Pineapple strawberry is a large, unusually aromatic berry brought to Russia in the 19th century. Its name does not indicate any resemblance to pineapple. It literally translates from Latin (ananassa) as "garden" strawberry.
Pineapple strawberries neither taste nor shape like pineapple. In the description of the variety, the emphasis is on the taste and aromatic qualities, the rather large size of the fruits and the special structure of the rosette of the bush. Experienced gardeners know that it is possible to achieve high yields from pineapple strawberries only if they are properly planted and the requirements for caring for them are met.
Pineapple strawberry - variety description
Pineapple strawberries were brought to Russia in the 19th century from Holland. The variety was artificially bred by breeding two popular varieties at that time - Virginian and Chilean strawberries. In the wild, this variety does not grow, seedlings can only be bought.
This strawberry variety differs from analogues in the rather large size of the bush and fruits. But it also has other features, distinctive features:
- powerful socket with fleecy leaves on high legs,
- inflorescences of the apical type, flowers with a diameter of at least 2 cm,
- shoots (antennae) are long and branched, with active rooting at the nodes.
The berries on pineapple strawberries grow large, from 50 to 70 g each, with a low calorie content. In England, a berry weighing more than 200 g was grown, but the record has not yet been broken. The maximum that experienced gardeners could achieve is 150 grams one piece.
The taste of pineapple strawberries is sweet, with some sourness. The aroma is bright, characteristically strawberry, persistent - it lasts even after many months of storage of jam or compote.
The best varieties of pineapple strawberries
This variety of garden berries is divided into two types - remontant and large-fruited, which, in turn, are divided into several "sub-varieties":
- Gigantella,
- Mara de Bois,
- Lord,
- Albion,
- Maxim,
- Temptation and others.
Repairing species of pineapple strawberries - Mara de Bois, Temptation - bear fruit several times over the summer, but in certain climatic zones, their fruits are usually small in size. Their advantage and value is that they are unpretentious to the quality of the soil and the place of planting, they do not need to be looked after - care is limited to timely weeding and watering, removal of "tendrils".
Large-fruited varieties of pineapple strawberries yield up to 2 kg per season per bush, are frost-resistant, which is important for Russia, they begin to bear fruit early - already in the second week of June. But in order to obtain such results, it is necessary to observe the planting technology - no more than 4 bushes per 1 kV m, since the diameter of one bush can reach 60 cm.
How to properly grow pineapple strawberries
Before you start planting pineapple strawberries on your site, you need to determine the type of soil, choose the variety that is optimal for the climatic zone, study all its features, requirements for planting conditions and care. Experts give the following recommendations:
- the optimal period for planting seedlings in the ground is the beginning of autumn (September) - they will have time to take root and gain strength,
- another trick - you cannot plant pineapple strawberries in sandy soil or in wetlands,
- in front of strawberries, in the summer, on this site you can plant marigolds or legumes - they will improve the structure of the soil, enrich it with nitrogen, "drown" the weeds,
- a couple of weeks before planting pineapple strawberries, manure or superphosphates can be added to the soil at the rate of 6 kg or 60 g per kW m,
- minimum distance between rows - 40 cm, bushes in them - 30 cm,
- the root collar of the seedling should not be underground - this is a very important aspect.
Immediately after planting, the seedlings are abundantly watered with water at room temperature, making sure that the root collar of the bush is not "washed out". High soil moisture must be maintained for another 10 days, especially if the air temperature is above 20˚С. For the cold season, pineapple strawberries must be covered with sawdust or a dense layer of fallen leaves - at least 5 cm.
It is very important to track the development of diseases on pineapple strawberries and timely process them from pests. The most common diseases for this garden berry variety are powdery mildew, white or gray rot, white spot and fusarium wilting. As a preventive measure, spraying strawberries with a pineapple solution of colloidal sulfur can be used.
In order to exclude pineapple pests from eating strawberries - aphids, May beetle, weevil, whitefly, bear or bronze - winter garlic is planted between the rows of berries, and for the winter they are covered with a thick layer of straw, preferably oatmeal.
What can be cooked from pineapple strawberries
Pineapple strawberries are used to prepare jams, jams, compotes, desserts, it can be added to cake cream, cocktails and other dishes, and eaten fresh. Step-by-step recipes, as a rule, are simple, classic, do not include any special ingredients. They can be found online or from experienced chefs. Pineapple strawberry jam, jam or compote retain the unique aroma characteristic of this berry for a long time.
Due to the fact that this is a light product, medical experts recommend eating berries of this particular variety for cardiovascular diseases, intestinal problems, those who have stones in the kidneys, liver or ureters, biliary tract, who suffer from gout. In addition, pineapple strawberries are widely used in cosmetology - homemade masks for the face and décolleté area are prepared from it. They are useful for those who have problems with pigmentation, a lot of freckles, acne. There are a lot of photos and videos in which the rules for preparing masks are described in stages.
