Strawberry Crown

Experienced gardeners know that not all Dutch strawberry varieties “take root” in Our Country, the reason for this is the big difference in climatic conditions. One of the exceptions to this rule is the Korona variety, a strawberry bred and patented in Holland more than forty years ago. Strawberry Korona tolerates frost well, and this is its main, but far from the only plus. The reviews of gardeners about the Dutch variety are mostly positive, so it definitely deserves the attention of both beginners and experienced gardeners.

A detailed description of the Korona strawberry variety, photos and reviews about it can be found in this article. And here, agricultural technology is described in stages for those who want to start a berry with a royal name in their garden.

Characteristic of the variety

The fact that the variety has been successfully cultivated since 1972 testifies to many things: gardeners prefer Korona to more modern species, which means that strawberries have a lot of advantages.

The “parents” for Korona were the varieties Tamella and Induka, which endowed strawberries with the main advantage – the ability to withstand temperatures as low as -22 degrees. This allows you to successfully grow berries almost throughout the country. Only in the northernmost regions of the Corona strawberry needs shelter – here it is planted in greenhouses and greenhouses.

A more detailed description of the Crown variety:

• strawberries have a medium early ripening period – the berries are massively ripened in mid-June;
• extended fruiting – the gardener will be able to harvest a fresh crop for several weeks;
• usually strawberries are propagated by tendrils, although seed and vegetative methods are also possible;
• bushes are small in height, but powerful and sprawling;
• leaves on the Crown are strong, large, shiny;
• medium-sized berries – about 25 grams;
• the shape of the fruit is cone-shaped or in the form of a heart;
• the color of the Crown is normal – rich red, closer to burgundy;
• the surface of the strawberries is shiny, smooth;
• the taste qualities of strawberries are very good: a pronounced strawberry aroma, a balanced content of sugars and acids, juiciness, fleshiness;
• the yield is simply excellent – up to a kilogram of berries can be removed from a bush, on an industrial scale, farmers collect about 14 tons from each hectare;
• variety Korona is resistant to spotted mosaic, rarely affected by insects and other pests;
• strawberries are not covered for the winter, the only exception is the northern regions of the country.

Strawberry of the Korona variety is a universal berry: it is very tasty fresh, excellent preserves and jams are made from the fruits, alcoholic drinks are prepared, and the berries are used in the cosmetic industry.

Advantages and disadvantages

The variety has many strengths, otherwise it would have sunk into oblivion long ago and been forgotten by gardeners and summer residents. But the Crown also has its drawbacks, which you also need to know about before you buy seedlings and grow a crop on your site.

Of the advantages of Korona garden strawberries, it is worth noting:

• early ripening;
• excellent fruit taste;
• universal purpose;
• high productivity;
• unpretentiousness of culture;
• good frost resistance of the variety.

Of course, on the modern market you can find berries with a more exotic and attractive taste, but such strawberries are not suitable for making preserves and jams, and do not guarantee consistently high yields.

Do not forget about the shortcomings of the Korona variety:

• berries have a very tender pulp, so strawberries do not tolerate transportation and storage;
• fruits are not suitable for freezing;
• strawberries are susceptible to diseases such as gray rot, white spot.

Cultivation and care

It cannot be said that Korona strawberries are ideal for growing in open ground – like any heat-loving crop, it prefers greenhouse conditions. However in most of the country, strawberries are perfectly grown in the beds, you just need to know how to properly plant the bushes and how to care for them.

Planting strawberries

First, you need to choose a place where strawberries will grow. The best predecessors for garden strawberries are cereals and legumes, after which the earth remains loose and disinfected. It will not be worse if you plant strawberries on virgin soil – an untouched piece of land. First, the soil must be dug up or plowed with a walk-behind tractor.

In order for Corona to endure the summer heat and winter cold well, you need to choose a place protected from drafts and wind, with enough sunlight, but also with some protection from the scorching rays. It is in such areas that snow lingers well, and strawberries need it as a shelter from frost.

Garden strawberries are not very picky about the composition of the soil, but the harvest will be much better if the land on the site is loose, nutritious and moisture-intensive. Before planting, the soil must be fertilized with humus, mineral components (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) added, and wood ash scattered over the area.

The best time for planting the Korona variety is the beginning of May and the period from the first decade of August to the last days of September.

Planting work is best done in the evening or morning, optimally if the weather is cloudy. Strawberry seedlings should be strong and healthy: there are 4-5 leaves on each bush, the leaves are dense, shiny, the roots are not damaged, they reach a length of 7-10 cm.

Pre-prepare the landing holes for the Crown. The distance between them in a row should be at least 50 cm; in the aisles, the gardener leaves as much space as he needs to fully care for the bushes. The wells are abundantly watered with water (a bucket for 20 holes) and proceed to planting. Already planted strawberries are watered again and the ground is mulched with peat or humus – this will protect against weeds and premature evaporation of water.

Caring for strawberry beds

The strawberry variety Korona cannot be called the most unpretentious – in order to harvest a decent harvest, the gardener will have to work hard. But this strawberry is also not considered too capricious, because it rarely gets sick, tolerates bad weather conditions well.

So, competent care for planting strawberries Korona is as follows:

1. Feeding. Abundant fertilizer of strawberry beds is an important component of caring for them, because a good harvest of strawberries will not work on scarce land. Garden strawberries respond very well to organic fertilizing (humus, wood ash, urea), but also loves mineral components (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium). For the entire warm season, the Crown needs to be fed three times: after bud break, before flowering and after harvest.

   

2. The Korona variety has a lot of tendrils. On the one hand, this is good, because strawberries will multiply quickly and easily. But, on the other hand, the beds will begin to thicken, which will lead to the shrinking of the berries and a decrease in yield. To prevent this, The crown needs to be “trimmed” by trimming the mustache in late autumn after harvest.

   

3. In the central and northern regions, the Korona variety should winter under cover. After the autumn pruning of the mustache, the bushes are sprinkled with wood ash or peat, you can use humus, sawdust, spruce branches. In the coldest areas, you can not do without a special non-woven material or agrofibre. It is not recommended to use as a shelter material that attracts rodents that can retain moisture. As soon as the first snow falls, it must be collected from the site and mounds created on the strawberry beds.

   

4. Strawberries Corona have a predisposition to infestation with gray mold and blotches. To avoid illness need to be preventiveby spraying the bushes with special chemicals. If affected bushes appear, they are urgently treated or removed to prevent infection of all strawberries.

   

5. It is necessary to water the Crown, because with a lack of moisture, the taste of berries deteriorates, the fruits are deformed and small. The best way to water is drip irrigation. During the flowering period, any strawberries are watered more abundantly (about 20 liters per square meter), the rest of the time, 10 liters are enough. Water should not fall on the leaves and berries, as this leads to the appearance of gray rot. The optimum water temperature for watering strawberries is 20 degrees.

   

6. You can propagate strawberries of the Korona variety in different ways: by seeds, mustaches, dividing the bushes. The most popular method is mustache breeding. Antennae are recommended to be taken from two- or three-year-old bushes, they turn out to be the most productive.

There is nothing difficult in growing garden strawberries of the Korona variety, but the gardener will have no time to rest: if you need a good harvest, you will have to work hard.

Write Your Review

Conclusion

Korona is an excellent strawberry variety suitable for private households and summer cottages. The culture pleases with high and stable yields, large fruits with excellent taste and strong aroma.

With all the pluses, this garden strawberry also has a small drawback – the berries drain quickly and are not suitable for storage and transportation.