Strawberry Victoria: description, difference from garden strawberry

Content:

The article covers Victoria Strawberry in detail: a description of a real strawberry, the difference from a garden strawberry.

Strawberry Victoria: variety description, origin

So the time has come when gardeners do not climb off the beds, harvesting strawberries. Sunny berries every day delight summer residents with their unique taste and aroma. And how much time gardeners spend in search of that very strawberry variety that will be unpretentious in care, and at the same time will delight its owners with a bountiful harvest. Today we will tell you about Victoria strawberries. However, real natural strawberries are not at all what we grow in summer cottages. In fact, this is a large garden strawberry, and the real strawberry was grown in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. But in Europe, it practically did not grow. For the first time, she came to Western Europe through Spain, and then she emigrated to the surrounding regions.

Strawberry Victoria: a description of the history

Garden strawberry was bred in America. It penetrated into Europe in the sixteenth century, after the garden strawberry took root, they began to grow it in many gardens. A hundred years later, garden strawberries from Chile came to Europe, crossing between the imported varieties took place, from which many modern varieties of garden strawberries originated.

What is the difference between strawberries and Victoria

Strawberry Victoria: a description of the history

What is the difference between strawberries and Victoria

As we noted above, garden strawberries and real strawberries are two completely different berries. So how are they different? Let's figure it out. What we call strawberries is commonly shared by male and female plants, and dioecious in gardens. This garden berry does not exist in the wild, but you can find it on old forgotten berry fields. Garden strawberries run wild very quickly without proper care, therefore, over time, they give very small berries. It will be difficult for you to separate the berries of garden strawberries from the stalk, but wild berries are as easy as shelling pears. It is interesting that garden strawberries practically do not yield a harvest in the shade, but their forest relative is very fond of the shade. Real strawberries do not have a bright red color, their flesh is usually white, but the usual garden strawberries are usually red or pink, but some varieties have white berries with red seeds. Another difference between garden strawberries and real strawberries is the location of the peduncles. In the latter, they are very tall and strong, so the berries never fall on the ground, but in garden strawberries, under the weight of the fruit, the berries are practically at ground level. If we talk about a scientific point of view, then it is still the same genus - strawberry, the Rosaceae family. However, their species are really different. Moreover, their species diversity reaches three dozen. We are used to talking about garden strawberries, forest and strawberries. They all descended from an American relative.

Zemklunika: description

As you may have guessed from the name, this is an interesting garden hybrid. The fact is that today true strawberries can be seen only in botanical gardens, but for growing in their country house, they are unsuitable, therefore there are a wide variety of varieties that have occurred as a result of crossing strawberries and strawberries.The berries of the earthworm are not very large, their weight reaches 20 grams, while in other varieties of strawberries, the berries usually weigh 50 g. The earthworm has a purple hue, and the berries are dark in color. The berries are very aromatic and tasty, and also very sweet with a nutmeg flavor. It is quite resistant to frost and unpretentious. If you want to experiment, you can plant a dugout on your lot.

Strawberry: Victoria variety

Very often any garden strawberry is called Victoria. However, Victoria is also not a real strawberry. Until the eighteenth century, only wild strawberries were actively growing in our country. Which they ate. But the first berries of American strawberries appeared in Russia in the seventeenth century. It was brought from Europe, where breeders have already worked intensively on the development of different varieties of garden strawberries. The Victoria variety was developed in France. Therefore, it was this garden berry that was first brought to Russia. Moreover, it is important to note that this was the first large-fruited garden strawberry. Therefore, to this day, any garden strawberries in our country, out of habit, are often called Victoria. However, dozens of new varieties with completely different characteristics have already evolved from this variety. But the true Victoria variety has survived to this day, and also has not lost its features and characteristics. Victoria grows in bushes, is not afraid of severe frosts, however, and is sensitive to early frosts. Strawberries of this variety (for simplicity, we will call them strawberries, despite the fact that they are garden strawberries) usually grow large bushes, leaves are dark green, wrinkled. This variety is very fond of watering, therefore, in order to get a harvest as early as possible, you will need to monitor the soil moisture. It is believed that Victoria quickly deteriorates, so it is best to use it fresh, but it is better not to count on long-distance transportation. All gardeners note that the taste of this berry is incomparable. No wonder they say that an old friend is better than two new ones. Despite the fact that this variety is undeservedly forgotten by many gardeners, the berries of this strawberry are insanely sweet and fragrant, and the variety's unpretentiousness to adverse conditions has been tested by time.

Strawberry Victoria photo, rules of agricultural technology

Once you've chosen a variety, you need to think about where to plant your strawberries. Well-lit places are suitable for this variety, preferably on the southern slopes. Moreover, the lighting should be uniformly good throughout the season. Avoid strong drafts in the area. The strawberries must be protected from the wind for 24 hours. Light or loamy soil is best suited for this variety. It is advisable to think in advance about where the soil will be better to retain moisture, since Victoria loves watering very much. Remember also that the soil must be loosened before watering. So it is enriched with air, and water droplets come to the root system. Remember to also loosen the soil after watering, but do not do this right away. The earth crust will further impede the passage of air to the roots of plants, which means that strawberries will not develop well. Prepare the soil for planting strawberries either in autumn or spring. First, you need to carefully dig up the area, remove all weeds, and then add humus, manure or peat. If you decide to add complex fertilizers to the soil, then you need to adhere to the following rate: usually gardeners apply 70 grams of fertilizer per 1 square meter. Strawberries do not like acidic soils, so if the soil has a pH reading above 5, the soil will need to be calcified. For this, ash or chalk is used. You can also use dolomite flour. But liming does not need to be carried out too often, usually one procedure is enough for five years.If you do not understand what kind of soil you have on your site, buy a litmus test at an agricultural store. It is easy to use and reliably detects the acidity level in the area. If you add ash to the soil, it will also structure the soil and enrich it with useful microelements. Usually this strawberry variety is planted using rosettes. You can also purchase seedlings from any store or market. One bush usually has four or five leaves. In order to plant strawberries, you need to dig up the soil, fertilize, and then form holes. Make sure that the size of the root system is fully correlated with the size of the planting holes. If you decide to propagate the plant using the stepchildren separation, then it is best for you not to let the selected bushes bloom. The fact is that in this case, all the forces will be spent not on flowering, but on the formation of new outlets. It is best to cut no more than 4 whiskers from one plant, since the rest of the rosettes will be weak, and the mother bush will also suffer from the lost strength. Humus and ash are often added to the planting holes, as well as some complex fertilizers. Then the planting pits are well watered with water, strawberry bushes are placed inside, and, spreading the roots, they are added with earth. After that, you need to compact the ground a little around the outlets. It is best to plant strawberries in your garden beds, as it will be easier for you to care for them. It is important to keep the distance between the bushes, it should be at least 20 centimeters, and between the beds from 40. Next, you will need to water the plants in a timely manner, fertilize the soil, remove weeds, and monitor the temperature regime. Top dressing is best done throughout the season. Usually fertilize the soil in early spring, during flowering and after you have harvested. Do not feed your garden strawberries with fertilizers containing nitrogen before wintering, as nitrogen helps to build up green mass, and plants do not need it in the fall. It is believed that Victoria is a time-tested variety, so you will not regret if you plant it on your site.

Strawberry Victoria description