Garden

Features planting and care for Roxanne strawberries

Roxanne's strawberries can rightfully be called a variety of the 21st century, because seedlings of Italian selection began to be available on sale only in 2001. The experts of New Fruits, which is located in Cesena, in the Emilia-Romagna region, brought Roxane out. Soon they learned about the new variety in Russia and Ukraine, where they began to grow it, appreciating the taste and commercial qualities - more about it in the article.

Botanical grade description

The efforts of Italian breeders were not in vain: they managed to create a remontant (capable of several fruiting during the season) cultivar with great growth power and high yields. Roxane is a mid-late variety.

The life cycle of a plant is 4 years. Strawberries normally withstand winter frosts down to –20 ° С. Yields are quite high - up to 1.2 kg per bush. At the first fruiting, one inflorescence gives no more than a couple of flowers: it is this quality that determines the large size of the berries.

Characteristics of berries and and bushes

The main characteristics of the fruit:

berries of saturated red color, with a pronounced brilliance;
all fruits are large, approximately the same size;
the mass of one fruit of the first crop can reach 70 g, the average weight - 30–35 g;
subsequent harvests bring more fruits, noticeably inferior to the first in size - their weight reaches 20-30 g;
the shape of the fruit is elongated conical, although the berries are prone to deformation, splitting of the tip;
strong characteristic aroma typical of this species;
excellent taste (4.6 points out of 5 possible), the taste of the second and third crop is more saturated;
pulp of elastic consistency of medium density;
withstands transportation well, is not bad stored.

Did you know? The correct botanical name for strawberries is Strawberry high. This type of strawberry is called only by Russian-speaking people, and, for example, in English both names sound the same - Strawberry.

Characteristic features of the bushes:

rather powerful bush of medium height, foliage grows compactly;
stems are straight, plentifully leafy;
large leaves of the correct form of green color;
a little mustache; sockets are well developed;
peduncles elongated, inflorescences are at the same level as the leaves.

Roxana is great for autumn cultivation. A smaller amount of sunlight in comparison with the beginning of summer does not adversely affect strawberries - it has a bright red color and a rich taste.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Roxana-specific benefits:
wonderful taste of dessert type;
high yields;
excellent commercial qualities;
good transportability.

Among the shortcomings, insufficient frost resistance should be highlighted.

Read also our e-magazine on strawberry cultivation.

Features and landing rules

Planting and breeding Roxanne have some features, which are worth saying the following:

the plant produces large berries, the formation of which spends all its resources. For this reason, the bush gives a small number of shoots;
for further cultivation of the variety, 2-3 outlets should be left, a larger number will not allow any of them to develop to the desired condition;
Recommended landing pattern - 0.35 × 0.35 m: suitable both multi-row and staggered;
Roxane can be grown in greenhouses and in open ground.

Below are described in more detail the main points that should be remembered when breeding the described variety.

Optimal timing

Roxane can be planted both in autumn and spring. It is more expedient to carry out autumn planting in the second or third decade of August, so that the seedlings have time to take root and adapt before the onset of frost. Spring planting is best done soon after the snow melts, as soon as the soil warms up a bit.

Seat selection

For growing Roxanne, it is best to place open to sunlight, preferably a hill, with a bed of ground water no closer than 60 cm. A good option for breaking strawberry beds is a small slope in the south or south-west direction.

The most suitable soil types are chernozem or light forest soil of a dark gray color. Strongly acidic, limestone, swampy soils for growing are not suitable, but a slightly acidic substrate is not bad for such purposes. In addition, you should remember about the rules of crop rotation.

Important! If you have any problems with the soil on the site, and you plan to plant Roxane in a couple of years, you have time to correct the situation with the help of green manure.

For strawberries, the best predecessors are:

any greens;
legumes;
radish;
siderates.

It is worth saying separately about siderata. Rapeseed grown on the site enriches the substrate with phosphorus and organics. Growing white mustard stimulates the formation of humus and inhibits the development of late blight. Vika increases the nitrogen content in the soil, and buckwheat, in addition to nitrogen, increases the concentration of phosphorus and potassium. Phacelia neutralizes the acidity of the soil. In addition, it should be remembered that next to the Paslenovs, strawberries grow poorly.

Site preparation

Landing should be prepared in advance, preferably in the fall - for spring planting, and in the spring - in the fall. Acid fertilizers (ammonium nitrate), sulfur or iron sulfates, peat, compost are added to the clay substrate. When digging, add one bucket of river sand and humus, 150 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium salt per 1 m² when digging.

If the soil on your site is not too suitable for growing strawberries, you can break loose beds. They are made from a mixture taken in equal parts of turf land, humus and peat, where some sand is brought. The resulting mixture is laid in embankments with a height of 0.3 m, on which beds are broken.

