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Garden strawberries or strawberries have long been considered one of the most delicious and healthy berries. It is loved not only by children, but also by adults. The queen of the garden today is grown by many summer residents, and is attracted by both the crop itself and the ideal option for decorating the garden. Flowers and ripening berries can outshine outlandish plants with their beauty.
But gardeners often face the question of which variety of strawberries to plant on their plot in order to harvest during the warm season. Strawberry Selva, according to the description of the variety, photos and reviews of gardeners, meets the claims of any summer resident. Bred by the Americans in 1983 of the last century. Its “parents” are Pajero, Brighton and Tufts varieties. To date, the Selva variety is one of the most popular remontant varieties.
Features of the variety
Selva – a remontant variety that bears fruit throughout the summer, belongs to the early, one might even say, super early varieties of garden strawberries.
- Plants are distinguished by powerful compact bushes, up to half a meter high. Strongly do not spread. Intense green leaves. During the season forms a lot of whiskers.
- There are many flower stalks on strawberries, they are located at the bottom of the bush. Powerful, with a lot of buds. Peduncles hold fruits well, do not fall to the ground.
- The flowers are large, the center of a rich yellow color. Fruit set is high. The berries are large from 25 to 40 grams and above, dark red, shiny, round-conical.
- The pulp is dense, crunchy, with a barely noticeable sourness. The berries are fragrant, reminiscent of wild strawberries.
Look at the photo, how many delicious berries are on one bush.
Characterization
If we talk about the characteristics of strawberry Selva, it should be noted that it is fully consistent with remontant. Fruiting occurs in waves, with good care there are 3-4 of them. As gardeners write in reviews, the increase in yield is due to the fact that flower stalks are not thrown out at the same time, but thanks to rooted rosettes on the mustache.
Strawberry variety Selva gives a full harvest for no more than three years. In the fourth year, even a mustache may not form. Therefore, every year you need to rejuvenate strawberry beds. There are many mustaches on young bushes. To obtain full-fledged seedlings, a healthy and most prolific strawberry bush is chosen, a mustache is rooted from it. In order not to reduce the yield of the beds and the tone of the plants, you need to remove the extra mustache.
Fruiting begins earlier than other varieties of strawberries. As soon as the first crop was harvested, flower stalks reappear at the Selva strawberries – the second wave of fruiting begins. The most delicious and fragrant berries ripen on the third wave. Judging by the numerous reviews of gardeners, Selva bears fruit until frost.
Berries with their density attract gardeners who grow strawberries for sale. The point is excellent transportability. When transported over long distances, the fruits of the Selva variety do not lose their shape, remain dry. Berries are also highly appreciated by culinary experts. Delicious strawberries can be eaten fresh, prepare compotes, jams. Frozen berries after thawing fill the apartment with the aroma of wild strawberries.
Strawberry variety Selva is resistant to many diseases and pests. Berries are not affected by gray rot, as well as leaves by spotting.
Planting features
When planting strawberry seedlings in a permanent place, there are no particular difficulties. With planting material, too, because the variety throws out enough whiskers. As a rule, it is best to use seedlings with a closed root system, so the mustache is best rooted in plastic cups. Here it is, the best seedlings, in the photo below.
Remontant strawberries Selva will give a rich harvest, if you follow some agrotechnical standards:
- Garden strawberries prefer sunny, wind-sheltered areas. It is undesirable to plant bushes of the Selva variety in a lowland, otherwise it will lose its elasticity and sweetness.
- The best soil is loam. Selva does not like strongly acidic soil.
- For planting strawberries, nitrogen-phosphorus mineral fertilizers and organic matter are added before digging – peat, manure, dolomite flour. The Selva variety prefers loose, breathable soil. Fertilizers containing chlorine should not be applied under strawberries.
- Since the strawberry bush of the Selva variety is powerful, when planting seedlings, you need to adhere to a step between bushes of up to 30 cm. When planting two-line, the row spacing should be at least 60 cm. Otherwise, due to the formation of a large number of mustaches, the plants will be very crowded, they will not be ventilated .
- Planting strawberries require intensive watering for at least 10 days. Then water less frequently.
Proper planting of seedlings is the key to the harvest:
Care and growing
Features of watering
The Selva variety is unpretentious, but it has a special relationship with water. The slightest drying results in loss of yield. Particular attention should be paid to the condition of the soil during the budding, flowering and fruiting of strawberries.
It is better to use drip irrigation. If such a system is not available, plastic bottles can be used. The lower part is cut off from them, and small punctures are made in the lid. The neck is stuck next to the Selva bush, water is poured into the bottle. The same drip irrigation is used by many gardeners.
How to save strawberries from the heat
The plant does not like high temperatures. So that the soil does not overheat, it is mandatory to mulch it. Straw or hay can be used as mulch.
Feeding
Since the fruiting of garden strawberries of the Selva variety stretches for the entire warm season, the plants need to be fed. Otherwise, the soil will be depleted, the same thing will happen with strawberries. Throughout the growing season, mineral fertilizers and organic matter are applied under the bushes. Fertilizers are applied at the same time as watering.
Interesting growing options
Since the whiskers of the Selva variety are long and plentiful, some gardeners grow strawberries as a climbing plant. A trellis is installed next to the bush, the Selva strawberry will cling to it with a mustache, forming a unique corner in the garden. Imagine that on one plant at the same time, against the background of greenery, flowers sparkle with whiteness and red berries sparkle.
Strawberry variety Selva looks good in a flowerpot or in a barrel, like an ampelous plant. But in this case, garden strawberries need to provide complete feeding.
Wintering
Strawberry Selva is a frost-resistant variety. In regions with a warm climate, it is enough to cover the plantings with a layer of straw or hay, spruce branches or non-woven material. In areas with cold winters, good shelter is used. The beds are covered with a thick layer of humus or peat, the soil is preliminarily mulched.
In order for the bushes to endure the winter well, they are hardened. Prior to permanent shelter, plants should meet light frosts in the open. Leaves can not be removed, because they will warm the roots.