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Nowadays, it is rare to surprise lovers of indoor plant growing; many exotic fruits and berries are grown on window sills and balconies: citrus fruits, kiwis, figs, bananas and much more. Therefore, strawberries on the windowsill are no longer some kind of exotic. Nevertheless, growing this beloved sweet and sour berry with the heady aroma of summer in winter, when there is little sun and warmth, and memories of summer warm any soul, is a rather tempting idea. You just have to keep in mind that strawberries, even in the garden, are not among the problem-free berries, and when grown on a windowsill, they will even more so require increased attention.
Choosing the right variety
Perhaps many have already tried to tame this tasty berry and place it in their homes. Usually they do the following: they dig up flowering strawberry bushes or even young, recently rooted plants from the garden bed and, replanting them in pots, take them into the house and try to care for them like ordinary indoor plants.Most often, nothing comes of such experiments, and confused gardeners decide that home conditions are unsuitable for growing strawberries.
In fact, there are many subtleties, and one of them is that not every variety of strawberry is suitable for growing indoors on window sills.
Although there are other varieties of strawberries, remontant ones, which are capable of several waves of fruiting throughout the year. But even with them, not everything is so simple.
Among them there are the following varieties:
Long day varieties
These plants are capable of laying flower buds only with long daylight hours, lasting more than 12-14 hours. They usually produce 2-3 harvests of strawberries per year: from May to September. Moreover, as a rule, later harvests are distinguished by the abundance, size of the berries and especially sweet taste. True, many of them, unable to withstand such a load, die, and the next season they must be renewed from young plants. Examples of such strawberry varieties include:
- Garland;
- Crimean remontant;
- Autumn fun, etc.
Day neutral varieties
These strawberry varieties can set flower buds under neutral daylight conditions. Accordingly, they are able to bloom and bear fruit almost continuously for more than 9 months a year. Moreover, fruiting practically does not depend on the time of year and day. These strawberry varieties also do not live long; after 2-3 years they must be replaced with new plants.It is the day-neutral strawberry varieties that are most suitable for growing at home. In recent years, many similar varieties of strawberries have been developed, both Russian and foreign selection. Examples include:
- Queen Elizabeth 2;
- Tristar;
- Brighton;
- Geneva;
- Miracle of the world;
- Albion;
- Thelma et al.
You can try growing all of these strawberry varieties at home, although their care requirements may be different.
Alpine strawberry
Finally, there is another group of garden strawberries, which is distinguished primarily by its unpretentiousness. It has minimal maintenance requirements - you just need to water it regularly and provide it with additional lighting. Is this an alpine strawberry or a small-fruited one? remontant strawberry. The berries of these varieties are much smaller and more reminiscent of ordinary wild strawberries. They are also distinguished by increased aroma and sweetness. With regular feeding, alpine strawberry bushes can bloom and bear fruit for 4-5 years and only after this period will require replacement.
And unlike large-fruited varieties of garden strawberries, the seed propagation method makes it possible to obtain plants that are as similar as possible to the mother ones. Examples of such varieties are given below:
- Baron Solemacher;
- Alexandria;
- Ali Baba;
- Rügen et al.
How to get planting material
There are several ways to obtain planting material for growing strawberries on a windowsill.
Purchase of ready-made seedlings
If you have decided on the strawberry variety that is most suitable for you, then the plants can be purchased at nurseries or specialized stores. It is better not to buy remontant varieties of strawberries at markets or from random sellers, because the likelihood of getting an ordinary variety, moreover, with low fruiting potential, is too high. But if you are confident in the reliability of the seller, then buying ready-made strawberry seedlings is the fastest, easiest and most convenient option for obtaining the necessary planting material, although it is also the most expensive.
Own seedlings
If you have a suitable remontant strawberry variety growing on your plot, then it will be most convenient to get your own seedlings, the quality of which you will be absolutely sure of, and you will not have to invest anything into it except your own efforts.
There are two technologies for obtaining your own seedlings.
1 method
It is necessary to wait until the strawberry uterine bushes begin to grow rosettes. This usually occurs after the first wave of fruiting.
To obtain good, abundantly fruiting strawberry seedlings, only the very first tendrils should be rooted. Subsequently, their fruiting potential decreases sharply. For rooting, prepare containers with holes (disposable cups or pots) and fill them with soil mixture. You can take purchased soil and mix it with sand in a 1:1 ratio, or you can bring soil from the forest.
Carefully dig the prepared containers with soil into the ground next to the mother strawberry bushes, so that the edges of the pots are visible, and direct a suitable rosette from the first tendril into the pot. Pin it with wire. Carry out the same operation with other bushes and rosettes according to the number of strawberry seedlings that you want to get. Regularly water all the pots with soil, not allowing the soil inside to dry out. After about three weeks, the rosettes should be completely rooted - evidence of this will be the new leaves that they form. At this point, the tendrils connecting them to the mother plants will need to be trimmed so as not to weaken the mother strawberry plants. It is very important to continue regular daily watering of young rosettes. It is possible that on particularly hot days you will need to water them twice a day.
