strawberries and the robins
It seems robins love my juneberries. This year they hit me so hard I didn't get enough for a pie. My question is: if I pinch off the flowers will the plants reflower? That way the fledlings will be gone and the birds will be back to digging insects instead of my strawberries. Or maybe one of you has a way to make them flower later?
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applestar
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Did you mean to say June Bearers? There is a shrub/tree commonly called Juneberries (Amalanchier spp.) with blueberry-like berries that ripen in June. I have a low-growing shrub variety called 'Regent' that had maybe 5 berries this year. I had to make a hardwarecloth cage for it to protect from robins and catbirds. 
That same cage is now protecting one of my early low-bush blueberries. I noticed this morning that the catbirds still managed to scratch a couple of the berries trying to get at them.
Anyway, June Bearer type strawberries only flower and bear fruit in late spring/early summer. There are other types of strawberries -- Everbearers and Day Neutrals -- that will flower and bear fruit in small amounts through the summer and/or will have another flush of flowers and fruits later on.
That same cage is now protecting one of my early low-bush blueberries. I noticed this morning that the catbirds still managed to scratch a couple of the berries trying to get at them.
Anyway, June Bearer type strawberries only flower and bear fruit in late spring/early summer. There are other types of strawberries -- Everbearers and Day Neutrals -- that will flower and bear fruit in small amounts through the summer and/or will have another flush of flowers and fruits later on.
Hmm, the package they came in when I got them 10 years or so ago said juneberries, (probably a nickname the local dealer gave them), but they are nothing like a blueberry. I usually get a lot of strawberries out of my patch, but the robins hit me hard. Anyhow, a lot of house plants if you take the flower off will form another right afterwards. Do you think the strawberries will do the same?applestar wrote:Did you mean to say June Bearers? There is a shrub/tree commonly called Juneberries (Amalanchier spp.) with blueberry-like berries that ripen in June. I have a low-growing shrub variety called 'Regent' that had maybe 5 berries this year. I had to make a hardwarecloth cage for it to protect from robins and catbirds.
That same cage is now protecting one of my early low-bush blueberries. I noticed this morning that the catbirds still managed to scratch a couple of the berries trying to get at them.
Anyway, June Bearer type strawberries only flower and bear fruit in late spring/early summer. There are other types of strawberries -- Everbearers and Day Neutrals -- that will flower and bear fruit in small amounts through the summer and/or will have another flush of flowers and fruits later on.
I have a cheap piece of bridal netting(walmart) that I put over by blueberries and strawberries. It doesn't even cover the strawberries completely but I think the movement of the netting keeps the robins away. I did see a robin get two strawberries before I put the netting on. The netting is white in color. They are right outside my kitchen window so I can make sure no bird is caught. Just now I remembered I have little bird windmills on sticks. I will put them out there now. My strawberries just keep on producing all summer and I never saved the tag to know what kind they are.