Strawberry rightfully occupies a leading position in the list of the most "summer" berries. Finding people who can resist a sweet treat is almost impossible, except for those who are allergic to it, naturally. The only drawback of strawberries is a short period of fruiting, which is clearly not enough to eat berries from the heart.
There is great news for strawberry gourmets - breeders have developed a variety of late ripening, which begins to bear fruit, at the time when most varieties pass into the resting stage.
Variety description
Variety "Pandora" was bred in the UK by local breeders by crossing the varieties "Fragaria" and "Ananassa". It belongs to late-ripening varieties - the peak of fruiting is at the end of July, which is undoubtedly a great advantage.
"Pandora" is not a reparative variety, but, nevertheless, once having reaped the harvest, you will be pleasantly surprised by the size of the berries and their pleasant taste that you can enjoy at the end of the strawberry season.
A distinctive feature of "Pandora" before other varieties of strawberry is the need for pollinators during its flowering period.
As a pollinator, you can plant strawberry "Malvina" similar in maturity, or strawberry "Maxim", "Florence", "Vicoda".
Characteristics of berries and yield
On small shrubs grow quite large berries of a rounded shape, their weight is 30-60 g. About 400 g of juicy fruits can be collected from one bush. The pulp of ripe berries has a rich red color, it is dense in structure, juicy, but the strawberries do not lose their shape during transport. The taste is sweet and slightly sour.
Did you know? Strawberries are considered the only berries whose seeds grow outside, not inside. Each fruit has an average of 200 small seeds.
Agrotechnics of growing and caring for strawberries
Although cultivating the Pandora variety requires patience and extra effort, this process will not be difficult for experienced gardeners. We have prepared for you useful information on how to ensure that the cultivation of this variety of strawberry can bring pleasure even to beginners in gardening.
Selection of seedlings
Incorrectly chosen strawberry seedlings can nullify all your efforts in growing tasty and fragrant berries. Before buying bushes, always carefully inspect their appearance - the plant must have a healthy appearance, the leaves and root system must be intact and without damage, and the leaves should not have spots and creases.
Give an advantage to the bushes, which grew no more than three leaves, - after you plant the plant in the ground, the extra leaves will take away from him the strength and moisture, which will significantly slow down the growth process.
An important role is also played by the place of purchase of seedlings - it is best to purchase shrubs for planting from proven gardeners or in special nurseries and breeding grounds. So you will be most confident that you get exactly the sort of strawberries for which you paid, and the likelihood that pests and infections will get into your garden along with the soil is almost minimal.
Learn how to plant strawberries, whether to mulch, or grow under a covering material, how to feed in spring and autumn, how to care during flowering and after fruiting, how to prepare for winter.
Conditions of detention
If you decide to grow this British variety on your own plot, then first of all you should pay special attention to choosing the right place for planting Pandora, as well as prepare the soil in which it will grow.
The place should be well lit, without drafts, preferably choose the south-west direction. Make sure that the level of groundwater flow is not less than 1 m from the surface of the earth - this way you eliminate the flooding of the roots, and also you can avoid the appearance of excessive moisture in the soil.
Before planting it in the ground should be generously fertilized with mineral or organic dressings. This rule applies when planting all varieties of garden strawberries, but in the case of the "Pandora" - in no case should they be neglected. Without sufficient preparation of the soil before planting seedlings, all your efforts to eat juicy and tasty berries may be in vain.
Important! Experienced gardeners are advised to periodically thin out thick strawberry leaves. This procedure is useful in that it does not allow the bushes to expend energy on feeding extra leaves, and is also an excellent prevention against the appearance of rot, as more sunlight will get to the root space.
Soil and fertilizer
The composition of the soil has a huge impact on the quality of the harvest of all plants, and strawberries are no exception. The optimal medium for growing strawberries of all varieties is a well-hydrated light soil with small admixtures of sand and clay, the acidity should be at a neutral level - 6.5-7.0.
