In order to improve the quality and quantity of the harvest, summer residents periodically trim off excess runners from strawberries and wild strawberries if there is no need to get a new sprout.
Grapes also put out similar shoots, and every now and then an inexperienced gardener reaches out with a pruning shear to remove these shoots.
Let's try to figure out what to do with these shoots and whether those who remove them are doing the right thing.
Grape Stepchildren
These are lateral shoots that appear and grow from a bud located at the site from which the leaf grows.
To avoid thickening of plantings, summer residents simply break off or cut them, and sometimes even extra leaves, claiming that there will be no harm to the shoot and the future harvest. In this case, the benefit of pruning is obvious.
Grape mustache
But with the tendrils, everything is not so simple. With the help of these shoots, the grapevine is attached to the support, thanks to which it grows upward, and does not spread along the ground.
Proponents of pruning argue that runners also take away nutrition that could benefit future crops.
But experience and practice show that removing these tendrils does not bring any practical benefit. The bush does not become thicker because of them, lighting and ventilation do not deteriorate, but the ability of the vine to find support for itself decreases.
This will definitely not change the taste of the berries, but in order to cut out all the whiskers, you will have to spend more than one hour of your precious time.
