When to remove mustache from strawberries and why is it needed?

Garden strawberries, also known as strawberries, reproduce in three ways - by dividing the bush, by seeds, and long leafless processes (tendrils). You need to remove the mustache from strawberries if you do not plan to rejuvenate or expand the planting. To get the maximum effect from the procedure, it must be carried out within a certain time frame. If the removal of the whiskers is not carried out in a timely manner, the crop is formed in a smaller volume.

Why remove mustache from strawberries?

Strawberry spends a lot of energy on the formation of a mustache. Leafless shoots grow quite long and have a dense structure, nutrients are consumed for their growth. As a result, the plant is no longer capable of abundant fruiting. When leaving the whiskers of berries on the bush, less is formed, they grow smaller. In addition, the antennae interfere with the care of strawberries.

If the shoots are regularly removed, fruiting will be qualitatively different. Of course, a significant role is assigned to the observance of agricultural technology.

Leave a mustache only if there is a need to update strawberries or expand the planting. Mother bushes are selected in advance, marking plants that have yielded a bountiful harvest of large and tasty berries. In the next season, the selected specimens are not allowed to bloom, breaking off the buds. As a result, strawberries will provide nutrition to the forming mustache, which will have a positive effect on the quality of the planting material. In August, vegetative shoots are separated from the mother liquor and young rosettes are planted in a new place.

Mustache removal time

Strawberry does not stop the growth of propagation shoots on its own throughout the growing season. According to the rules, the mustache from strawberries is removed at least twice:

1. The first time this is done before flowering or during it. The whiskers will continue to form during the formation of the ovary, pouring the berries.
2. The second time the procedure is carried out at the end of summer. In warm weather, trimming the mustache can be postponed until September. Shoots are removed at the same time as pruning drying old leaves.
3. If time permits, an intermediate removal can be carried out by cutting off Victoria's mustache in the summer, immediately after harvest.

The more often this technique is carried out, the less the plants are depleted, which means that it will be possible to get bountiful harvests from them for several seasons in a row. If the bed with berries is small, the appearance of new shoots is easy to track. You can remove them immediately, without waiting for the appearance of young outlets.

How to remove mustache correctly?

Mustache trimming should be done according to a specific technology. Rough or improper removal will cause the plants to experience stress, which can lead to disease.

Gardeners should adhere to the following guidelines:

• You cannot tear off the mustache with your hands: with this method of removal, you can easily damage the bush itself. For work, garden shears or pruners are suitable.
• Do not cut at the very base of the shoot. You need to leave a stump 5–7 cm high.
• No pruning is carried out in rainy weather. High humidity promotes the penetration of fungal infection into damaged tissues.
• If the work is done during a hot period, it should be done in the morning or evening. Active sun increases the stress of plants.

After the mass trimming of the mustache, the strawberries are sprayed with a solution of "Fitosporin" for preventive purposes. If you do not want to use the drug, you can replace it with an infusion of wood ash (10 tbsp. L ash powder per 5 liters of water, leave for a week).

Using whiskers for breeding

The mother bushes selected in the previous season should be monitored.

Only first-order sockets are suitable for reproduction. No more than 3 young strong plants should be left on one mother plant. Such children are closest to the rest of the mother bush. After the appearance of the first-order rosettes, the mustache is pinched, preventing it from growing further. All unnecessary propagation shoots are removed at the same time.

If a large amount of planting material is required, second-order rosettes (no more than two) are left on the bush.

You can root the babies right in the garden next to the mother plant or use small pots filled with loose and nutritious soil for this purpose. For reliability, young sockets are pinned to the ground with wire or fixed in place in another way. They should not be separated from the mother liquor until their own roots appear. When 3 fully developed leaves appear on small bushes, they are planted in a permanent place.

In the middle lane, disembarkation takes place in early August. Before the onset of cold weather, young strawberries should adapt and root well in the soil. In the next season, young bushes will already be able to give their first harvest.

When planting, a row spacing of 50 cm is left. The spacing between plants in one row should be about 35 cm. It is necessary that the growing point is level with the soil level.

So, in order to obtain bountiful harvests of garden strawberries, it is necessary to trim the mustache. The bushes freed from unnecessary load will direct all their forces to the formation of berries and will not be depleted. Several strawberries can be left to breed. In this case, on the contrary, they give the mustache the opportunity to grow, and the peduncles break out.