Pineapple strawberry is a large, unusually fragrant berry brought to Russia in the 19th century. Its name does not indicate any resemblance to pineapple. Literally, it is translated from Latin (ananassa) as a "garden" strawberry.
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Pineapple strawberries neither in taste nor in shape resemble pineapple. In the description of the variety, emphasis is placed on taste and aromatic qualities, a rather large size of the fruits and the special structure of the rosette of the bush. Experienced gardeners know that you can achieve high yields from pineapple strawberries only if they are planted correctly and the requirements for caring for them are met.
Pineapple strawberries - variety description
Pineapple strawberries were brought to Russia in the 19th century from Holland. The variety was artificially bred by selection of two varieties that were popular at that time - Virgin and Chilean strawberries. In the wild, this variety does not grow, seedlings can only be bought.
This strawberry variety differs from its analogues in the rather large sizes of the bush and fruits. But he has other features, distinguishing features:
- powerful socket with fleecy leaves on high legs,
- inflorescences of the apical type, flowers with a diameter of at least 2 cm,
- shoots (antennae) are long and branched, with active rooting in nodes.
Berries on pineapple strawberries grow large, from 50 to 70 g each, with a low calorie content. In England, a berry weighing more than 200 g was grown, but the record has not yet been broken. The maximum that experienced gardeners managed to achieve is 150 grams one piece.
The taste of pineapple strawberries is sweet, with some acidity. The aroma is bright, characteristic strawberry, persistent - it is preserved even after many months of storage of jam or compote.
The best varieties of pineapple strawberries
This variety of garden berries is divided into two types - repair and large-fruited, which, in turn, are divided into several "sub-varieties":
- Gigantella
- Mara de Bois,
- Lord
- Albion,
- Maksim,
- Temptation and others.
The remontant species of pineapple strawberries - Mara de Bois, Temptation - bear fruit several times during the summer, but in certain climatic zones, they usually have small fruits. Their advantage and value is that they are unpretentious to the quality of the soil and the place of planting, they do not need to be taken care of - care is limited to timely weeding and watering, removal of the "antennae".
Large-fruited varieties of pineapple strawberries yield from a bush up to 2 kg per season, are frost-resistant, which is important for Russia, they begin to bear fruit early in the second week of June. But in order to get such results, it is necessary to observe the planting technology - no more than 4 bushes per 1 kV m, since the diameter of one bush can reach 60 cm.
How to grow pineapple strawberries
Before starting to plant pineapple strawberries on your site, you need to determine the type of soil, choose the optimum variety for the climate zone, study all its features, requirements for planting and care conditions. Experts give the following recommendations:
- the optimal period for planting seedlings in the ground is the beginning of autumn (September) - they will have time to take root and gain strength,
- one more trick - you can’t plant pineapple strawberries in sandy soil or in wetlands,
- in front of strawberries, for the summer, on this site you can plant marigolds or legumes - they will improve the structure of the soil, enrich it with nitrogen, "drown out" the weeds,
- a couple of weeks before planting pineapple strawberries, manure or superphosphates can be added to the soil at the rate of 6 kg or 60 g per kV m,
- the minimum distance between the rows is 40 cm, the bushes in them are 30 cm,
- the root neck of a seedling should not be underground - this is a very important aspect.
Immediately after planting, the seedlings are abundantly watered with water at room temperature, making sure that the root neck of the bush is not “washed out”. High soil moisture must be maintained for another 10 days, especially if the air temperature is above 20 ° C. For the cold season, pineapple strawberries must be covered with sawdust or a dense layer of fallen leaves - at least 5 cm.
It is very important to monitor the development of diseases on pineapple strawberries and to timely treat it from pests. The most common diseases for this garden berry variety are powdery mildew, white or gray rot, white spotting and fusarium wilt. As a preventive measure, you can use strawberry spraying with a pineapple solution of colloidal sulfur.
In order to prevent strawberries from being eaten by pineapple pests - aphids, May beetles, weevils, whiteflies, teddy bears or bronzes - winter garlic is planted between the rows of berries and covered with a thick layer of straw, preferably oat, for the winter.