If buds form on young strawberry bushes, it is better to remove them so that the rosettes become as strong as possible before the onset of cold weather. It is better to leave the pots in the ground until the first frost. Before frost sets in, pots with strawberry seedlings are removed from the ground and treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, they are simply immersed in a container with a pink solution for 20 minutes. After this, the water is allowed to drain and the pots with seedlings are placed in a place with a temperature of 0 to +10°C for several days. Only after completing the habituation procedure can strawberry seedlings be brought into the room and placed on the window.
Method 2
Less labor intensive, but strawberry plants spend more time establishing and acclimatizing.
Just before the frost, it is necessary to dig up well-rooted and developed young rosettes of strawberries, remove all dry and damaged leaves from them, but keep in mind that the plants must have at least three good young leaves left. Then treatment in potassium permanganate is necessary, as in the first case. After which the strawberry bushes are planted in pots with previously prepared soil.
You can also use purchased soil, or you can bring it from the forest - the main thing is, if possible, do not use garden soil, since it can be infected with nematodes. When planting, you can add a little sand, charcoal and ash to the soil mixture. If there are doubts about the quality of the soil mixture, it would be better to heat it in the oven or in an oven for disinfection. After warming up, the soil should be treated with a solution of phytosporin to “revive” it, that is, to introduce beneficial microorganisms.
After watering, it is advisable to keep the strawberry seedlings in cool conditions for some time and only after several days place them indoors in a south-facing window.
Growing seedlings from seeds
As already mentioned, some varieties of remontant strawberries can be grown quite simply from seeds and at the same time obtain completely identical mother plants.
The seeds are usually purchased at the store or isolated from your own berries. The soil for sowing seeds should be very light, loose, air- and water-permeable. You can buy ready-made soil for seedlings, or prepare it yourself.To do this, it is best to mix peat, leaf soil and sand or vermiculite in equal proportions. Place the seeds on the surface of the soil, without deepening or covering them with soil.
The container is covered with film on top and placed in a warm and bright place. Sprouts may appear in 2-3 weeks. Since they are very small, before the formation of 3-4 leaves, the film should not be removed, but only lifted for daily ventilation. After about a month to a month and a half, the strawberry sprouts can be planted in separate containers so that they develop more intensively.
Optimal conditions for fruiting strawberries on the windowsill
Of course, the age of the planting material determines the timing of future fruiting. If you purchase mature flowering strawberry plants, you will be able to get the berries within a month. When growing seedlings strawberries from seeds The first berries in favorable conditions are formed approximately 6 months after emergence. Well, when growing your own seedlings obtained from mother strawberry bushes, fruiting is specially delayed to allow the bushes to ripen well. In any case, by the New Year it is quite possible to get a harvest of fresh fragrant berries.
What conditions do plants need to create when growing strawberries on a windowsill?
Planting container
For a normal and comfortable existence, each strawberry bush needs at least 3 liters of soil. This must be taken into account when choosing pot for its cultivation. Moreover, the roots of strawberries are mostly superficial, so it will be better if it is wider than deep.At the bottom of the pot it is necessary to provide a drainage layer of expanded clay, pebbles or foam plastic with a thickness of at least 3 cm.
Light and temperature
The most important thing when growing strawberries in a room is lighting of suitable intensity and duration. Fluorescent lamps or phytolamps must be turned on at least 12 hours a day. It is the amount of light that determines how sweet the berries will be. After all, even on a south-facing window in winter, strawberries will not have enough light for normal life without additional lighting. The room should not be too hot, the temperature should range from +18°C to +25°C.
To do this, when the strawberries are blooming, a soft brush for painting is carefully brushed over all the flowers.
Watering, fertilizing and protection
Watering should be regular, but the soil should not be waterlogged, as strawberries can develop gray rot and other diseases.
Strawberries need feeding during the flowering period, as well as after each wave of fruiting. You can use both organic fertilizers, such as mullein, bird droppings and humates, and special mineral fertilizers for strawberries.
Of the insects for strawberries, only aphids and spider mites can be dangerous in indoor conditions, from which spraying with a soap solution and maintaining moderate air humidity can help. You can also use the bioinsecticide Fitoverm. And for the prevention of strawberry diseases, it is best to use Fitosporin.This is a biological fungicide, harmless to humans, but quite effective against major strawberry diseases.
Let's sum it up
Flowering and fruiting strawberries on the windowsill all year round is a very tempting idea, but it must be remembered that even the most prolific varieties need rest. Any strawberry should rest for at least two to three months a year. During this period, it is advisable to do without fertilizing, although watering should remain regular. The temperature during this time should be maintained at normal levels. Natural lighting may be quite sufficient if the rest period is timed to coincide with spring or summer.
Thus, getting delicious strawberries on the windowsill at any time of the year is quite possible if you adhere to all the recommendations described above.
