addition of a small amount of sand. You can also buy ready-made strawberry potting soil instead. After planting, the plants must be watered abundantly.

Care

Caring for the plant will not be too difficult, since it is quite unpretentious. However, there are several things to consider when growing. Ampel strawberry does not tolerate hot weather and too bright sun.Therefore, it is recommended to plant it in the shade or create artificial shelters.

It is believed that in order to obtain the maximum number of berries, certain temperature regimes must be observed:

• before the fruiting period - about five to seven degrees Celsius with an air humidity of eighty percent;
• during the fruiting period - from twenty to twenty-five degrees with an air humidity of sixty percent, and the soil - eighty.

Watering is recommended twice a day: morning and evening. At the same time, you should not use a lot of water; it is enough to just slightly moisten the soil. If the strawberry is growing in a flower pot, then the following watering method can be used: the pot is placed in a tray filled with water and kept there for thirty minutes. Thus, the plant receives the amount of liquid it needs, but does not become waterlogged.

An integral part of caring for any plant is soil feeding. In the case of strawberries, it must be done every fifteen to twenty days. As a rule, fertilizer dissolved in water is applied during the next watering. It is best to use the following mixture for these purposes: superphosphate, potassium permanganate, boric acid, ammonium nitrate, copper and zinc.

Pruning is also an important part of strawberry care. After the first harvest, the lower leaves and flowering buds of the plant are cut. Some sources recommend removing the mustache as well. It is also believed that the very first flowers that appear can be cut off completely to increase the future yield.

Advice

When the bush reaches the age of three years, it is recommended to dig it up (at the end of fruiting), and plant a young one in its place.

Despite the fact that ampelous strawberries are resistant to frost, they must be covered for the winter. You can use spruce branches, polyethylene, burlap or other thick fabric. If possible, it is even advised to bring the bushes into the room for the cold season.

If strawberries are grown in an apartment, there is a need for another aspect of care - pollination. You can brush over the inflorescences or tilt two adjacent flowers to each other. As a last resort, it is recommended to use a fan for these purposes.

Pests and diseases

Almost all varieties of ampelous strawberries are attacked by harmful insects. Most often, two types of parasites can be found on plants.

• Strawberry mite. The infection can be identified by the berries and leaves. They wither, shrink, shrink. For treatment, you can treat the affected bushes three times (with an interval of a week) with one of the drugs: "Nero", "Sherpa", "Fufanon", "BI-58", "Actellik". If the plants are too badly damaged by the mite, before processing, it is necessary to remove all leaves from them, which are then burned.
• Nematode. The symptoms are almost the same as in the previous case. Plus, the stems become denser, become thick, but short, and the berries harden. Unfortunately, all affected plants will have to be removed and burned, as this parasite is very resistant to chemical pest control methods. The place where the destroyed bushes grew must be treated with bleach.

Also, ampelous strawberries can be susceptible to fungal diseases. For their prevention, it is recommended twice - at the beginning and at the end of the season - to treat the plants with a preparation containing copper. For example, Bordeaux liquid. For treatment, various fungicides are used (agents for combating fungi).

Output

Ampel strawberry is a type of large-fruited strawberry. Due to the flowering and fruiting of the whiskers, it gives a rich harvest, and almost all year round. In addition, the appearance of this plant is very decorative. Also, this species is notable for the fact that its cultivation is possible in a city apartment.

Caring for such a strawberry is quite simple, although, of course, it has its own nuances and pitfalls. This plant does not like heat and bright sunlight, however, it is also undesirable to overcool it. He needs frequent, but not too abundant watering and regular fertilization of the soil.

In addition, climbing strawberries easily fall prey to dangerous pests, which are important to detect and destroy in time. When grown indoors, pollination is also added to the care of ampelous strawberries.