Strawberry Cardinal: variety description and care characteristics

Strawberries are undoubtedly one of the most favorite berries since childhood. Every summer we are looking forward to the season of this incredibly fragrant, juicy and sweet and sour berries. Every gardener tries to get the maximum harvest, putting considerable effort, because strawberries are a rather whimsical berry and care of it sometimes is a difficult task. In this article, we will take a closer look at the description of the strawberry variety Cardinal, photos and reviews. Despite the fact that to date, an incredible number of species of this remarkable berry has been bred, this variety has special advantages.

Strawberry Cardinal: a description of the variety, photo, reviews

Based on the reviews of experienced gardeners, this variety may well prove to be a patch plant that will bear fruit for the second time in September or early October. The berries of this variety are quite large and sometimes able to reach a weight of eighty grams. Characterized by a fairly dense and fibrous flesh, an oval shape, close to a conical, with an incompletely filled core. The surface of the berry is covered with small seeds of golden color and has a rather pronounced luster.

The taste and aroma of strawberries Cardinal differs among all varieties due to a special sweetness with a light sourness and incredible fragrance. As for the whole bush as a whole, its dimensions reach fifty centimeters in diameter and height. For this sort of characteristic leaves are similar to the shape of the boat, which on the one side of a saturated green color, and on the other have a slightly bluish tint. Covering the bush with leaves is rather weak, that is, with a special density and splendor, it does not differ.

Strawberry Cardinal: description and photo, as well as advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Collected fruits perfectly tolerate even long storage and transportation, which is very convenient if your dacha is far from the city and you need to transport berries for a long time. High yield is one of the main advantages. For the entire period of fruiting, you can collect about a kilogram of large berries from one bush, and larger berries appear closer to the autumn. But, unfortunately, the strawberry Cardinal has its drawbacks. For example, poor ability to rooting and unsuitability of the fertilized rosettes for further planting.

Photo of a strawberry variety Cardinal

If you are not an experienced gardener, and you still doubt whether it is worth cultivating this strawberry variety on your site, then we suggest you just admire the photo of Strawberry Cardinal. We are sure that it will not leave you indifferent and you will certainly plant a few bushes of this large fragrant berry in your area.

Features of cultivation and care

Variety of strawberries Cardinal makes special demands on the soil. It must necessarily have a low acidity, be loamy or sandy loam, and most importantly - quite fertile. Planting a berry is better in the early spring or early autumn so that the bush has time to take root before freezing. After planting and throughout the spring, it is necessary to clean the beds from dry and frost-bitten leaves, weed from weeds, slightly loosen the top layer of the soil and work the bushes with Bordeaux fluid.

In summer, it is necessary to water the planting with warm water every morning and evening, remove excess mustache, handle fungicides and insecticides, and also fertilize with mineral and organic fertilizers. Before the bushes bloom, it is enough to use sprinkling to moisten the soil, during the fruiting period the strawberry does not tolerate drying the soil and it is necessary to shed the bushes at the roots in addition.

Strawberry diseases and methods of combating them

The most common disease of strawberries is anthracnose. It is a fungal disease that, when afflicted, leads to a complete loss of the crop. The cause of this disease is excessive watering and, as a result, excellent conditions for fungal development. At the onset of infection, the disease manifests itself as round gray spots on the leaves and stems, which, when the disease develops, merge into one large brown patch, leading to the drying of the fruit brushes and berries. To save the plant it is possible only at the initial stage of the disease, spraying it with "Antrakol" and "Quadrice".

Powdery mildew is a fairly common disease, affecting both leaves, stems, and fruits. It appears as a white coating, slightly fluffy to the touch. The affected leaves cease to grow and twist into a tube. Berries, grown from infected barbels, have an unpleasant taste and ugly form. Most often this disease appears in the greenhouses because of the warm and moist air, which is a favorable environment for the development of powdery mildew. This disease is carried by air. The "Quadrase" and "Fundazol" preparations help fight it.

In addition to powdery mildew and anthracnose, strawberry is prone to gray mold, black, gray and white rot, rizoctonia, white, brown, red and brown spots.