Strawberry Albion: variety description and characteristics, cultivation and care with photo

Garden strawberries are not easy to grow either. The culture is demanding on care and compliance with agricultural technology, but new varieties are constantly being developed that take root even in adverse climate conditions. A little over 10 years ago, Albion strawberries were created in California, which pleases with a harvest of berries, regardless of the length of daylight hours. Strawberry relative Diamante feels comfortable in the mild climate of Europe, in Canada, the USA, grows in Ukraine, Belarus.

Description and characteristics of Albion strawberries

Garden strawberries of American origin in the temperate latitudes of Russia take root only in closed ground, but summer residents do not complain about the yield and taste of the fruit.The first remontant strawberries ripen in May, in the second month of summer, in August, and in the southern regions the last berries are picked in October.

Morphological features

Albion variety has beautiful and branchy bushes in the form of a ball that grow up to 40 cm in height. Dense shiny strawberry leaves end with teeth. The berries are laid on strong and elastic straight peduncles with white petals and do not fall to the ground, do not get dirty, do not rot. Short stalks come off the strawberries without any problems. A little mustache appears on the bushes.

Berries

Under favorable conditions, Albion strawberries are filled with juice, when ripe, they acquire a dark crimson color. Individual fruits weigh about 60 g, but the average weight is 40 grams.

Berries have:

cone or heart shape;
juicy and dense pulp;
sweet and sour;
pronounced aroma;
high sugar content.

An unripe strawberry has a white tip. There are few seeds in the fruit. The leaves of the calyx curl up. Ripe berries do not drip juice, do not crumple, do not deform.

Yields

The productivity of the Albion variety depends on the climate and the applied agricultural technology. In the southern regions, 1.5-2 kg are harvested 3-4 times from a bush, however, in the middle latitudes of Russia, even in a greenhouse, from 300 to 900 g of strawberries per 1 sq. m area.

Region of natural growth

The variety is adapted to humid warm climates. In addition to California, strawberries are comfortable in Italy and Greece. In the south of Russia, Albion is also planted, but the plant will have to be watered often. In temperate latitudes, remontant strawberries are cultivated indoors.

Climatic resistant

Hybrid variety created in a region where it is always warm and full of sun, Albion does not tolerate even slight frosts. With heat over 30, productivity drops.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Strawberries created in the USA have many benefits, but they all come out when grown in favorable climate conditions.

The advantages of the variety include:

beautiful appearance of berries;
high commercial qualities;
presence of immunity to diseases;
repetitive harvesting of fruits.

Strawberries are transported without loss, stored for a long time, used for industrial purposes. Albion also has its drawbacks. With a lack of moisture, the bushes wither, the ovary is poorly formed. Large berries become smaller towards the end of the season. The variety is affected by brown spotting.

Planting remontant strawberries Albion

Growing strawberries requires knowledge and compliance with agricultural technology. Without careful care, you should not hope for a good harvest. The American hybrid loves moisture and warmth.

Which place is suitable for planting strawberries

A site for growing Albion strawberries should be looked for not in a lowland, but on a small hill. On the territory of the cottage, it is necessary to allocate a place on the south-western side. The soil in the selected area is carefully dug up, weeds are removed from the roots, peat or compost is introduced.

How to plant seedlings

In the spring, when the average temperature reaches 16 ° C and the frosts will definitely not return, or in early September, strawberries are planted in open ground. The bushes should have at least 5 leaves and a fibrous root. Pots with seedlings are placed every 15 cm, leaving 0.7 m between rows, moisten abundantly.You need to perform this procedure on a cloudy day or early in the morning.

How to care for strawberries

After 2 weeks after planting, you need to check if all the bushes have taken root, a new strawberry is placed in the place of the dead. The variety loves moisture very much, in the heat the plants are watered every day.

Weeding and loosening

So that young bushes do not drown out weeds, you need to constantly fight them. Strawberry Albion does not tolerate heavy soil; some gardeners pour sand under the plants. The earth needs to be loosened after rain and moisture, which helps to improve the structure of the soil. The beds are covered with mulch to reduce water evaporation.

Water and fertilize

In spring, both adult plants and seedlings need to be constantly irrigated so that the topsoil does not dry out. When the berries ripen, Albion strawberries should be watered less often, otherwise the fruits will be tasteless and watery.

After harvesting strawberries, you need to start irrigating again, since the ovary will not form, and there will be no new crop.

In early spring, strawberry beds are fertilized with a fermented solution of mullein or bird droppings. Ash and carbamide are added to the composition. Bushes are fed when flowers appear, in addition to organic matter, mineral complexes are introduced.

In early June, mullein is used again, at the end of the month, strawberries are fertilized with wood ash. In August, the plants are fed with organic matter for the last time.

Preparing for winter

Heat-loving Albion does not tolerate frost. Where strawberries are planted in an unprotected area, plants are fertilized and covered in autumn:

straw;
pine needles;
sawdust.

After mulching the bed, they make arcs on which they stretch agro-cloth, film or other material. In early spring, strawberries are released from shelter.

Methods of reproduction

To breed the Albion variety on the site, they divide the bush, use seedlings that are grown from seeds, or mustaches. The first method is the most effective:

The strongest and most mature strawberries are selected.
With the help of a knife, several parts with roots are disconnected from the bush.
Sections are disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Planting begins in the spring or late summer, so that the plants have time to get stronger by winter. In another breeding option, 4 or 5 antennae with rosettes are separated from the strongest strawberries, put in plastic cups, where the substrate is poured in advance. When roots appear, the bushes are moved to a permanent place.

In the first year after planting, the berries must be picked to strengthen the plants.

Most often, strawberries are bred by dividing, since not all seeds germinate, seedlings take root for a long time, the variety lets out little whiskers.

Protection from diseases and pests

To prevent the activation of fungi and bacteria, the invasion of parasites, it is necessary to clean the beds from dried stems, fallen leaves, weeds. It is impossible to allow thickening of landings, stagnation of moisture. Protects strawberries from diseases, increases plant immunity by feeding with organic matter and mineral complexes.

It helps to avoid strawberry infection:

spraying young bushes with Topsin-M;
treatment of soil with fungicides;
removal and burning of infected plants.

Strawberry Albion attracts spider mites, weevils, suffers from slugs and nematodes, cockchafer larvae. For the purpose of prevention, folk remedies are used, the bushes are sprayed with fungicides, Bordeaux liquid. To cope with the emerging parasites, the plants are treated with insecticides.

When and how to harvest

Depending on the climate, the first berries of the Albion variety ripen in the third decade of May - early June. In the southern regions, strawberries are tied and sing 4 times per season, in the middle latitudes they are harvested three times, in September or October the fruits do not ripen. Strawberries are plucked along with sepals.