This method of propagation of strawberries, subject to certain rules, will not only give excellent seedlings, but will also bring a large harvest of strawberries every year, and will preserve its best qualities..
Experienced summer residents know that it is not recommended to use mustaches from fruiting bushes. Each berry bush should perform only one function: either to produce fruit or a mustache. The plant simply does not have enough nutrients for both. Even if the bush has already ceased to bear fruit, his strength is still not enough for a high-quality and strong mustache, since all his strength was spent on ripening the fruits.
Strawberry bushes, which seem to “work on two fronts”, are very quickly depleted, start to hurt and yield gradually decreases. The berries on such bushes become smaller, the taste characteristics are lost. In the future, culture may die altogether.
Propagation of strawberries using uterine bushes
The process of breeding strawberries must begin with the selection of the strongest and most resilient bushes. They are called mother bushes. How to identify and remember them? Selection begins in the first year of planting the strawberry bushes. On all planted berry bushes, it is imperative to remove all mustaches without exception. The culture must give all its strength to the fruiting process. The gardener’s task is to carefully observe all the plants and mark the best bushes (you can use a bright sticker or a small peg). The best plants will be those that had the largest fruits and that remained intact (neither by pests, nor by weather changes). These berry bushes are called mother bushes..
After the end of fruiting, the best strawberry bushes need to be transplanted into a separate area. Between each uterine bush, you need to leave at least forty centimeters, and the distance between rows is about eighty centimeters.
In the next season, work with selected strawberry bushes continues. Now each bush must put all its energy into the development of the mustache, so you need to get rid of all the buds that appear. Berry bushes should not bloom or form an ovary. This year, vegetative reproduction will be the main thing for plants, that is, the development of whiskers.
The mustache will begin to appear in the first summer month. It is necessary to do a rigorous selection again – only the strongest and largest mustache will be needed, and all the rest need to be cut off. Sockets will very soon form on the selected mustache, and on them, in turn, the roots.
With the appearance of roots on the rosettes, you can choose any of two options for the further development of a young bush. The outlet does not need to be separated from the adult bush, it is enough to deepen its lower part a little into the loose soil in the garden and follow all the prescribed rules for caring for the seedlings, or for each outlet provide its own separate container for the development of the root system.
Transplanting strawberry seedlings to a new site is best done in the last month of summer. Before the onset of severe cold weather, there will still be enough time for the bushes to take root in a new place and take root well. About ten days before the transfer of seedlings, you need to cut the mustache on which the rosettes have formed. During these days, the plants must learn to feed through their own root system, and not from the mother bush..
Growing seedlings with uterine bushes can be repeated for two or even three years in a row, and then you can again find young and strong plants that will replace them. The entire selection procedure will need to be repeated again. It is worth noting that it is better to choose strawberries of two and three years of age as mother bushes. They develop much more whiskers than a one-year-old.