Growing And Varieties Of Remontant Large-fruited Strawberries

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Two harvests per season

Varieties of large-fruited remontant strawberries were obtained by selection of clones of non-renovated varieties of pineapple strawberries, which tend to repeat or multiple flowering and fruiting during one growing season. The interest of gardeners has now increased in this type of strawberry, but, unfortunately, in the works of scientists and specialists, little attention is paid to remontant strawberries.

In the periodicals, amateur gardeners often report outdated and sometimes deliberately incorrect information obtained from advertising messages. Through their efforts, the following stereotype of remontant strawberries has developed: "It gives two harvests, the first is small, the second is the main, large. Mustache, not having time to grow, bloom, and an additional crop is harvested from them. "The last tip is in almost every article. Before giving it, the authors should have thought: is the effect of such plantings great?

After all, all the sockets are powered by the mother plant, which is not able to give a full crop by itself and provide a crop on the outlets. With the onset of cold weather, the sockets on the trellis will die. Advice on growing strawberries in a vertical way using old tires, arranging pyramids and stacks in the open field is also pointless - such plantings are doomed to freezing.

Until recently, all this type of strawberry was considered as one - remontant strawberry. In 2001, the Moscow publishing house "Eksmo-press" published the book of Doctor of Agricultural Sciences G. F. Govorova and her son, candidate of biological sciences D. N. Govorov "Strawberries and Strawberries". The authors divide strawberries into groups of varieties that differ in some characteristics.

The differences between the varietal groups are noticeable, and such a division can be justified - after all, we divide the varieties into early, middle, late. In their book, the authors divide remontant strawberries into the following varietal groups: semi-renovated varieties, remontant, neutral day. I would also add a variety of large-fruited strawberries of continuous fruiting.

The authors of the book include the following varieties as semi-renovated varieties: Cardinal, Redgontlit and Eternal Spring.

Cardinal is an American variety. Bushes are large, sparse. Harvestable. The berries have a characteristic spindle-shaped shape tapering towards the ends. Cherry-colored berries with golden seeds. Their weight is 40-60 g. The largest ones are also 80 g. In my garden, berries of this variety were up to 50 g, there were very few small ones. The berries are very dense, with a dessert taste, they have a high content of sugars and vitamin C. The variety is winter-hardy, resistant to gray rot and leaf spot, but is affected by powdery mildew.

Young rosettes, even without strengthening, begin to bloom and bear fruit, and the berries are no smaller than those on the mother plants. Young rosettes take root for a long time, and those that bloom and bear fruit are not suitable for planting - they do not take root. For planting, you need to take the second or third outlet, if the first has bloomed. There are few fruiting rosettes, and they do not greatly increase the yield, therefore, if planting material is not needed, it is better to cut off all the mustache. This can affect the size of the berries. the mother plant will not waste energy on powering the outlets.

In one place, this variety must be kept for no more than three years. With a lack of nutrition and moisture in the soil, the yield and the size of the berries sharply decrease, therefore, it is necessary to fertilize at least three times during the growing season when growing the Cardinal variety - in early spring, during the extension of the peduncles and after harvesting. Good results are obtained with poultry droppings (1:12) or mullein (1: 6). In the absence of rain, strawberries are watered at the rate of 30 liters of water per 1 square meter per week.

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Repairing strawberry varieties

Most of the varieties of remontant strawberries grown by our gardeners are of foreign origin.

Our breeders also bred similar varieties, but we know little about them, they are less common in our gardens. Although they may well compete with foreign ones.

The authors of publications about foreign varieties often report information obtained from foreign sources, without thinking whether it is possible to obtain the same results in our climatic conditions. Indeed, on the French Riviera or in California, some strawberry varieties give three harvests, while we have the same varieties - two. We must not forget about it.

Domestic remontant varieties of strawberries:

Sakhalin. Selected in South Sakhalin. The variety is early, average winter hardiness. The variety is fruitful. 300-400 g of berries are collected from the bush. Plantings are severely damaged by strawberry mites and powdery mildew.

Sakhalin seedling. Obtained from free pollination of Sakhalinskaya strawberries. Winter hardy. More resistant to weather conditions and strawberry mites. The second fruiting begins earlier than in other varieties. Productivity - up to 500 g per bush. Gives little mustache.

Inexhaustible. In one publication I read that this is a foreign selection. In fact, it was bred in the main Botanical Garden of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The variety was obtained from crossing the Upper Silesia and Inexhaustible varieties. The bush is of medium height, slightly spreading, low-leafed. The berries are medium-sized, blunt-conical in shape. The pulp is dense, pink, sweet and sour taste. The yield is high. Mustache gives little. It is affected by powdery mildew.

Repaired Chesnokova. The bush is compact, the leaves are larger. The berries are oval, with good taste, not large. Winter hardy. The yield is 1.2-1.8 kilograms per square meter.

French varieties:

Tapirella is a high-yielding variety. The berries are large, shiny and very tasty. Gives a lot of mustache. In the first year after planting, the first spring flowers are advised to be cut.

