Strawberry Pineapple: main features and description of the variety

Pineapple strawberries, a description of the variety of this tasty and juicy berry will be presented below, now grows successfully in many countries. This is originally a cultivated plant, which was obtained not by hybridization, as some people believe, but by crossing Chilean and Virginia strawberries. These two varieties were originally the only varieties of strawberries or wild strawberries that grew in the countries of the American continent.

Pineapple strawberries received such an interesting name not at all because they are similar to the tropical fruit - pineapple. Strawberries are not at all similar to it, either in appearance or, especially, in taste. They called the strawberry “pineapple” from the Latin word “pineapple,” which means a type of garden strawberry that has no similar relatives in the wild. Based on this, pineapple strawberries can be called all varieties of plants that gardeners grow in the summer.

Pineapple strawberries are called polymorphic. This means that there are a huge number of species of this crop that can be classified as a given variety. They differ in different requirements for growth, climate, the shape of the flowers themselves and the size of the berries.

Berries

The fruits of the Pineapple variety grow large in size, their weight can reach 40-60 g. The main distinguishing feature of the variety is color. The berries are colored in a variety of shades - from white to yellowish. The taste is sweet and sour. Unripe berries are green. You can tell when strawberries are ripe by the redness of the drupes.

From 1 sq. m. you can collect up to 1 kg of berries. The Pineapple variety belongs to the dessert category. Strawberries are consumed fresh and used to decorate dishes and confectionery.

Strawberries: choosing a variety (video)

Pineapple strawberries easily survive low frosts (up to -18 degrees). To increase its frost resistance, it is better if it is under snow cover or insulated in the fall using means known to gardeners.

The flowering period occurs in April-May, depending on the climate, and fruiting begins at the end of June or beginning of July. If the strawberry is remontant, then it bears fruit throughout the season, but the early variety bears fruit only once. It is not very good if strawberries bloom early, because this has a bad effect on its yield. This variety produces a good harvest for about 3-4 years, after which the berries can become much smaller.

Red varieties of pineapple strawberries are great for transportation, but white strawberries quickly deteriorate during storage or transportation.

Strawberries grow and multiply thanks to their powerful rhizomes. Under favorable conditions, the area of growing berries will increase every year. Strawberries, which are firm and juicy, can be used both in cooking and in cosmetology.

Planting strawberries

Before planting in open ground, you need to take care of choosing a suitable site. The place should be evenly illuminated by the sun throughout the day and protected from cold winds and drafts. The Pineapple variety prefers loamy soils with low acidity levels.

It is best to plant plants in the fall. Before frost, they will have time to take root and will produce a harvest the following summer. The variety is resistant to frost down to -25⁰C. In the fall, it will be enough to cover the plants with straw or agrofibre.

Before planting, water the soil with boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.

Preparing the bed involves digging up the soil, loosening it and clearing weed roots. Organic fertilizers are applied at 5 kg per 1 sq. m, mineral - 40 g for the same area.

The best predecessors for strawberries are root vegetables, grains and legumes.

The soil temperature before planting should be at least +18⁰С. The distance between the bushes is left 25-30 cm. The rows are placed 70 cm from each other. When planting, the central bud should be located a short distance from the soil surface. If it is placed deep in the ground, the seedlings will die. If raised high above the garden bed, they may dry out.

Harvesting and storage

Berries are picked in the morning or evening in dry weather. If they are intended to be transported, they are picked along with the stalks. The fruits are placed in containers made of plastic or wood, with fabric or paper placed at the bottom.

Berries are stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0…+2 °C. They are not washed before storing. If strawberries are purchased at the market, they are simply sorted, removing rotten specimens or those that have released juice. Under such conditions, strawberries can be stored for 3-4 days.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of the variety is its taste. Other positive qualities include:

the white color of the berries does not attract birds;
the variety is resistant to most diseases;
plants do not need special care;
The fruiting period lasts from May to July.

The disadvantages include:

due to the heat-loving nature of the variety, a bountiful harvest cannot be obtained when grown outside a greenhouse;
fruits do not have a long shelf life and do not tolerate transportation well;
When there is heavy rainfall, plants are often affected by gray rot.

