Strawberry does not bloom: what is the reason and what to do?

Strawberry is a rather unpretentious and undemanding garden culture.However, often there are situations when gardeners fertilize the ground, water planting, loosen the ground and weed weed, but there is still no flowering. Most often this indicates the shortcomings in the agrotechnology of culture, but sometimes the causes can be much more serious.

Consider the main reasons.

• Quite rarely formed ovaries on the bushes planted in the fall. All work associated with planting should be carried out no later than the first half of August., because at the end of summer strawberries are beginning to develop flower buds for the future growing season. If the plant is planted in the fall, then full-fledged buds cannot be laid in any way, a whole year will be lost, in this case you can only get a harvest through the season.
• Often the reason for the lack of harvest becomes illiterate planting young bushes. Perhaps they were too deeply buried, so when planting pay attention to the fact that the "hearts" were not covered with soil. The easiest way to cope with this cause is to simply open the hearts, removing the ground from them.

• Many gardeners believe that the more vitamins and minerals, the better. This is not exactly the case. feeding abusecontaining nitrogen, leads to an intensive increase in green mass. With this approach, the plant does not have the strength to bloom and the formation of fruits. If the reason for the absence of ovaries is in this, then it is possible to completely cut off all the foliage, which will take most of the nitrogen with it, and water the remaining sprouts with potash and phosphorus preparations with the addition of wood ash. As a rule, by the onset of cold weather such a strawberry will give young rosettes and be able to form flower buds for further fruiting.
• There is also a reverse situation when plants lack nutrients; in this case, seedlings are quickly depleted and simply cannot provide full flowering. To prevent this from happening, you must regularly feedHowever, it is important to take into account the growing season: before the start of flowering, the plants are fed with nitrogen, and after the formation of the fruits - with phosphorus and potassium. Strawberries are useful organic compounds - mullein, bird droppings, as well as yeast tinctures that help restore the root system after winter.
• If the remontant strawberry ceases to bloom, it means that she simply degenerated: every three years should update the plant.
• There is a certain kind of strawberry, which many gardeners call a weed. It looks the same as ordinary varieties, but it forms a much larger mustache. The only breeding option for such a plant is vegetative, so the variety cannot give flowers under any circumstances. Such varieties can be bought on the market, where unscrupulous sellers in the pursuit of profit cheat buyers by offering them low-quality seedlings.

Strawberries are quite sensitive to atmospheric conditions, The plant needs sunlight, warmth and moderate humidity.

• If winter is too harsh, then prolonged cold can lead to freezing of the core. To avoid this, it is better to cover the beds in advance with agrofibre, film or roofing material. In the extreme case, mulching can be used, the roots of the plant needles, straw or hay are best protected. It is very important to take care that in winter a piece of land is covered with snow.
• Greater danger in themselves conceal return frosts, which happen quite often in May. Gentle bushes, which have just been taken shelter, can simply not withstand the night temperature drop. That is why, until a stable high night temperature is established, it is necessary to cover the plantings from evening to morning, otherwise the risk of losing the harvest is quite high.If the cold returns at the time of flowering and the formation of the ovary, then all the flowers will fall off instantly, and the fruits will not be tied.
• Lack of light also has a detrimental effect on flowering. The most juicy and ripe berries are formed in the sun. Strawberries are very fond of light, if you grow a crop in the shade of sprawling trees, a fence or at home, it will neither bloom nor give berries.

Sometimes gardeners literally shrug - strawberries bloom, but the flowers almost immediately fade and fall. The reason for this may be exposure to pests or infection with a fungal infection.

• Thus, when a strawberry weevil is affected, the pest is placed in young buds and causes damage to them even before blooming, therefore the pedicels fade and fall completely.
• Strawberries quite often come across a fungal disease like leaf spotting. This disease leads to the death of flower stalks, and the problem lasts a long time: if the plant has had a disease, then there will still be no flowering next year.
• All known powdery mildew is another fungus that provokes the absence of flowering. The disease violates the mechanism of pollination and the formation of the ovary, so the flowers fall, and the berries do not grow.

In order to minimize the pathogenic effect of parasites and fungi on strawberry flowering, it is necessary to carry out a complex of preventive measures.

• In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, it is necessary to remove all the fallen leaves (pests often hibernate in it), and also shred the earth shallowly.
• After the young leaves appear, it is necessary to spray the crops with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
• When the opening of the buds begins, it is necessary to treat the plant with insecticides against the weevil. It is very important to remove all damaged buds in a timely manner: this is done manually, trying not to damage the bud itself, since the weevil larva dwells inside it.
• After the entire crop has been harvested, the plant should be treated with copper sulfate or other copper-based preparations.

It happens that all the requirements of agricultural engineering are met, diseases and pests are neutralized, the weather is perfect, and there is no flowering.

• Most often this happens if the bush is simply old. A signal to natural aging is the fact that in the course of several previous periods the berries gradually became smaller and the number of flowers decreased. Any strawberry beds need to be updated every 5 years. If your plants are older, do not even expect to see abundant flowering and harvest a good crop, just plant new bushes.
• Another reason for insufficient flowering can be poor survival rate. There are varieties of strawberries that simply do not bloom, for example, the so-called elite varieties. They are too capricious and the conditions of the land plot may not be suitable for them.

Summarizing all the above, we will give some tips on how what if strawberries are not blooming.

• Before taking any measures, it is necessary to carefully examine the plant and try to understand the reason for the problem. Analyze whether the plant was properly planted, how much it was fed, what was the temperature background during the growing season, and whether there is enough moisture and nutrients in the soil. All errors must be corrected, in this case the chances of getting a harvest for the next year are quite high.
• Keep in mind that if you planted strawberries in the current season, you will receive the harvest only in a year.
• If the plant does not have enough sunlight, transplant it to a more open place.Moreover, it is necessary to replant the bushes together with the earthy clod so as not to damage the formed root system. Strawberries should be transplanted no later than the second half of August and always on cloudy days.
• Do not forget to water strawberries: in dry weather when watering, the ground should be saturated with moisture for at least 5 cm.
• Rejuvenate plantings every year.
• In the central and northern regions for the winter should cover the beds. In addition, the coating is maintained in the spring until the threat of nighttime frost disappears completely.

On why the strawberry does not bloom, see below.