Direct landing

Landing algorithm:

Pre-mark the lines of future beds. To do this, you can make a shallow narrow groove or pull the string between two pegs installed along the edges of the beds.
Every 0.3–0.35 m, make holes. Their depth should be such that the root neck of the seedling placed there is slightly above ground level.
Set the seedlings in the wells. While controlling the seedling in an upright position, fill the hole by slightly tamping the ground.
Water the planting.

In one row, bushes are planted much less often than in 2-3. Multi-row planting usually yields higher yields. When planting in 2-3 rows (it is possible in 4), the distance between two adjacent rows is maintained the same as between the bushes - 0.3-0.35 m.

Roksana Strawberry Care Details

Roxanne is quite unpretentious in leaving. Of course, she needs the most necessary measures (watering, top dressing, pruning), but all these procedures are traditional.

Watering

Watering Roxane is required as needed. If the plants constantly need watering, this will negatively affect the quality of the fruits and their size - they will be small and dry. In addition, lack of moisture leads to degeneration of the variety.

Important! Water for irrigation of loams is required more than for irrigation of light substrates.

For a good harvest, you need to water it approximately every 10 days in a normal season and once every 5–7 days in a dry summer. The approximate irrigation rate is 12 l / 1 m². You can arrange drip irrigation: it will facilitate your work, and moisture to the roots of plants will arrive in a timely manner in sufficient quantities.

Most watering is necessary after planting, during periods of flowering and the formation of ovaries. When flowering, it is necessary to water exclusively under the root, so as not to damage the inflorescences. Water for irrigation should be taken well-kept and not too cold.

Top dressing

During the season, it is advisable for Roxanne to fertilize 2 times with nitrogen fertilizing (urea, nitrate). Apply root and foliar top dressing. For root dressing with ammonium nitrate, 1 tsp is dissolved in 1/2 bucket of water. fertilizers. This volume of solution is designed for 1 bush. Roxane also assimilates organic fertilizers very well. For such dressings, you can use a well-rotted mullein or poultry litter. Organics should be added carefully so as not to burn the roots.

Learn how to feed strawberries after harvest.

Prepare the tool as follows:

Pour 5 kg of litter or manure with 1 bucket of water, mix thoroughly, cover and place in a shaded, warm place, but without access to open sunlight.
When you feel a characteristic odor (after 4-6 days), the infusion is mixed well and diluted with water 1:10.
The resulting solution is watered basal region, the norm is 1 l / bush.

It is possible to add organic matter in a dry form, combining with ash (0.5 cups / 1 bush) and superphosphate (2 tsp / 1 bush), followed by digging. The advantage of dry application of organic fertilizers is that in this case, nitrogen in small doses enters the soil, its concentration is maintained at the right level. At the beginning of the growing season, potassium salt or potassium sulfate is added.

To do this, make a solution so that for each bush there are 2 tsp. fertilizers. The amount of water depends on the need for watering: if plants need it, they take more water, if moisture is enough - less. You can prepare a solution of ash and water them planting. For each bush, 1/2 cup sifted ash dissolved in water is required. You can sprinkle the root area with the product, and then water the bush.

Pruning

As necessary, the bushes should be trimmed. Dry green mass, mustache, peduncles are removed. The procedure can be carried out at any time, only during the flowering period it should be done carefully so that the pollen does not crumble.

Important! There is no need to be afraid to remove extra shoots: it will be enough to have one outlet with foliage on one bush.

All dry shoots that have been cut must be removed off-site and burned. In preparation for winter, most of the green mass should also be cut off - during this period the plant will not need greenery.

Loosening

The procedure is carried out for better air access to the root system, as well as for weed removal. In addition, loosening helps to retain moisture in the soil. Loosening the beds should be done with caution so as not to harm the root system, which is close to the surface of the earth. During the procedure, the bush is spudded, covering part of it with soil above the neck of the root, while at the same time trying not to fill the core. Watering the bushes after loosening should not be earlier than two days later.

Important! To get rid of weeds on strawberry beds, you can plant mustard between the bushes or use specially designed covering material for this.

Winter preparations

Roxana was bred in warm Italy and needs shelter in the conditions of our winters, especially in regions with little snow and severe frosts. Before warming the bushes for the winter, from them, as has already been said, leaves and mustaches are cut off. Shelter for winter should be covered with the onset of the first night frosts, to remove the shelter - with the first thaws.

The simplest winter shelter is hilling. If you decide to resort to this method, it is better to spud not with earth from the beds, but peat or humus. The most effective way is to mulch. Mulch the beds with needles, leaves and dry grass, straw, hay and sawdust - any improvised material.