Early and remontant varieties of pineapple strawberries

Early varieties are called short-day strawberry varieties that bloom from April to May. They ripen in mid-summer. The harvest is often high, the berries can be of different sizes, from pale pink to deep red. Early strawberry varieties bear fruit only once per season.

Remontant varieties are more profitable than ordinary ones, since they bear fruit all season, until the first frost.

They begin to bloom in the same way as ordinary strawberries, but unlike them, inflorescences are formed throughout the entire season. Under good weather conditions, the harvest can be harvested until the last month of autumn. Popular varieties today are:

"Geneva";
"Red Rich";
"World Debut"
"Sakhalinskaya" and others.

There are also semi-remontant varieties of this berry, which are bred specifically for climatic zones characterized by long and harsh winters. They can bear fruit 1-2 times a year. In order for the second harvest of such varieties to be good, it is necessary to tear off all the leaves after picking the first berries - this stimulates the appearance of the autumn harvest.

There are day-neutral varieties of pineapple strawberries. Such strawberries can bear fruit all year round if the air temperature does not drop to below zero. Such varieties produce a harvest every 1.5 months, from early summer to late autumn. Varieties of strawberries are shown in the photo (FIGURE 1. FIGURE 2. FIGURE 3.).

How to plant strawberries (video)

You can make an excellent infusion from strawberries, which has antiseptic properties. It is used to rinse the mouth for throat diseases, stomatitis, and gum problems. Small children should be given berries in small quantities, since very often an allergic rash appears on the face after eating them.

In cosmetology, pineapple strawberries are used to make masks for acne, age spots, and freckles.

Strawberries lend themselves well to transportation, but storing them open for a long time will not work. It is not suitable for freezing either. It is best to store strawberries in the form of jam or compotes, which will preserve the taste and aroma of the berries. When closed, strawberries do not lose their properties; on the contrary, in winter they are an excellent source of vitamins that will help strengthen the immune system.

Spreading

Picked pineapple strawberries

It does not exist in the wild and has not been bred from a specific wild plant species of the strawberry genus, that is, it is a cultigen. Appeared in Holland in the 18th century. It arose, presumably, as a result of the hybridization of Chilean strawberries (which gave them large fruit) and Virginia strawberries (which gave them relative frost resistance). This is confirmed by the similarity of the characteristics of strawberry plants and the indicated species by the same number of chromosomes (2n = 56).

In Russia, until the 15th century, strawberries were not cultivated at all, due to the abundant growth of several species of wild strawberries in the country. Then they began to cultivate green strawberries, then called strawberries

(due to the shape of the berries), as larger-fruited and more productive than wild strawberries, especially in those regions where they did not grow in the wild.
But in the 17th-18th centuries, nutmeg strawberries began to be introduced into cultivation. Since by that time it had already become customary that strawberries were grown in gardens, when describing and systematizing the plant in Russia, strawberries were officially called not green strawberries, but nutmeg strawberries, which caused a little confusion in the Russian names of these berries. A previously non-existent plant species, later called pineapple strawberry
, appeared on Earth only in the second half of the 18th century, conquering its niche among cultivated plants in Europe, while its first varieties were not frost-resistant.
It came to Russia only in the 19th century, and en masse in the 20th century. Basically, the “Victoria” variety was one of the first to be imported, as one of the most frost-resistant, bred in England and named after Queen Victoria (nowadays it is practically not found and has been replaced by improved varieties bred later. The fruits of the “Victoria” variety of garden strawberries are poorly stored , as a result of which they are non-transportable and not suitable for industrial production). As a larger-fruited, high-yielding plant, pineapple strawberries quickly replaced the previously cultivated strawberries (both muscat strawberries and green strawberries) from cultivation. And it is precisely in connection with this that the everyday name of strawberries as pineapple strawberries
, or
Victoria,
.

Pineapple strawberries are a widespread berry crop that originated simultaneously in Europe and America. In Russia, the cultivation of garden strawberries ( Fragaria x ananassa Duch.

