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Strawberry Florida Beauty is a new American variety. Differs in very tasty and beautiful berries with the expressed sweetness. Suitable for fresh consumption and for all kinds of preparations. Good keeping quality and transportability allow transporting fruits over long distances.
History of breeding
Strawberry Florida Beauty (Florida Beauty), bred in the United States on the basis of the University of Florida and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. The variety was successfully tested in 2015–2016. in central and western Florida. Received patents PP20,363 and PP25,574.
In Our Country, the variety appeared in 2019. The novelty immediately spread to different regions. Strawberry Florida Beauty is a neutral day variety – you can get 2-3 crops per season. The variety is not included in the register of breeding achievements.
Description of the strawberry variety Florida Beauty and characteristics
Strawberry Florida Beauty is little known in the Federation. The variety has good winter hardiness, so it can be grown in regions with different climatic conditions. The culture is resistant to a number of diseases.
Characteristics of fruits, taste qualities
Strawberry Florida Beauty produces attractive berries of bright red color. The shape is correct, conical, the color is uniform, the skin is shiny. It is thanks to this that the variety got its name (translated from English as “Beauty of Florida”).
All berries are large (including the last harvest), average weight is 50 g. The taste is balanced, dessert, with delicate sourness and pronounced sweetness. The pulp is juicy, without voids, the consistency is dense.
Ripening time, yield and keeping quality
Florida Beauty is an early ripening strawberry: flowering begins at the end of May, ripening occurs in the last decade of June. The main wave of fruiting falls on the first summer month. The originator declares the possibility of harvesting 3-4 times per season. In the conditions of central Our Country, 2 collections are possible, in the southern regions – 3 waves.
The yield is high – from 1 to 1,5 kg is removed from one bush. All fruits are suitable for transportation, keeping in the refrigerator or in a cool room for up to seven days.
Florida Beauty variety has a high yield
Growing regions, frost resistance
The originator claims high winter hardiness of strawberries. But in Our Country, the Florida Beauty variety has not been grown for long enough. Therefore, as territories, you can choose the middle lane, the Black Earth, the Volga region and the south. You can try planting bushes in other regions, for example, in the North-West and the Urals.
In regions with cold winters, it is desirable to cultivate a crop under a film – thanks to this, you can achieve maximum yield.
Disease and pest resistance
The stability of Florida Beauty strawberries is quite good. There is immunity to root rot and phytosporosis. To a lesser extent, the culture tolerates anthracnose. The variety is not sufficiently resistant to berry rot. It is affected by powdery mildew, therefore, it needs mandatory preventive treatments, which are carried out in May-June, that is, before the formation of berries. Any effective fungicide can be used:
- Bordeaux liquid;
- “Signum”;
- “Horus”;
- “Fitosporin”;
- “Teldur”;
- “Maxim” and others.
Florida Beauty strawberry bushes can suffer from slugs, weevils, aphids, spider mites and other pests. They need to be fought with folk remedies, for example, insects are treated with solutions:
- tobacco dust;
- wood ash with soap;
- garlic cloves;
- onion peel;
- mustard powder.
During the fruiting period, treatment can only be carried out with biological preparations, for example:
- “Fitoverm”;
- “Vertimek”;
- “Bitoxibacillin”.
In extreme cases, chemical insecticides are used, for example, Akarin, Karbofos, Inta-Vir, Aktara and others. Berries can be picked only 3-5 days after processing.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Strawberry Florida Beauty is a new variety, but some gardeners have already managed to appreciate its benefits. Bushes give very tasty and large berries with a glossy surface. Subject to agricultural technology, the yield reaches 1,5 kg per plant.
Strawberries Florida Beauty large, regular shape
Pros:
- excellent taste with pronounced sweetness;
- high yield in 2-3 waves;
- large berries;
- attractive presentation;
- good immunity;
- transportability;
- keeping up to 7 days.
Cons:
- bushes give too many mustaches;
- in the northern regions, productivity is low.
Methods of reproduction
The main method of propagation of the Florida Beauty variety is the rooting of the mustache. The plant produces many shoots. As soon as they appear in early summer, they can be immediately cut off and planted in moist, fertile and light soil to a depth of 3-4 cm.
Adult bushes can and should be divided – the procedure is repeated every 3 years. This allows you to get new seedlings and maintain high yields. They start dividing at the end of May or in the last days of August, after harvesting.
Florida Beauty strawberry bushes are dug up and placed in jars of settled water. After a few hours, the roots are separated by cutting off the tangled hairs with a knife. Then the seedlings are transferred to a new place, watered. With the onset of the first frosts (below 0 degrees), they carefully mulch and cover with agrofiber or other materials.
Planting and care
In the case of the Florida Beauty variety, three planting dates are allowed:
- in late April or early May, as soon as the soil warms up;
- in the last decade of July;
- from August 20 to 31 or in the first ten days of September, 1–1,5 months before frost.
The requirements for the site are standard – it must be completely open, well lit. A landing site is chosen not in a lowland, but on a small hill. If possible, the site should be protected from strong winds. A suitable type of soil is loamy or sandy loam with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction (pH from 5 to 7). The land should be light and fertile. A month before planting, it must be prepared by adding a bucket of humus and 200 g of ash per 1 m2. If the soil is clayey, then add 500–800 g of sawdust or sand to the same area.
Landing pattern is standard:
- placement order: chess;
- interval between bushes 30 cm;
- row spacing 50 cm;
- the orientation of the beds in the direction “north – south”.
If the weather is cloudy, then work in the garden can be carried out during the daytime. Immediately after this, the soil must be mulched with sawdust, straw, agrofibre or other material.
When planting, it is recommended to leave the root neck flush with the surface, and also make sure that the roots do not break.
Agrotechnics for growing strawberries Florida Beauty includes several important rules, the observance of which directly affects the yield:
- Watered regularly, from mid-April to the second half of September. It is necessary to ensure that the soil remains moderately moist to the depth of the little finger (5 cm).
- Regularly carry out loosening (especially after watering and rains) and weeding.
- In May and June, a lot of mustaches appear – they need to be cut off, but not immediately, but as they grow. Strong rosettes are left for breeding.
Top dressing is applied 4 times per season – the scheme is described in the table.
Period | Development phase | Required fertilizer |
April 1-10 | Start of active growth | 2 kg of manure per bucket of water insist 3 days, measure 0,5 liters per bucket; water 1 liter of this solution per bush |
May 20–31 | The appearance of peduncles | Potassium nitrate (10 g per 10 l): 0,5 l of solution per bush |
July 1-15 | End of the first wave of maturation | Mullein (1:10) with superphosphate (50 g per 10 l) and wood ash (100 g per 10 l): 1 l solution per bush |
20-31 August | Harvest of the last harvest | 250 g of ash per 10 l: 1 l of solution per bush |
Preparation for winter
To grow healthy and tasty Florida Beauty strawberries, as in the description of the variety and in the photo, gardeners in the reviews recommend warming the plantings for the winter. If in the south it is enough to cut off old leaves and lay a small layer of mulch at the end of November, then in other regions it is necessary to create a full-fledged shelter.
Insulation of Florida Beauty strawberries with agrofibre creates an optimal microclimate in winter
When the first frosts come (slightly below 0 ° C), the mulch layer is changed – sawdust, small chips or spruce branches are good. Then covered with spunbond or other material.
Conclusion
Strawberry Florida Beauty is a variety of new American selection that lovers of sweet berries will surely appreciate. It is characterized by good productivity and winter hardiness. The berries are large, marketable, so you can grow both for yourself and for sale.
Florida Beauty Strawberry Reviews
