Strawberry Albion
Content:
Strawberry Albion: variety description
The Albion strawberry was bred relatively recently - only in 2006, but it is already very popular among gardeners. This is due to the fact that the strawberry bush meets many parameters that are significant for obtaining a decent harvest. One way or another, the Albion strawberry variety was obtained by Californian breeders and, accordingly, is more suitable for the climate of the United States of America. But it can also successfully take root in our latitudes, give excellent high-quality yields, if, of course, take care of the plant.
Strawberry Albion: photo of the variety
The bushes of the remontant strawberry of the Albion variety are very powerful, the leaves have a deep, dark green shade, their size is medium. The flower stalks are very strong, tall and do not lie on the ground, as is the case with many other varieties of strawberries. The flowers themselves are located directly on top of the leaves, they do not touch the earthen soil cover at all. This indicator is very convenient when harvesting a strawberry crop, which has been repeatedly confirmed by the gardeners themselves. It also reduces the likelihood that the fruits can become infected from the soil with any diseases, which will then be transmitted to the green part of the plant and destroy it.
The garden strawberry variety Albion is quite neutral to daylight conditions, which means that the ability to set fruit is not at all due to the season or the length of daylight hours, and this is a noticeable plus for a gardener who has decided to grow strawberries in not the most stable climatic conditions. Fruiting outdoors begins in May, and stops around the beginning of October, as soon as the very first frosts come, which means that the harvest of the season will gradually disappear.
Fruiting strawberries Albion
As a rule, during the period from May to October, you can get fruiting from three to four times, although the last fruits may simply not have time to ripen, since frosts can happen completely suddenly, and in such a situation the plant does not bear fruit at all. But, as practice shows, the Albion strawberry variety is very good, almost ideal for the bushes to grow and bear fruit in greenhouse conditions, including in closed industrial ground. They give a full harvest cycle, and the fruits can be larger and tastier than growing strawberries in the open field, which gardeners should remember.
Garden strawberry Albion: photo of the variety
The first fruits of the Albion strawberry can be obtained within a year after the Albion strawberry bushes were planted in the ground. The yield of the variety is really incredible - from one bush you can collect from half a kilogram to two kilograms of berries, and this is not the limit at all. Such discrepancies in yield indicators can only indicate that in order to achieve maximum results, it is possible only in ideal conditions for strawberries, and this is already a matter for the gardener himself. If he is ready to provide complete care, to devote a huge part of his time to growing strawberries of this variety, then it will really be possible to harvest the maximum yield from the bush in the near future. In addition, not only the agrotechnical component plays an important role, but also climatic conditions.
The largest and, most importantly, high-quality harvest of Albion strawberries can be harvested around August, it is by this moment that the variety of this strawberry is gaining its full potential, and therefore has the most striking qualities as external,and gustatory. What else you should know about this variety is some of its weaknesses. For example, it is not stress-resistant, it tolerates frost rather poorly. In any climatic regions of our country, strawberries of the Albion variety should be grown either indoors, or cover the bushes to avoid freezing and, accordingly, death.
Diseases and pests
Of course, another factor that is usually touched upon when talking about different varieties of crops is resistance to pests or infections. Strawberry remontant Albion can demonstrate a fairly high level of resistance when we are talking about such common diseases as late blight rot, or verticillary wilting. Both diseases are quite dangerous for crops, so immunity to them can be regarded as a huge plus to the quality of the culture. Also, strawberry Albion can actively resist anthracnose, but it is also much less common than the two previous diseases. In front of brown spot or white spot, this strawberry is very defenseless, therefore, after planting, and throughout the life of the plant, it is better to treat it with biofungicides for prevention, which will help fight against these diseases.
Characteristics of the garden strawberry Albion
For any fruit and berry plant, berries and fruits are indicators of their quality. Especially for this variety, berries are considered the most real objects of pride. Of course, in this part of the article, we would like to dwell in more detail on what characteristics of the berry differ from other varieties of strawberries, what are their advantages or disadvantages.
Strawberry Albion: photo of the variety
Strawberry Albion: pros and cons
Firstly, the berries of the remontant strawberry of the Albion variety differ in that they are quite large in size. Although, despite the fact that yields are usually stable, the size of the berries themselves directly depends on the size and frequency of the gardener applied various fertilizing to the plant. Also, perhaps the largest berries that the gardener removes from the bush will not be the most useful, because they will absorb many of the components that are contained in fertilizers and feed materials. On average, the weight of one berry can reach fifty grams, but still, most often we can find berries whose average weight is thirty grams, and this will be the optimal result.
Secondly, outside the berries are bright red, and inside the pulp has a pinkish tint with a white base. Thirdly, we focus on the fact that the ripening of a berry begins from its top and ends with a peduncle. Therefore, if suddenly the berry is not fully ripe near the sepal, then there we can see a distinct white spot, which indicates that the berry is not fully ripe.
The fourth sign is that the shape of the berries is mostly conical. The variety also has some specificity: fruits from one ovary, from one bush can be of different shapes - there are also standard cone-shaped berries, but there are also oval, heart-shaped and simply elongated ones. This is by no means a disease or pathology, but just a feature of the variety, which must be remembered, especially for novice gardeners.
