Strawberry Lord

Strawberries are everyone's favorite and desired berry, one of the few garden delicacies available to residents of central Russia and more northern regions. Every gardener seeks to grow it on his site, alas, not always successfully. Every year, breeders develop new varieties that are more and more adapted to the surprises of the Russian climate.

Strawberry Lord is a good example of a variety brought to Russia from Great Britain at the end of the 20th century and won the love of summer residents due to its large-fruited, yield and frost resistance.

The multipurpose variety fully shows its best qualities in temperate warm climates. Forms a sprawling, powerful bush, the height of which can reach 60 cm. Strawberries achieve such outstanding parameters in the middle lane and to the north only when the most favorable growing conditions are created.

In the southern and northwestern regions of Russia, mature bushes do not grow higher than 30 cm. A young strawberry leaf is light green, large, in older plants it is darker, with a shiny surface and carved edges.

The plant blooms in the 3rd decade of May - early June. The bush throws out 10-15 peduncles. Fruits ripen unevenly, on one peduncle at the same time you can see flowers, ovaries and ripe fruits. Under the weight of the berries, the flower stalks lie down, so they must be tied up, propped up or laid under the bush with straw, needles, cut grass so that the berries do not deteriorate from contact with the ground. The highest yields are given by bushes that have reached 4-5 years. Then there is a gradual degeneration, accompanied by crushing of the fruit.

Advantages of the Lord variety:

• long-term fruiting - the age of the bush can reach 7 years;
• good productivity;
• large-fruited;
• wonderful taste;
• high commercial qualities;
• winter hardiness;
• ease and speed of reproduction;
• resistance to fungal diseases and gray rot.

Disadvantages of the variety: exactingness to watering, illumination, peak yield is achieved only after two years of growth.

The lord is characterized by prolonged fruiting, which lasts almost a month. In the conditions of the middle zone, ripening of berries begins at the end of June and lasts until mid-July.

Bred in England, the Lord is best adapted to temperate, warm climates. In the northern regions, due to a lack of heat and sunlight, the bushes and berries of the plant become smaller. In the southern regions of the country, droughts and hot weather also negatively affect the development of strawberries.

The characteristics of the Lord indicate the ability to get 1-3 kg of berries from one plant. In practice, yields can be significantly lower due to unfavorable climatic conditions and insufficient lighting.

The value of the variety lies in its berries, which have amazing taste and marketability. At the first harvest, the weight of individual berries reaches 50 g. On average, the weight of the fruits is from 20 to 35 g. The fruits are fleshy, impressive in size, bright red in color, the shape is rounded-conical, the tip of the berry is dull.The pulp is dense, the sugar content is up to 11%, the acid content is 1.37%, vitamin C is also present. On a 5-point scale, the taste of Lord's fruits is estimated at 4.6-4.9 points.

The largest fruits often have a void inside, so their actual weight is less than we would like.

Strawberry Lord belongs to the unpretentious varieties. Simple techniques will allow you to get the maximum yield.

• Planting material, planted in spring in a soil that is well moistened after winter, does not require additional watering. If the seedlings are planted in August-September, frequent and abundant watering is necessary.
• The Lord's bushes are planted, leaving 50-60 cm between the plants, the row spacing is 60-80 cm. It is not recommended to deepen the outlet during planting, it should be at ground level.
• The variety requires moistening the soil - it is necessary to water the beds before flowering, while pouring berries, before preparing the plant for winter.
• Numerous mustaches that appear on fruit-bearing beds are removed as early as possible, it is better to cut them off, not tear them off.
• The plant is fed twice: in the spring, organic matter is laid out in the aisles and dug up, after the end of fruiting, the beds are watered with a complex of fertilizers for berry farms.

For good fruiting of strawberries, Lord requires:

• flat area, slight slope to the south is possible;
• good illumination of the site;
• moderate soil moisture.

Despite the plant's exactingness for watering, strawberries will hurt when planted in low and waterlogged areas of the garden. The variety grows well when planted in fertile, well-drained, light soil. Before planting, the bed is dug up and organic fertilizing is applied:

• for 1 m2 of soil or 1 lm of a row - 12 kg of compost or humus;
• wood ash - 0.5 liters for the same area.

Overfeeding strawberries with nitrogen fertilizers leads to the growth of green mass, and decreases winter hardiness.

The flowers of the strawberry Lord are bisexual, like most of the known varieties. Therefore, special techniques for pollination of plants are not required. For better fruit evenness and your own peace of mind, you can plant flowering plants in the immediate vicinity of the strawberry beds, attracting pollinating insects.It is recommended to plant 3-4 different varieties in adjacent rows. There is no need to be afraid of over-pollination of varieties, this does not happen if you do not propagate strawberries with seeds.

For pollination of plants growing in industrial greenhouses, hives with bees or bumblebees are placed during flowering. In summer cottages, forced ventilation is arranged for active air circulation.

The high frost resistance of the Lord variety (up to -20 ° C) allows it to be grown without shelter in all areas of central Russia, provided there is sufficient snow cover. In a snowless winter in the south of Siberia, in the Urals, in the North-West regions, the beds should be covered with spruce branches, a layer of fallen leaves, and non-woven covering material.

Strawberry Lord is famous for its resistance to spider mites, fungi, gray rot. Does not need frequent treatments with fungicides.

A young plant throws out a lot of whiskers, there are no difficulties with the propagation of Lord strawberries. Powerful, strong shoots take root well. Subsequently, the planting material becomes worse, the number of air layers decreases. In this regard, varieties are engaged in reproduction when the plant reaches 2-3 years of age. All peduncles and mustaches are removed from the mother bush, except for 3-4 pieces, which are pinned to the ground. Sockets of the 1st and 2nd orders are suitable for rooting. If an autumn planting is planned, after rooting the rosettes, the mustache is cut off. If rooted sockets are planted on new beds in the spring, the layers are not separated.