What causes small strawberry flowers and small petals?
The flowers on your strawberry plants are small and the petals look thin and weak - what should you do? Don't worry! Today we'll talk about why the petals are on the small side, how to fix it, plus points to watch out for and frequently asked questions.
Causes
Nutrition: Weak seedlings have poorly developed root systems, which reduces the efficiency of nutrient uptake; in leggy plants, because the leaves grow too vigorously, nutrients are not distributed to the reproductive organs in sufficient amounts, directly inhibiting petal development.
Axillary buds: If the side buds of the strawberry plant grow wildly and are not removed in time, they take away a large amount of nutrients, so of course the petals cannot grow large!
Elements: A lack of boron blocks flower bud differentiation and easily causes "blind flowers", a condition in which the petals show typical symptoms such as shrivelling and deformity.
Temperature: If the flowering period is hit by0°Cor below, the low temperature causes the cells of the flower's stamens and pistils to freeze and be damaged; staying above25°Csignificantly inhibits flower bud differentiation, and 40°Cof extreme heat directly destroys pollen viability.
Light: Less than 12hours of light per day affects morphological flower bud differentiation, causing the petal cells to divide insufficiently, which shows up as smaller size and thinner texture.
Emergency fixes
Nutrition: During the seedling stage, use humic acid water-soluble fertiliser to promote rooting and strengthen the seedlings, and avoid excessive vegetative growth; during the flowering period, spray the leaves weekly with0.2%borax+monopotassium phosphate to top up the key nutrients!
Pruning: Remove axillary buds as soon as you spot them! For leggy plants, you can spray the leaves with500times dilution of paclobutrazol to inhibit vegetative growth and send nutrients back to the flower buds.
Temperature: Keep the temperature at 15-25°Cduring the flowering period; in low temperatures, cover with plastic film +a small low tunnel, and in high temperatures pull up a shade net to cool things down.
Light: Get the grow lights out! Aim for at least12-14hours of light per day on average, so cloudy and rainy days are no problem!
Points to watch
Fertilising: Avoid applying too much nitrogen fertiliser (such as urea) during the flowering period, as it will make leggy growth worse,choose phosphorus and potassium fertilisers and micronutrient fertilisers first;boron fertiliser must not be over-applied - too high a concentration easily burns the seedlings, so strictly follow the dilution ratio!
Temperature: During the flowering period, the nighttime temperature absolutely must not fall below5°C, otherwise the flower buds will be frost-damaged outright! In summer, when it goes above30°C, spray water in the morning and evening to cool the plants.
Pruning: When removing axillary buds, use sterilised scissors to cut them off at the base to prevent the wounds from becoming infected with pathogens.
Frequently asked questions
A: Spray immediately with borax+monopotassium phosphate, remove the weak flowers to concentrate nutrients on the remaining flowers; adjust the temperature and light, and the next flush of flowers can return to normal!
Q2: The petals are small but the fruit sets normally - do I need to do anything?
A: If the fruit is developing well, it may be a characteristic of the variety; but it is still advisable to top up boron fertiliser to prevent a reduction in the number of later flowers or deformed fruit.