When and how to transplant strawberries in spring?

A rare person does not like a berry like strawberry. She is one of the favorite treats for both children and adults. An additional advantage is that it is quite easy to grow strawberries on your site. But an important nuance of care is regular transplantation. Gardeners say that this is best done in the spring. Read about the reasons for this opinion, as well as about the methods and errors of this process in this article.

Let's look at some of the reasons why it is best to replant strawberries in the spring.

• The main reason is the increase in yields in the following years.
• A lot of moisture. There is still melt water in the soil in spring. She later leaves. A large amount of moisture in the soil allows strawberries to gain a foothold in a new place.
• It is best to transplant strawberries in the spring to another place also because the warm season is ahead. This means that the plant will spend all its energy to take root, and not to survive in cold conditions.

Not always and not everyone transplants strawberries in the spring, and there are also several reasons for this.

• Spring transplanting of strawberries is fraught with a lack of harvest. The harvest can only be expected next year.
• Some regions are characterized by sharp spring cold snaps. They can negatively affect plants and even destroy all seedlings.
• If you buy seedlings, and do not transplant your own strawberries, you may be slightly surprised: in spring, prices for seedlings are often overstated.

You can transplant strawberries in the spring 2-3 weeks before flowering (and this is, as a rule, the second half of April). You can transplant at other times, but in this article we are considering only a spring transplant. As already noted, professional gardeners consider the spring transplant to be one of the most acceptable for strawberries.

Strawberries are usually transplanted in April or May (the period between the last days of April and the first days of May). The air temperature should rise above 10 degrees. With parameters below this mark, the plants will not develop. The soil should warm up at least 10 cm deep. The upper limit of the temperature range is 20 degrees Celsius.

Early transplant is allowed - in March, after the snow melts. However, in this case, it is imperative to cover the seedlings in order to keep them warm. Another acceptable time for planting is the end of May. Usually, strawberries grown from seeds are planted during this period. There is another exceptional case (when transplanting is allowed even during flowering) - heavy torrential rains or hail, which have a detrimental effect on plants. In this case, it is necessary to cut off all flowers before transplanting.

In the southern regions, for example, in the Krasnodar Territory, planting begins relatively early. You can transplant strawberries in March. In the central part of Russia, for example, in the Moscow region, strawberries are ready for transplantation only at the end of April. It should be noted that in the Rostov region the climate situation is a bit ambiguous. In general, the region is warm, but winters are harsh. Therefore, with a spring transplant, there is a risk that the strawberries may freeze. As a result, it is recommended to carry out a transplant in the fall. Thus, the transfer time is determined by the characteristics of the local climate.

It should be noted right away that it makes sense to transplant only relatively young plants about 2 years old. If you want to increase the yield, then there is no point in moving old 4-year-old or older specimens to a new place.

Whiskers are vegetative shoots of strawberries. Their advantage is that they take root quite easily. To do this, you need to choose healthy-looking antennae with roots. Then they are introduced into the ground at a distance of about 30 cm from the mother plant. Some put the mustache in separate pots. It can take about 2 months for them to take root.

It is more difficult to plant strawberries by dividing a bush. As a rule, this is carried out only if reproduction with a mustache is impossible (they are absent or very weak). If you do everything correctly, then from one mother bush you can get about 10 "babies". First you need to dig out the mother bush and thoroughly rinse the roots under running water. Further, the roots are divided with a knife, scissors or even hands.

After that, you need to dig small holes for each bush. Next, one bush is taken and its roots are straightened in the hole, and then covered with earth. The distance between the seedlings of one row should be at least 30 cm, and between the rows - at least 50 cm. Everything must be done carefully, trying not to damage the roots. And even more so, it is impossible to allow the seedlings to be trampled after transplantation.

There are several nuances of the technology of transplanting strawberries into the garden that need to be taken into account.

• For transplanting, you need to take seedlings with roots. It is imperative to use plants without flowers. If they are, then they should be cut (if there was a need for an urgent transplant during flowering). The formation and maintenance of flowers takes a lot of energy from the plant, and it must spend them on fixing in a new place.
• Before the next spring transplant, you need to remove all the weeds on the site in the fall., add compost or humus, and also dig up the area.
• For transplanting, you must choose healthy plants. Best of all, if they also gave the largest and sweetest fruits.
• It is possible to plant plants in open ground only in cloudy weather. The sun's rays cause the leaves to evaporate a large amount of moisture, which the plant cannot yet fully absorb by the roots. Transplanting on a sunny day depletes the plants.
• It is necessary to replant plants in the evening, before sunset. In the case of a successful transplant, strawberries can already adapt by the morning.
• The length of the roots should be about 5 cm. Too long, as well as too short roots, will complicate the process of fixing in a new place.
• Before planting, the roots must be fluffed up. This will increase the chances that the plant will take root.

It is a fairly well-known fact that after transplanting, strawberries need abundant watering. The main thing is not to overdo it. Otherwise, a swamp will form around the seedlings, mold will grow and rot will develop.

Strawberries are very fond of mulching. This can be done with hay, grass, sawdust or the old proven method - manure. This will keep the soil moist and loose. After transplanting, it is best not to touch the strawberries for the next 3 or 4 years. You also need to remember that during their growth, strawberries tend to draw nutrients from the soil. Strawberries should not be transplanted or re-planted in this area.

Some mistakes should be strictly avoided.

• It is important to start preparing for the transplant in the fall. The soil on which the strawberries will be transplanted should already be saturated with useful elements. To do this, in most cases, it will be enough to sprinkle humus on the planting site in the fall.
• Too long roots need to be cut. Roots longer than 5 cm will bend and will not be able to fully absorb water.
• When planting a plant, it is necessary to make sure that the growing point (transition from stem to root) is at ground level. Planting too low or too high can kill the strawberries. In the first case, it can rot, and in the second, it can dry out.
• Despite the large amount of melt water in the soil in the spring, you need to regularly water the seedlings. The presence of melt water is an advantage, but it does not exempt you from routine watering.
• Take your time and plant your strawberries too early. It is best to wait for a succession of relatively warm days before transplanting.
• Do not use plastic wrap as cover. Plants overheat under it.