San Rival. Average yield, very tasty berries. Average winter hardiness. Gives a lot of mustache.

Bordurella Marala. I'm not entirely sure about the French origin of the variety. This is one of the best gourmet strawberries. Does not give a mustache, reproduces by dividing the bush. Bears fruit abundantly every year. Second fruiting from August until frost. The berries are large, with excellent sweet taste. The bushes are very beautiful and can be used as ornamental plants.

Mont Everest. This variety is well known in our country. I will tell you about it in more detail separately.

Varieties that came to us from other countries:

Ostara. Dutch variety. Gives two crops. Berries 15-25 g, very sweet. Easily tolerates lack of light.

Hell. A variety of German breeding. Medium bush. Peduncles at leaf level and above. Berries are elongated-conical, with an average weight of 15 g. The pulp is white, friable, sweet and sour taste. The variety is winter hardy. Gives a lot of mustache. Strongly affected by ticks and white spot.

Mahern. High-yielding variety. The berries taste good. As they mature, they become much smaller.

Herzberg. The yield is average. Good taste berries. Winter hardy. Forms a lot of mustache. It is affected by white spot.

Hummi Gento. The bush is high, medium leafy. Berries are large, 30-40 g, individual ones weigh 60 g, round-conical, with a neck, bright red. The pulp is red, aromatic. Average winter hardiness. Few mustache forms.

Arpagoy. Medium bush. The berries are bright red, truncated-conical. The first fruits are 20 g, the subsequent ones become smaller. The yield is high. The second fruiting occurs in mid-August and continues until frost. Very frost resistant. Gives a lot of mustache. Pests and diseases are moderately affected.

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Neutral strawberry varieties

In the 80s of the last century, the varieties Tristar, Tribute and Brighton were bred in America, which in the horticultural literature were ranked as remontant. In one of the horticultural publications I read an article in which these three varieties and also the Selva variety were classified as neutral day. They lay flower buds both with long and short daylight hours at a temperature not lower than + 2 ° С and not higher than + 30 ° С degrees.

Brighton. The berries are red-orange, large, weighing up to 50 g, transportable. The variety is resistant to pests and diseases.

Tribute. Berries are dark red, shiny, conical, transportable, sweet, weighing 40-50 g. High frost resistance. Gives a lot of mustache.

Tristar. The fruit is the same size as the Tribute, but sweeter. The berries ripen well even in cool weather. The variety is winter-hardy, slightly affected by gray rot.

The creators classify the variety Eternal Spring as a neutral day, probably because it is a good variety for greenhouses, capable of bearing fruit even in poor light conditions. I suppose that some varieties classified as remontant can form flower buds in the same way as neutral-day ones.

In the literature I found a description of several more varieties of remontant strawberries, bearing fruit without interruption during the season.

Referent. The berries are large - up to 60 g, excellent taste, transportable.

Profugen. French variety. The berries are conical, weighing on average 20-30 g. Some of them reach 50 g.

Repaired varieties, due to the long fruiting period, are very demanding on soil fertility and moisture. Preplant tillage, timing and technique of planting this strawberry do not differ from the usual one. I prefer to make top dressing with diluted organic fertilizer - a solution of mullein (1: 6) or bird droppings (1:12). If the plants lag behind in growth after winter, then a tablespoon of urea is added to a bucket of solution.

The second feeding I do during the extension of the peduncles, the third - after the first harvest, the last - before winter, in mid-September.

I disagree with the rather widespread opinion that the rosettes on the mustache of the first three orders should be left for fruiting. My experience and the experience of other gardeners show that mostly first-order rosettes bloom, the second - less often. In addition, I believe that the harvest will be greater if all whiskers are removed. After all, the outlets are not such a big harvest, and they greatly weaken the main bush.

It is also advised to abandon the first and remove flowers to increase the second harvest. I do not do this. The first crop will ripen, but a significant part of the second in our climate does not have time to ripen. In 2002, at the end of September, I collected and threw out almost a bucket of green berries from a garden no more than 4 square meters in size.

It is more expedient to remove all flowers in late August - early September - the berries do not have time to ripen. Depending on the air temperature in the middle - end of the second decade of September, collect all the berries that do not have time to ripen. Then apply fertilizer, loosen the aisles, prepare the planting for winter. All this can help to increase the first harvest next year.

In our climate, it is advisable to breed remontant strawberries under small-sized shelters, covering them with a film or non-woven material, preferably weighing 30-40 g per square meter. The air temperature under the shelter in the middle of the day is usually 5-10 degrees higher than in the open field, and in the evening it is 2-3 degrees warmer. The soil is 5 degrees warmer to a depth of 10 cm. Flowering occurs 10-20 days earlier than in the open field.

It is necessary to ensure that the temperature in the shelter does not rise above 30 ° C, so that the flower buds are normally laid. With the onset of stable warm weather, the covering material can be removed. In August, with the onset of nighttime cold snaps, the garden bed must be covered again.