Content
Strawberries are the earliest berry and probably one of our favorites. Breeders are constantly working to improve its marketable and nutritional qualities. In recent years, Cardinal strawberries have become widespread, a description of the variety, a photo, reviews of which testify to its undeniable advantages.
The Cardinal variety is an excellent result of many years of work by American scientists, which has the best characteristics for cultivation.
Description of bushes
Cardinal strawberries are easily recognizable by their tall bushes with many rosettes and original leaf shapes. Plant height can reach 0.5 m. Strawberry leaves with red scales resemble a boat. The upper part of the leaf has a rich dark green color, and from the bottom it casts a blueness. Long tendrils of strawberries give many rosettes, which bear fruit in autumn, and more abundantly than in spring.
Due to the fact that unrooted rosettes can bear fruit, strawberries can also be grown on vertical trellises. The Cardinal variety is characterized by high yields even in the first year after spring planting - each bush can produce up to 1 kg of fragrant berries. Strawberry Cardinal tolerates frosty winters well, so it can be cultivated beyond the Urals. With good care, the variety is resistant to most diseases.
Characteristics of berries
Strawberry variety Cardinal produces large juicy berries, the weight of which reaches, on average, 60 g. Before their final ripeness, the sepals adhere very tightly to the base of the fruit. Berries of the Cardinal variety stand out:
- oval-conical in shape and a glossy dark red surface, strewn with shiny golden seeds;
- pleasant sweet and sour taste and wonderful strawberry aroma;
- dense crispy texture with small voids;
- excellent keeping quality, thanks to which the berries can be stored for a long time;
- high transportability, which allows them to be transported over long distances.
The autumn harvest of strawberries is noticeably higher than the summer one and can reach 1 kg per bush, and the berries are larger in size. But if you remove the extra antennae, the bushes will direct their forces to the already formed ovaries, and the Cardinal strawberries will become larger.
It should be noted also some weak characteristics of the Cardinal variety, which do not reduce its advantages:
- the need to combat powdery mildew, to which the variety has no resistance;
- inability to take root from fruiting rosettes - the next ones should be selected for seedlings.
If these features are taken into account when growing, caring for Cardinal strawberries will not cause any difficulties.
Planting outlets
Cardinal strawberries are propagated in a variety of ways. Usually they use:
- rooting antennae;
- division of bushes;
- sowing seeds.
According to gardeners, antennae coming from the mother bush will be an excellent planting material. After the spring planting, the first time they need to be covered with newspapers for insulation.
Description of strawberries Cardinal advises when choosing seedlings to take a closer look at the leaves - they should have red scales. Each bush should have well-developed roots and at least three full-fledged leaves. It is necessary to check the bushes for the absence of traces of powdery mildew. If high-quality sockets are selected, then there will be no problems with their survival.
It is important to prepare fertile soil for planting bushes. Strawberries love slightly acidic sandy loam or loam. You can plant seedlings both in spring and at the end of summer - from the second half of August. The advantage of autumn plantings is that the Cardinal strawberry variety will have time to adapt to the peculiarities of the new place and take root even before frost.
There are two main schemes for planting strawberry seedlings. For autumn-spring planting of the Cardinal variety, they prefer to use a single-row method: 15-20 cm are left between the bushes; in row spacing - 65-70 cm.
With the two-row method, Cardinal strawberries are planted in two-row rows located at a distance of 0.7 m. 0.3 m is left between the lines, and 0.4 m between the outlets in a row. Description of the Cardinal strawberry variety and gardeners' reviews recommend compacting the plantings. In the future, this will help to reject low-quality material without harming the crop. However, it must be remembered that too much thickening can cause powdery mildew to damage strawberries.
Strawberry care
Reviews for the Cardinal strawberry variety indicate high yields with timely implementation of the rules of agricultural technology.
Watering rules
First of all, it is necessary to provide abundant watering to the strawberries. The lack of moisture affects the size of the berries and their quantity. When watering, it is recommended to adhere to some rules:
- the water temperature must be at least 20 degrees;
- it must first be defended;
- the procedure should be carried out early in the morning, before sunrise;
- before flowering strawberries, you can sprinkle the beds;
- during flowering and fruiting, water the soil around the bushes - you can use grooves or flexible tubes;
- after watering the strawberries, loosen the soil under the sockets.
Mulching will help reduce evaporation of moisture from the beds. It is produced using various materials:
- dark colored films;
- straw or sawdust.
When mulching berries:
- stay clean;
- will not rot due to excess moisture during rains.
Top dressing
The peculiarities of Cardinal strawberries, as evidenced by the description of the variety, photos and reviews, include the need for periodic feeding of the bushes with organic and mineral substances throughout the season. In early spring, for the development of the root system, ammonium nitrate is introduced into the soil along with loosening. Do not forget that an excess of nitrogen will contribute to the intensive growth of shoots and rosettes, having a negative effect on fruit setting and the yield of the variety.
Complex feeding is required during the period of berry formation. They are also useful in terms of disease prevention. After harvesting, in the fall, strawberry bushes are fed with phosphorus and potassium salts, as well as rotted compost. They are necessary for the formation of buds for next year's harvest.
Agrotechnical measures depending on the growing season
At different times, the Cardinal strawberry requires certain measures. For convenience, they are differentiated by month.
In April, strawberry care consists of the following procedures:
- trimming dried leaves and whiskers with sanitary scissors;
- removal of non-viable outlets and planting new ones in their place;
- preventive spraying of bushes from pests with Bordeaux liquid.
May is characterized by such measures as:
- weeding strawberry beds while loosening the soil;
- slight hilling of rosettes to stimulate new root shoots;
- the second processing of strawberries with Bordeaux liquid;
- mulching the soil.
In June, you need:
- removal of peduncles and whiskers to increase yields;
- irrigation of beds after sunset and berry picking;
- top dressing with complex fertilizers;
- treatment of bushes from pests and diseases.
For July and August, the following works are characteristic:
- for planting and rooting outlets;
- fertilizing strawberry bushes with mineral and organic compounds;
- for protective treatments of bushes, if necessary.
Fight disease
Despite its high resistance, with insufficient care, the Cardinal strawberry variety can infect a fungal disease - anthracnose. Of the factors favoring the development of fungal microorganisms, excess moisture is the main one. In the initial stage, the disease manifests itself as gray specks covering the stem and leaves. Later they merge, and the shoots and berries dry up. At this stage, the disease is incurable. If you find it at the initial stage, you can save the plants by treatment with antifungal drugs. 16
Powdery mildew appears as a white fluffy bloom that covers all parts of the plant. Typically, this disease affects strawberry plantations growing in greenhouses, where there is high humidity and temperature. The plant stops growing, the leaves begin to curl into tubes, and the fruits acquire an unpleasant taste.
Under the influence of unfavorable factors, strawberries can also be affected by other diseases, such as gray mold, various types of rot and spotting. Therefore, timely preventive treatment of strawberries is very important.
Reviews of summer residents and gardeners
Strawberry Cardinal has numerous reviews from gardeners and summer residents who are satisfied with the purchase of this variety.
Conclusion
The Cardinal strawberry variety is today considered the best for planting on the site and is very popular among gardeners. If you take the necessary care measures on time, the harvest of sweet, juicy berries is guaranteed.
