Gardeners who have been growing strawberries for many years have thoroughly studied the characteristics of their plants. They understand perfectly well that only with proper care for each variety can one achieve excellent results and get a rich harvest of delicious and healthy berries.
Every year, breeders delight gardeners with new varieties, but some of them do not give up old varieties of garden strawberries and continue to grow them on their plots. One of the varieties is the Festivalnaya strawberry, which, despite its “venerable” age, remains popular. And how can you refuse delicious and aromatic berries? Look at the photo, a real strawberry festival! I just want to enjoy it.
Description
It should be noted that the Festival strawberry variety enjoys prestige not only in Russia, but also abroad.
Let's find out the botanical properties of the Festival strawberry and its characteristic features:
- The Festival strawberry, according to the description of the variety based on photos and reviews, gives the first berries at the end of June, since it is a mid-season variety. But the berries, having bathed in the rays of the June sun, have a special taste and aroma.
- The bushes are tall with dense large leaves.But they do not prevent the berries from basking in the sun, because the flower stalks are located in the lower part of the bush. They do not lie down even with berries. The peduncles are powerful, thick, and many large snow-white flowers with bright centers bloom on them.
- The inflorescences are not scattered to the sides, neat, compact. The flowers on the bushes are bisexual; additional pollination is not required. Strawberries of the Festivalnaya variety can bear fruit in greenhouses and greenhouses.
- It is easy to identify the variety by the berries: they are oval and elongated. The short neck is well developed, the stalk comes off without difficulty, without injuring the berry. The first berries are quite large, their weight is up to 40 grams, the latter are twice as small. The fruits are red-scarlet, glossy. Dark seeds are clearly visible on ripe strawberries; they are located right on the surface. When mass ripening begins, the beds begin the strawberry festival.
- The pulp is tender, but at the same time dense, the fruits are easy to transport. During harvesting, the berries are not damaged and remain dry and clean. The taste is delicate, unobtrusive.
- Judging by the description of the variety, its characteristics and reviews from gardeners, the berries contain a lot of sugar, but there is also a slight sourness. The berry contains more than 90% sugar, and about 1.5% various acids.
A real strawberry festival in the garden:
- Many novice gardeners are interested in the question of whether strawberries are remontant or not. Let us immediately note that Festivalnaya is not a remontant variety, although fruiting is long-lasting. The variety is universal, suitable for fresh consumption, canning, making jam and freezing.
- Festival garden strawberries grow better in central Russia and in the north, in Siberia and the Urals, rather than in the southern regions (the whole point is that the summer is too hot).The plants are frost-resistant and do not freeze if provided with good shelter.
Gardeners love to share photos of their plants. We present to your attention a photo gallery.
Features of cultivation
Garden strawberries of the Festivalnaya variety are demanding on watering, especially at the time of planting flower stalks. Lack of moisture leads to a halt in plant development, which ultimately negatively affects yields. And not only this season, but also next year.
Judging by the reviews, strawberries are unpretentious to the planting site and can grow in the shade. That is why many gardeners plant the Festivalnaya variety between young trees and garden shrubs. Another advantage is that in partial shade the soil remains moist longer, and this promotes the formation of new flower stalks.
Although there is a fly in the ointment if it rains. Powdery mildew may develop on the Festival strawberry variety due to air humidity and little exposure to the sun. The plantings will have to be treated with fungicidal preparations.
It needs fertilizing during the period of planting flower stalks, fruiting and when preparing beds for wintering. Today, many gardeners, as they write in reviews, refuse chemicals, preferring organics and folk remedies. For Festivalnaya strawberries, any fertilizer that the gardener decides to use is suitable.
As for other agricultural techniques, they are identical for all varieties of strawberries. Plants need to be loosened and treated against insects and pests.
It should be borne in mind that every year you need to obtain new seedlings for planting. Strawberries can be propagated by any known methods. But it is best to root the tendrils from mother plants. Rosettes rooted in summer will produce a rich harvest of large berries the very next year. And there is much less hassle compared to seed propagation.
Everyone loves Festival strawberries and the reviews about them are rave. But it only bears fruit for a short time. If you want to get a real festival of delicious and aromatic strawberries in your garden, plant varieties with different ripening periods.