) has a history of almost 200 years, with varieties of foreign selection being cultivated. Breeding work with pineapple strawberries began only in 1924 at the Moscow fruit and berry station. Non-frost-resistant (depending on the variety), non-drought-resistant, shade-tolerant plant. In the European part of Russia, frosty winters with little snow often die; a drop in temperature to -15°C (without snow cover) leads to the death of plants. Not demanding on soil.

Botanical description

Garden strawberries. General view of the plant, flower in section, flower, fruit. Gaston Bonnier, 1886

Pineapple strawberry flowers

Garden strawberry seeds (nuts)

Fruits of garden strawberries (in fact, they are not berries, but overgrown receptacles) at different stages of ripeness

Large trifoliate green leaves are on petioles 20-25 cm high.

The inflorescence is a multi-flowered shield. The flowers are usually bisexual, five-petaled, and white. Peduncles in some varieties are higher than the stems. Many stamens and pistils. The critical frost temperature for flowers is −1.5 °C.

Strawberry fruits (multi-nuts), commonly called berries, are an overgrown, juicy receptacle; The real fruits (nuts) - small, brownish in color - are located on the surface of the berries. The berries are usually red (of different shades), sometimes pink or white, with reddish, less often white pulp.

According to the number of chromosomes (Darrow, 1966; Scott and Lawrence, 1981): octaploid (2n = 56).

Recipe: Italian Mimosa Cake with Strawberries and Pineapples

Separate the whites from the yolks.

Beat the yolks with 75 grams of sugar into a fluffy foam. Add vanillin.

Beat the whites with 75 grams of sugar and a pinch of salt into a stable foam, like meringue. Dilute saffron in 1 tbsp. spoon of water, add to the dough.

Add the whites to the yolks and mix gently. Sift starch with flour, add to egg mixture, mix gently with a spatula. The result will be an air mass.

Place the dough in a greased mold (diameter 24 cm), bake for 30-35 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees, do not open the oven during baking for the first 30 minutes. Check readiness with a wooden skewer.

Cool the finished biscuit in the mold.

Custard: pour milk into a saucepan, add vanillin, orange zest, and put on fire. Beat the yolks with sugar, add much warm milk, flour, mix.

Pour hot milk into the egg mixture in a stream and put on fire.

Stirring with a whisk, cook the cream until thick. Cover the finished cream with cling film so that the film touches the cream. Cool the cream.

Cut the top of the biscuit.

Cut the cake around the circumference, leaving 2 cm sides, cut out the middle, and form a “box”.

Cut the biscuit first into strips and then into cubes.

Drain the syrup from the pineapple, you will need half the syrup, add 2 tbsp to it. spoons of rose syrup (you can do without it) and 1 tbsp. spoon of rum. Soak the “box” with syrup.

Whip cream with 1 tbsp. l sugar, add to custard. Set aside 1/4 of the cream.

Cut pineapples and strawberries into cubes.

Place 4 tbsp on the bottom of the box. tablespoons of cream, add strawberries.

Add pineapple to the rest of the cream, mix and place all the cream in a box on top of the strawberries.

Cover the cake with the cut lid.

Spread the remaining cream over the top and sides of the cake.

Sprinkle with biscuit cubes.

Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Bon appetit!!

Cross-section of the cake: the taste of the cake is amazing - very delicate, but the cream does not hold its shape as I would like... so the cake must be kept in the freezer before serving for 1.5-2 hours or use a cream thickener, which is not my option: more beautiful, but the taste loses

and this is how the camellia blossomed in the garden on March 8th!

Reproduction

Today there are different varieties of white strawberries on the market. Under the “pineapple brand” various varieties and hybrids are sold, differing in the shade of the berries, ripening time, and methods of propagation.

Among the white strawberries there are non-bearded remontant varieties. They are propagated only by seeds or by dividing the bush. Hybrids, on the contrary, are not planted with seeds, because varietal characteristics are not transmitted this way.

When purchasing white Pineapple strawberries, be sure to specify how to subsequently propagate them:

Seeds. They are sown as seedlings, which are then planted in open or closed ground.
Usami. The rosettes that grow on the tendrils are separated from the adult bushes and transplanted to new beds.
Dividing the bush. The mother plant is dug up, carefully divided into parts and planted in new places.