Strawberry Albion: reviews of gardeners about the variety
However, healthy berries have a particularly delicious flavor that has received a huge amount of positive feedback from gardeners about the Albion strawberry. Summer residents celebrate delicious, sweet, fragrant, an unusual strawberry fresh aroma emanates from them. Due to the fact that the berries have a high level of density, they are suitable for storage for a long time, and also tolerate transportation quite calmly, which is undoubtedly a huge plus for them.
Features of growing seedlings of strawberry Albion
Of course, talking about this variety, we simply cannot fail to mention the peculiarities of growing Albion strawberries. It is best to plant bushes in autumn. But if suddenly, for one reason or another, the gardener can plant only eternal, then the plants may simply not have time to adapt to new conditions, and the level and quality of the harvest from this will be much lower. But if a decision is made to plant in the fall, then next summer it will be possible to enjoy a large number of tasty, ripe and large fruits.
When planting seedlings of Albion strawberries, it is best to apply organic fertilizers under each strawberry bush. Humus is ideal for this, since it contains all the necessary substances so that the Albion strawberry has time to get used to new conditions and give active growth. In addition, humus helps the root system to gain a foothold.
Repaired strawberry Albion: photo of the variety
The distance between the bushes should be observed, it should be about 40 centimeters. The row spacing should also be approximately 40 centimeters. This variety is capable of producing a moderate number of mustaches, so it will not be difficult to track them, and this is another advantage of this strawberry variety. On the first antennae, several strong rosettes can form, which then continue the fruiting process. It is them that are best left for further rooting of the bush.
Since the Albion strawberry variety is very expensive, highly valued among gardeners, you can root its rosettes. But those rosettes that will form on the subsequent mustache are best cut off altogether. They can be grown in separate territories, since they can form new strong bushes, but from the mother they can take away a huge amount of minerals and simply strength, which will negatively affect the fertility of the entire plant as a whole. If all agrotechnical conditions are observed, the next year after planting the mustache, it is possible to harvest from them, and it will not yield to its characteristics from the harvest from the mother bushes.
Strawberry Albion and watering
As for watering, it plays a very important role in the development of the plant and in its fruiting. It must be systematic, regular, abundant, because this is exactly what the Albion strawberry bushes are so much loved and expected (as well as many other strawberry varieties). Therefore, the best option for growing strawberries would be the arrangement of a drip irrigation system. You can try it and evaluate its effectiveness for a given variety by how the plants will go into active growth and subsequent fruiting.
If, during the growth process, the gardener gave the Albion strawberries insufficient watering, then more often there may be berries that are simply empty from the inside. This suggests that the pulp did not have time to fill, as it did not have enough moisture. Therefore, the gardener must carefully and responsibly treat the irrigation system and schedule so that such specimens do not occur even as an exception. They have absolutely no taste and characteristics, in general they have no value.
Feeding strawberries Albion
Immediately after all the snow has thawed and stable spring weather is established, strawberry bushes must be fed with any fertilizer, preferably organic. After this, feeding must be repeated several times, while adding complex mixtures that contain trace elements. Especially for strawberries Albion, the presence of iron chelate is important, therefore fertilizers should be in an appropriate, chelated form. If necessary, as soon as the plant has entered the period of its active flowering, you can apply foliar feeding with fertilizers and sprayers with a high iron content.Key fertilizing occurs at the time of flowering bushes, as well as at a period when the first ovaries are just beginning to form, which need a special approach.
Strawberry Albion: photo of the variety
Pests and infections
Albion strawberries can be attacked by pests and often pick up fungal infections. First of all, fungi are presented in the form of rot, and in order to protect the plant from this, it is necessary to carry out periodic preventive treatments. Basically, it is worth using solutions based on biofungicides such as Fitosporin or Glyocladin. The advantage of these funds is their high level of efficiency and reliability, as well as the fact that they are suitable even for a budget gardener who does not seek to spend a large amount of money on the purchase of complexes and preparations. The first treatment is recommended immediately after the snow has melted, and the second - during the flowering period. The funds reliably protect plants from fungal diseases, while they do not accumulate in the plant or in its berries in any way, so they are completely safe for those who will consume the harvest in the future.
Another tool that is popular in the processing of remontant strawberries of the Albion variety is regular iodine. Dissolve 30 drops in ten liters of water. Such a solution is perfect for carrying out preventive treatments for putrefactive and fungal diseases and, moreover, it is the most affordable, because iodine can be found in the medicine cabinet of absolutely every gardener.
Mulching and yield of Albion strawberries
In order to retain moisture in the soil, as well as to protect the strawberry bushes from overgrowing with weeds, it is best to mulch the aisles with straw or hay. Some growers use dark, black film, but it has already been proven that this tool is not entirely rational, as it can protect against weeds, but at the same time provoke outbreaks of fungal diseases that can very quickly destroy entire strawberry plantations. You should also still adequately assess the possibilities of the climate in Russia, and that it is possible to get about two kilograms of berries from one bush only from those bushes that are grown in greenhouse conditions. If the remontant strawberry Albion grows in the open field, then the real yield from one bush will be no more than 600 grams. So these aspects must be taken into account so that the gardener's expectations fully coincide with the real picture of what is happening.