But the leaves of fruit trees from your garden should not be used: they can become a source of disease and the appearance of pests. When the snow falls, rake it on the beds from the roadside - this will create additional protection against frost. In the event that the frosts are severe and there is no precipitation in winter, you will have to use agrofibre for warming.

Diseases and Pests

In March, the bushes are sprayed with Fitosporin or Phytocide in order to prevent diseases and pests. In addition to these funds, apply traditional Bordeaux liquid.

Important! Roxane brings large berries, especially at the first harvest. So that they do not lie on the ground under their own weight, the beds should be mulched.

Although Roxane is quite resistant to diseases and pests, a few words should be said about the diseases typical for the variety:

Fusarium, late blight, late blight . These diseases affect the leaves, stems and roots of strawberries, which leads to spoilage of fruits and even death of plants. For the prevention of diseases in the pits before planting, the agent “Gliocladin” is poured. They treat diseased bushes with the Trichoderma Veride drug.
Gray rot. A characteristic sign of the disease is the appearance of brown spots with a touch of ash. For prophylaxis, the bushes are sprayed with Alirin twice a season: first before the buds open, then when the crop is harvested.
The initial stage of gray rot on strawberries.
Brown, white, brown spotting. Diseases can be recognized by the spots of any of the listed colors, which then become hard and brittle, and then die. Prevention is carried out using Bordeaux fluid. Sick plants are treated with the same means or the drug “Chorus” is used.
Mosaic, twisting and other viral infections . It makes no sense to treat diseases caused by viruses, since there are no effective drugs against them. If an affected plant is found, it should be destroyed as soon as possible outside the garden.
Twisting strawberries.

Some pests do not ignore Roxanne, the most dangerous of which will be discussed below:

Weevil. This bug is small in size (up to 3 mm) with a long proboscis. For prophylaxis, foliar treatment with infusions of wormwood or tansy is used. Destroy the weevil "Karbofos" or "Aliot", before tying buds.
Strawberry mite. A very small, almost imperceptible pest that feeds on moisture from foliage. As a preventative measure, the bush before planting is lowered into a contrast bath: first for 10 minutes with a temperature of + 46 ° C, then - in a cold, + 20 ° C. In addition, four times a season, plants are treated with Fitoverm and Akarin.
The main signs of the presence of strawberry tick.
Spider mite, thrips, aphids. For the destruction of pests that feed on the greenery of the bushes, the preparations “Alatar”, “Fitoverm”, “Kleschevit” are used.
The spider mite is the most dangerous strawberry pest!
The wireworm, the bear, the larvae of the May beetle. All these parasites destroy the roots of the plant. Fighting them with the drug "Karbofos".

Harvesting and storage

As you know, strawberries are berries, which are practically not stored fresh. Although Roxana, in comparison with other varieties, is distinguished by good transportability and longevity, even under perfectly organized conditions, you will not be able to keep the berry fresh for more than 4-6 days.

Did you know? In the 18th century, white strawberries were bred. It was a hybrid of strawberries with pineapple, which has not survived to our time.

If you still want to try to keep the strawberries fresh for as long as possible, follow these guidelines:

prepare a basement or cellar with a humidity of 75–85% and an air temperature of 0 ... + 2 ° C;
suitable for storage strawberries, barely reaching technical maturity;
the berry is torn off with the peduncle;
you need to harvest in the morning, after the dew has gone, but before the sun rises high above the horizon;
it is better to collect in wooden or plastic boxes with paper on the bottom;
the berries are not picked after collection (this can damage a delicate surface), laying in one layer;
Harvested crops are placed in the cellar as quickly as possible - the sooner you do this, the longer it will be stored.

Harvested in this way at the above temperature can be stored for 4-6 days. A great way to store strawberries is to freeze them. In order to freeze a berry, it is better to take small fruits. If you plan to freeze part or all of the crop in advance, the bushes intended for these purposes should be watered as little as possible: the fruits on them will be small and not very juicy, but they are better preserved.

It is very simple to freeze strawberries:

The berries collected for storage are carefully washed under a thin stream of water, the surface is not rubbed, but it is turned, as it were, substituting different parts of the fruit under the stream.
Washed berries are laid out for drying on a thick towel. After that, strawberries are placed in plastic containers and placed in a freezer. If you have several compartments in the freezer, first strawberries are placed in the quick freeze compartment. After 3-4 hours, the containers can be moved to a simple freezer.

Check out the beneficial and harmful properties of frozen strawberries.

Excellent taste and commercial qualities, transportability and high productivity are qualities characteristic of Roxane's strawberries. In addition, a fairly good resistance to diseases and pests and unpretentious care are inherent in the variety - for these reasons, it has gained popularity among gardeners in less than two decades.