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The strawberry traffic light should not be missing on the snack balcony. Once the last fruits have been eaten, balcony gardeners are faced with the question: How can you overwinter strawberries in the traffic light? Read this guide for a tried-and-true guide to getting drooping strawberries through the winter the easy way.
Strawberry hanging baskets can stay outside in winter but should be protected
Overwintering hanging strawberries - step-by-step instructions
A pruning after the last strawberry harvest is the first step on the way to overwintering. A modified care follows, which prepares hanging strawberries for the winter. The final measure before the first frost is a warm winter coat. The following instructions will guide you step by step through the simple program:
Cut strawberries in the traffic light
At the end of the harvest season, preparation for winter starts with a pruning. Prune the tendrils without damaging the heart of the perennial. Take this opportunity to remove the withered leaves and the last remains of flowers.
Exception: Hanging strawberries freshly planted in the traffic light are not pruned before winter.
Set maintenance to winter mode
In the fall, strawberries in the traffic light receive their main fertilizing. You adjust the water supply to the greatly reduced evaporation rate as a result of the strong pruning. This care prepares hanging strawberries for the winter:
- Fertilize hanging strawberries organically after pruning
- Apply liquid fertilizer or loosen the substrate and work in the sifted compost
- Water more sparingly
Please use your instincts when pouring. The strawberry plants are - apart from their heart leaves - without foliage and quickly suffer from waterlogging. Water in sips only when you can no longer feel any moisture in the upper layers of the substrate.
Equip strawberry traffic lights with winter protection
When the weather forecast announces the first frosty nights, it is time for suitable winter protection at the strawberry traffic light. How to arm hanging strawberries against frost:
- Hanging traffic lights wrap with winter fleece
- Cover the substrate with straw, sawdust, bark mulch or leaves
- Important: Do not cover the strawberry plant so that it can breathe
In cold winter regions, to be on the safe side, place a breathable fleece or fir twigs over the strawberry plant in the traffic light. On frost-free days, use your finger to check whether the strawberry plant should be watered.
tips
Monthly strawberries promise fruity snacking pleasure when the tendrils dangle down from the traffic light with their sweet load. The premium variety for the strawberry traffic light is 'Merosa' with bite-sized fruits and a wonderful aroma of wild strawberries. 'Hummi Praliné' keeps what the name promises and inspires with sugar-sweet, red strawberries in mini format.