Diseases and pests

It is recommended to carry out treatment for preventive purposes in the spring. At air temperatures above +17°C using drugs such as:

"Aktifit";
"Fitoverm" and others.

Find out how to fight strawberry mite.

For cooler weather conditions using:

"Taurus";
"Caesar".

Pineapple strawberries are highly resistant to diseases and pests, but you should be aware that the plant can suffer from the following diseases:

white spotting;
powdery mildew;
white, gray rot;
fusarium wilt.

Strawberry bushes may also suffer from the following pests:

Chafer;
mole cricket;
aphid;
strawberry whitefly;
nettle leaf weevil;
hairy bronze.

To combat the listed ailments, use a solution of colloidal sulfur at the rate of 50 g of sulfur per 20 liters of water. Irrigation with liquid can be both therapeutic and preventive. Also use a solution of baking soda in a proportion of 2 tbsp. l. for 10 liters of water. Such irrigation will prevent the appearance of pests and will not cause harm to the plant and future fruits. It is also effective to use wood ash and tobacco dust; these organic substances are poured into the middle of each bush.

Important! To repel insect pests, you can plant winter garlic in early October.

Interesting facts about strawberries

Berries help with headaches.
The immune system will be strengthened for a whole year by eating strawberries daily in the summer.
You can remove age spots and freckles with strawberry juice.
Baths with strawberry juice will make your skin silky and soft (the fruit contains copper, which promotes collagen production).
Strawberry is an excellent aphrodisiac.
Unusual and tasty dishes are obtained by combining strawberries with poultry, cheeses and seafood.
Deep-fried strawberries with pepper are one of the most expensive dishes served in New Orleans restaurants.
Only strawberries have seeds on the outside of the fruit.

Agricultural technology

Recommendations for choosing seedlings

If seedlings are bought in a store, then special attention is paid to foliage and roots. The leaves should be a rich green hue without inclusions;
The young seedling must have at least three leaves without visible damage;
The roots are fluffy in appearance, they must be at least 7 cm long (seedlings with an open root system);
When purchasing seedlings in pots, the roots should sprout and protrude from the bottom of the container.

Which seedlings should not be chosen:

It is not recommended to choose seedlings with pale leaves and elongated stems. Such seedlings are considered unviable;
If the leaves are limp, slightly dried out;
If wrinkled foliage is noticeable on a seedling, then this is a sure sign of the presence of strawberry mites;
If small inclusions or dark spots are noticeable on the leaves, this indicates the presence of fungal diseases.

Strawberry Pineapple seeds
It is better to buy seedlings in specialized stores, so the chance of running into bad seedlings is much less. Choosing healthy strawberry roots is the key to successful growing.

Site requirements

It is preferable to grow pineapple strawberries in greenhouses. The berry is heat-loving. If you plan to plant in open ground in central Russia, then you need to choose the southern part of the site.

Direct sunlight on the garden bed is undesirable. The berry may take on a pink tint. Therefore, it is recommended to shade the bed with agrofibre.

The variety grows well in different types of soil. It is preferable to choose a chernozem type of soil, which contains ash. The optimal acidity level is 5-6.5 pH.

On a note. Strawberries do not tolerate stagnation of water in the soil. Therefore, it is advisable to make a bed on a hill or bring additional soil so that the seedlings grow slightly above ground level. This way you can preserve the harvest during a rainy summer.

The bed for strawberries is prepared in the fall. The earth is dug up to a depth of a shovel, loosened, and cleared of remnants of weeds. Organic (5 kg per 1 sq. m) and mineral fertilizers (40 g per 1 sq. m) are added to the soil. Over the winter, fertilizers will be completely absorbed into the soil, and it will be fertile.

Good predecessors for Pineapple Strawberries are:

Roots;
Cereals;
Leguminous plants.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Important. If the area for strawberries has not been prepared since the fall, then fertilizers must be applied 14 days before the planned planting in the garden. Humus, droppings, and ash are added to the garden bed.