Significantly accelerate the growth of strawberries and improve the quality of the harvest will help the introduction of organic and mineral fertilizers. Of organic fertilizers, it is most effective to use humus, or chicken manure. Before you apply this type of fertilizer, it should be diluted with water, the approximate proportion - 1 to 20.
When using chicken manure as a fertilizer, you first need to make an infusion, only then dilute it with water
Most often organic fertilizers are used in the spring or before planting in a new place. Among the mineral dressings, complex fertilizers, which include potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, are of particular benefit to the Pandora strawberries. Making such complex fertilizers helps to saturate the strawberries with the necessary nutrients and make the berries taste more sweet and rich.
Mineral dressing is usually made after the harvest has been gathered. After a period of fruiting, the nutrients contained in the complex fertilizers will give the strawberry strength to form new buds and roots.
Learn how to apply pork, horse, cow, rabbit, sheep manure as fertilizer.
Watering and moisture
When watering strawberry beds the most effective is drip irrigation, which is achieved by installing an additional irrigation system. But the usual watering of the garden watering can also be useful, the main thing: do not forget that the roots of strawberries are located very close to the ground, so a strong flow of water can harm them.
Strawberries during flowering and fruiting will require systematic watering.
One watering per week is enough, and in a particularly hot period - once every three days. If it is overcast and cool outside the window, then it is better to postpone watering the next day - an excess of moisture can cause many diseases for which the Pandora variety is very susceptible.
However, it is worth remembering that if there is a heat during the fruiting period, you can water more often in the evening
The best time for "bathing" strawberries on summer days is early morning. This time is convenient because before the water evaporates under the scorching rays of the midday sun, the bushes will have time to absorb the maximum amount of moisture.
Did you know? The city of Plougastel, which is located on the coast of France, has a Strawberry Museum. It contains a long history of cultivation of these berries. This city also hosts the annual Strawberry Festival, which is famous for its competitions for the most original costume of this red berry.
Relation to temperature
According to many experienced gardeners, in hot arid regions, Pandora bushes grow much smaller, while the process of shoot formation slows down than in cooler climates. In addition, the fruits lose their decorative appearance and can be covered with burns in places where a large amount of sunlight falls. To maximize their varietal quality strawberries can in moderately humid climates.
In order to understand whether this variety will be able to settle down on your beds, it is possible in the first year to plant a small amount of “Pandora” bushes and watch its growth. It should also be noted that this variety does not tolerate freezing. Due to the long formation of the kidneys, the process of preparing for the resting phase can be delayed before the onset of frost. Many gardeners have been practicing harboring Pandora bushes since mid-November.
Learn how to properly trim the leaves and mustache of strawberries.
Reproduction and planting
There are three ways of breeding strawberries varieties "Pandora": using seeds, young shoots and dividing the bush. Consider each method in more detail:
- Seed method. Sow seeds begin in mid-February. To improve the germination of Pandora seeds, they should be stratified before sowing. To do this, you need to put the seeds in a container, cover them with a layer of damp cotton wool and leave them in the refrigerator for two weeks. A suitable temperature of + 2-5 ° C is most often found in the departments for storing vegetables and fresh greens or on the lowermost shelves of a refrigerator.
Once a day, open the seeds for oxygen, and wet the cotton with water. After stratification, the Pandora seeds are ready for planting in special containers or ordinary plastic cups. Carefully place the seeds at a short distance from each other into the prepared soil moistened container - you do not need to bury them, you can only slightly deepen with a match.
From above the container is covered with polyethylene and is located in a well-lit place, it is better not to take the sunny side - the seeds of “Pandora” can dry out, after which you will not see sprouts in your container. You can make a couple of punctures with a toothpick for ventilation, but more often a good microclimate is achieved without holes. Watering the seeds is also not necessary - moisture from the soil will settle on polyethylene and drip on them, thereby irrigating future seedlings.
After a while, you will notice that your seedlings have sprouted and small leaves have started to appear - wait until at least three of them have grown, and begin to dive the seedlings. The next step is transplanting the seedlings into separate pots. At the bottom, place the drainage - stones, shells, a layer of sand, and fill the top with fertile soil.
