Strawberry Queen Elizabeth

The strawberry variety Queen Elizabeth (or simply - Elizabeth) has managed to gain loyal fans in its short history. There are quite objective reasons for this, both in the process of growing it and in the properties of the final product.

There is no exact data on the origin of the variety. It is believed that it was bred by British breeder Ken Moore, and came to Russia in the late 90s - early 2000s. Tests of the variety were carried out in the Rostov region, in the Donskoy nursery reserve, where the variety Queen Elizabeth 2 was later bred, with which our “heroine” is often confused. But Elizabeth and Elizabeth 2 are not synonyms. Although many of their characteristics are similar, they are two different varieties.

Elizabeth is not listed in the State Register, she has no official standards. This causes some disagreement regarding the description of the variety among gardeners, but it is still possible to highlight the basic characteristics.

A variety of strawberries, or rather garden strawberries, Elizaveta is a remontant variety, that is, it bears fruit several times per season. According to the photoperiodic types, the variety belongs to the type of neutral day. Strawberry blooms with large white flowers, semi-double or five-petal.

The bushes of this strawberry are described as strong, vigorous and vigorous. They are semi-sprawling, but compact. The height of the bushes is 40-50 cm, the width reaches 50 cm. The bushes have large, smooth, jagged leaves that shine glossy and have a bright green color in adulthood.

The flower stalks of Elizabeth are strong, erect. The whiskers are thrown out, but not enough - 3-5 per season.

The life cycle of a plant is 1-2 years. You can grow a variety in one place for 2-3 years.

This strawberry is one of the early ripening strawberries with a short ripening period. Almost throughout the entire season, Elizabeth pleases with her flowers and fruits. This is one of its main advantages.

The variety blooms stably, most often in 3 waves, has several periods of fruiting:

• April-May, the first harvest can be expected by the end of spring - early summer;
• end of June - beginning of July, it will turn out to feast on berries in August;
• early September, harvest - October.

Under favorable weather conditions, Elizabeth can bear fruit until early November. Pauses in fruiting - about 2 weeks.

The guarantee of such a high degree of productivity is the flower stalks with buds that have been preserved on Elizabeth since autumn. In the spring, with the arrival of warmth, they quickly resume development. Another reason for early ripening and continuous flowering, in fact from April to September, is the calm attitude of the "royal" berry to the length of daylight hours. Only summer heat can slow down development.

Elizabeth's yield is one of her most attractive characteristics. In the open field, it is 2.8-5 kg ​​/ m2, in the greenhouse it reaches 10 kg / m2. 2 kg of berries are usually harvested from a bush per season, and if we consider larger volumes, then they are as follows - 35 t / ha.

The density of the fruit provides the variety with high transportability. And his marketability and keeping quality are at their best. The high position on the bush protects the crop from dirt.

The variety yields large, shiny berries of bright red color, weighing 40-70 g (some samples reached 100 g). Large size is not the only plus of berries. Their flesh is firm and red, with a pleasant aroma and sweet, dessert taste. On a 5-point tasting scale, Elizaveta strawberries received a score of 4.7. The sour taste can occur in the fruits of this variety only if they are not ripe, or if the development took place on shaded clay soil. After transplanting, the taste of the berries returns to normal.

The main purpose of the fruits of the "royal" strawberries is fresh consumption, which does not mean that they are unsuitable for conservation. You can also freeze the berries calmly - they do not lose their shape.

Elizabeth is unpretentious in her care. She loves humidity and medium intensity of watering, the standard interval is 2-3 days, the optimal time is early morning or late evening. The variety tolerates short-term periods of drought without any problems. But the overflow can have a bad effect on the taste of the berries, making them watery and not so sweet.

One of the important features of Elizabeth's care is the preferred first color cut. It will give small berries, but removing it will allow the plant to root better and gain strength.

Elizabeth prefers loamy, neutral, fertile soil. The variety does not tolerate high acidity. To avoid negative consequences, add wood ash to the soil at the rate of 500 g per 1 m2.

The ideal landing site is the bright side of the site. However, you can grow a healthy plant not only in the open field or greenhouse, but also on the balcony, in a hanging planter. The optimal planting time for this variety is 2 time intervals: March-May, August-October.

The landing progress is as follows:

• wash the rhizomes of the seedlings, cut them slightly;
• put the seedlings in the holes, straighten the roots;
• the gap between the bushes should be 40x40 cm;
• carefully cover the seedlings with earth, tamp it a little;
• moisten the planting, spread around the humus.

The flowers of the variety are bisexual, without barren flowers. And when growing "royal" strawberries in a greenhouse, the question of pollination arises. It is carried out in two main ways:

• each flower by hand, with a soft brush;
• with a fan.

The choice of method depends on the size of the landings.

The variety has high winter hardiness, survives at temperatures down to -25 ° C. But no gardener will advise you to expose the plant to such stress.

In order for strawberries to calmly survive the frosts, they need shelter. Water the “queen” of berries abundantly before wintering so that the soil does not crack, and cover it with a special synthetic material or a 5 cm layer of spruce branches.

Our "queen" is highly resistant to raspberry-strawberry weevil and all kinds of fungal diseases. If you want to additionally protect yourself from the weevil, sprinkle the strawberry leaves with tobacco dust.

Elizabeth is still not perfect - she cannot bear fruit and throw out her antennae in one year. Therefore, if you want to propagate a plant, think about it in advance, during the period of bud formation on it.

As for growing a variety from seed, this is a controversial issue. You can find Elizabeth's seeds on sale, but many scientists say that large-fruited strawberry varieties grown from seeds do not have all the properties inherent in their fellows propagated by antennae. There are, however, those who dispute this opinion, so the decision is yours.

Reviews speak primarily of long-term fruiting - there are cases when the last strawberry crop was harvested on November 10. Praise the ease of maintenance. Gustatory characteristics were not ignored - such epithets as "sugar", "honey" are used. The aroma of the berries is compared to wild strawberries, and their size, brilliance and rich color are noted by almost everyone.

They speak positively about frost resistance - flowers and berries, according to gardeners, feel good at -4-6 ° C, even without shelter.