Seedlings are distributed in two ways:

One-liner. The recommended distance between bushes is 20-30 cm, between rows – 60-90 cm. After a while, the empty space between the rows is overgrown with new bushes. If the mustache grows more than 15 cm from the row, then it must be trimmed;
Two-line. The interval between bushes is 20 cm, the gap in the line is 30 cm, the distance between rows is up to 70 cm. All mustaches that appear are cut off.

Pineapple strawberries, planting scheme:

Make small holes for seedlings. The interval between seedlings is at least 30 cm, 60-90 cm should be left between rows;
The roots do not go very deep into the ground. The root collar should be flush with the surface of the earth. The seedling is placed in the center of the hole, the roots are carefully distributed, the empty space is covered with earth and the hole is lightly compacted with your hands;
Afterwards, water the bed with warm, settled water.

Strawberry planting scheme in spring

Rules of care

In order for the seedlings to quickly take root in a new place and produce a good harvest in the future, the bushes must be regularly cared for. The care instructions are standard. But there are some nuances:

Watering. The soil should be moderately moist. During dry summers, it is recommended to water the berries daily by sprinkling. During the flowering period, only water the soil. Stagnation of water should not be allowed, as this leads to rotting of the roots, berries, and the appearance of diseases in the plant. The water should be no colder than +16 degrees. Water the bushes in the morning or evening hours, when the sun is inactive;
Weeding. Strawberry Pineapple grows well in fertile soil. Weeds can quickly fill the empty space in the garden bed, preventing the bushes from developing normally. Therefore, regular weeding of weeds with roots is important. After the bed is cleared of weeds, the soil is loosened, deepening the garden tool by a maximum of 5 cm;
Mulching. After weeding and loosening, the beds are watered and covered with mulch. Straw, pine needles, and mown grass are used as a mulch layer. The procedure allows you to maintain an optimal level of soil moisture and prevents weeds from germinating;
Feeding. Strawberry bushes are fed three times a year. The first time the procedure is carried out in the spring. You can use complex fertilizer - Nitrophoska. When the first buds begin to appear, the bushes are fertilized with organic fertilizers: manure, mullein, and wood ash is added to the soil. The last feeding is done during the flowering period. Use mineral, potassium and phosphorus additives;
Prevention of diseases and pests. Before the flowering period, bushes should be treated with Actofit and Fitoverm. Insecticides are used when the air outside warms up above 17 degrees. If the spring is cold, then it is better to use Caesar or Taurus. The drugs help prevent attacks from pests and diseases;
Trimming. The procedure is carried out to keep the bushes in order. Overgrown strawberries bear fruit poorly. Pruning is recommended after the seasonal harvest. The mustache is trimmed with gardening tools. When pruning leaves, you must leave a stem of at least 10 cm; you cannot cut at the root. Only dry, damaged leaves are removed. Only the first few whiskers are left for reproduction. If there are no plans to plant strawberries, then the mustache can be removed completely.
Preparing for winter. In autumn, weeds are not removed. Strawberry bushes are covered with straw, dry leaves or agrofibre. This will protect the plant from winter frosts.

Care and feeding

Caring for this variety includes:

regular watering;
feeding;
mulching.

It is necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out. In addition, it is recommended to slightly loosen the soil so that not only the top layers become wet. In order for the plant to receive all the necessary vitamins and minerals, it must be fed.

Stores sell ready-made fertilizers, but you can prepare them yourself. Mix 1 part mullein and 7 parts water, or 1 part chicken manure and 14 parts water. Feeding is carried out once a week. If the plant looks weakened and not entirely healthy, it is fed twice a week.

Strawberries will be filled with useful substances, will be healthy and will bring a rich harvest.

Reviews

It will do for variety, but traditional red strawberries taste much better. Surprise your neighbors and granddaughters.

Pineberry garden remontant strawberries are convenient to grow and easy to propagate. The plant will successfully produce crops in one place for 5-7 years without losing immunity to disease. To prevent snow-white strawberries from changing their color, they need to be cultivated in a greenhouse. Children really like exotic berries. These fruits look very decorative, especially in combination with traditional red varieties.