In the center of the pot, make a small depression, gently place a young bush into it and sprinkle with earth. Water the seedlings as needed and protect them from drafts. From the end of March, you can take the pots to fresh air for hardening - each time increase the length of stay in the open air. Do this gradually so that the strawberries get used to the coolness. Relocation of seedlings varieties "Pandora" garden beds can be planned for the end of April.
In view of the troublesome process and unacceptability in hybrid plant forms, strawberry seed reproduction is very rarely used. - Breeding young shoots. This is the easiest way. You just need to wait until the bush "Pandora" will release the side shoots - antennae - and cover it with a small amount of moist soil.
After a while, the shoot will take root, and you will need to dig it up, and cut off the mustache connecting the new bush with the mother bush. You will receive a young full-fledged bush "Pandora", which is ready for transplanting to another place.
Strawberry variety Molling Pandora gives a relatively large number of antennae - The division of the bush into parts. In this way, you can propagate adult bushes of garden strawberries, which produced a large number of shoots and leaves. It is possible to divide into parts in the autumn after the strawberry has finished fruiting.
You should choose a suitable bush and divide it into two or three parts - note that in each part there must be at least three strong leaves and a long root. Immediately after dividing, "Pandora" is ready for landing on a new place - dig a shallow hole, place a bush in it, carefully sprinkle it with earth and pour water on it.
In view of the troublesome process and unacceptability in hybrid plant forms, strawberry seed reproduction is very rarely used.
Strawberry variety Molling Pandora gives a relatively large number of antennae
Important! Strawberries require regular transplants to a new location every 3-4 years. Best of all, the garden fruit grows in those beds where potatoes and legumes grew before it.
Growing difficulties and recommendations
Growing a garden strawberry variety "Pandora", be prepared for the fact that before you eat delicious fruits, you will have to overcome some difficulties. The most important is the selection of strawberry varieties of medium-late ripening for pollination of "Pandora". This hybrid variety is well pollinated with the following varieties: "Vikat", "Sophie", "Florence". Plant them near Pandora, and the bees and the wind will do the rest of the work.
It should also be noted the need for obligatory mulching of strawberry beds. This variety is easily infected with various types of rot due to the fact that thin shoots fall to the ground under the weight of ripe berries. To avoid infection - you need to cover the space under the bush with a small layer of straw or sawdust.
Pests, diseases and prevention
Of the "strawberry" diseases, powdery mildew, spotting and decay are the most dangerous for the harvest of "Pandora". To reduce the likelihood of defeat these fungal diseases can be with the help of well-organized agricultural techniques used in the cultivation of strawberries.
If you have noticed signs of the defeat of strawberry beds with fungal spores, then you can’t do without spraying with fungicides. Do not forget to prune affected parts of plants. You can also carry out preventive treatment with chemicals - before the formation of peduncles, as well as immediately after the end of the fruiting of strawberries.
Pests, too, are not averse to savor delicious "Pandora": aphid, spider mite, weevils - these are the main enemies that pose a danger to our variety. You can fight them with systemic insecticide treatments, for example, Aktellik or Aktara.
Watering as needed, mulching beds, timely fertilization - this is a set of measures that will increase the resistance of "Pandora" to diseases and pests.
Now you know all the secrets of growing garden strawberries of the Pandora variety. The great harvest and bright taste of the berries you collected are definitely worth the effort spent on adhering to the agrotechnology of their cultivation.
Video: growing strawberry Pandora
Variety of garden strawberries "Pandora": reviews
And with gray rot fight more sparse pattern of planting and partial removal of leaves during the ripening of berries for better ventilation of the bush.
Only without much enthusiasm, and taking into account the foliage of the bush - leave enough for normal photosynthesis.
Very high resistance to ticks.
I do not know how anyone - I taste one of the best! By fragrant, too.
Beneficial to grow on the berry. When other disposable varieties depart, the price rises. And since there is always enough of the unrepentant, it is sold very well.
There are data on industrial planting in the West (up to 0.5 ha).
Photo 1 - fruiting indental bush.
Photos are old. In this season, I hope nafotkat still
