Strawberry tree plant. Strawberry - a technology for growing at home and in the open field

Arbutus- exotic, which not everyone was lucky to see, because this plant is very picky about temperature conditions and has a limited natural habitat. Very decorative and unusual, a strawberry tree in our latitudes will become a real decoration of a winter garden or home greenhouse. How to properly plant a strawberry tree and take care of it will be discussed further.

Strawberry tree: biological features and habitat

Arbutus, strawberry tree or strawberry is an evergreen plant from the Heather family, which is a short tree or short shrub.

The strawberry usually reaches a height of 3-5 meters, which may take up to 50 years, but some species grow up to 12 meters. The trunk of the arbutus is covered with smooth orange, reddish or Brown, in some species (strawberry small-fruited) it changes annually, while the plant makes a rustling sound. The branches of the tree are curved, the leaves are dark green, wide, whole-edged, up to 8 cm long. The plant blooms in May with white or yellowish flowers in the form of a jug, collected in panicles.

Strawberry fruits are rounded drupes no more than 3 cm in diameter, covered with small growths. Inside the berries there is a mealy sweet and sour pulp with big amount small seeds. Fruits by appearance and smell like strawberries, they taste like exotic fruit, have a characteristic bitterness due to the presence of tannin.

The plant is found in the wild in America, Mexico, the Mediterranean, Western Europe, Tyrol, where it grows on hills and rocky slopes, and in culture, the strawberry tree can be seen on European streets and parks.

There are 11 plant species in total. Usually in general characteristics strawberry tree and description in scientific literature I mean the large-fruited arbutus.

Did you know? The coat of arms of Madrid looks like a shield crowned with a golden crown with an azure border, inside which a bear and a strawberry tree are depicted. Mine modern look acquired the coat of arms in 1997. In the center of Madrid, in Puerta del Sol, there is a monument to a bear eating fruits from a strawberry tree.

Where can you grow a strawberry tree in open ground: frost resistance of strawberry

The strawberry tree is a thermophilic plant with medium frost resistance., which in summer feels good at an air temperature of 25-30 ° C, and in winter it does not tolerate temperatures below -12 ° C. Short-term frosts down to -15 ° C are permissible. At low temperatures, young shoots freeze in plants, inflorescences and leaves of adult trees die.

Given these features of the strawberry tree, growing crops in open ground recommended for regions of frost resistance zones 8-10. Kiev, Minsk, the Baltic countries, northeastern Poland, Moscow, St. Petersburg are the regions of the 5th frost resistance zone. Therefore, in this strip the strawberry tree is recommended to be grown in winter gardens, greenhouses, on open terraces and at home in a pot culture. It is also possible when the plant hibernates indoors, and in the summer it is placed outside.

Did you know? The large strawberry was one of the species described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in his Species plantarum.

Seeds are much more common on sale, it is difficult to get seedlings. But if you still succeed, get a seedling in a pot, with a closed root system. It may already be fruitful.

Choosing a site for planting: soil and lighting

Any soil is suitable for strawberries. It will grow equally well on loamy and fertile, acidic and alkaline, loose and dense soils, but it is still preferable to choose acidic soil. The plant is drought tolerant, likes well-lit areas.

Planting strawberry seedlings

The plants are moved to a permanent place when 6-8 full-fledged leaves appear, they are planted at a distance of three meters.

The root system of strawberry is very fragile, you need to transplant the shoots carefully so as not to damage the earthen ball.

It is necessary to create conditions for them, similar to natural ones, for example, mulch with needles and pebbles. This will help keep the soil moisture and acidic.

Did you know? « Garden with a strawberry tree "- another name for the triptych" Garden of earthly delights "by the early Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch.

The room that contains the strawberry (winter garden, greenhouse or house) needs to be ventilated periodically.

Watering

Watering strawberries is done with soft settled water, it should be regular, especially during the growing season and fruiting. Over-watering can lead to root rot and dark spots on the leaves.

Top dressing

In spring or summer, the strawberry tree is fed with organic and mineral fertilizers, in autumn and winter, this should be done only if the plant is in a warm room, at temperatures below 12 degrees, feeding is not done. During the growth period, strawberries are fed twice a month with compost or fertilizers intended for heather. For older plants, granular potash or nitrogen fertilizers are more suitable, which are applied to the soil every 3-4 months. Manure can be added to the soil at the end of winter.

Important! If the strawberry sheds its leaves, it doesn't have enough moisture. Water the plant well and monitor the humidity of the air. Spraying may be needed.

Crown pruning

Since the strawberry grows very slowly, pruning is done when necessary. In order to form the crown, branches are cut in the spring, which interfere with the appearance of the tree. Sanitary pruning is also carried out (removal of dry and damaged branches).

Wintering

Did you know? For the amazing ability of the strawberry to shed the bark, the people called him "the resort girl" or "shameless woman."

Possible diseases and pests of strawberry

Diseases characteristic of strawberry - these are root rot, late blight, rust, anthracnose which can be avoided by providing the plant the right conditions content. In case of infection, appropriate drugs are used.

Strawberry tree can be attacked spider mite ... This pest does not tolerate high humidity- spraying and abundant watering.

To combat it, a soap solution is sprayed onto the plants, after which the surface of the leaves is wiped.

Important! IN closed spaces strawberry may not bear fruit due to lack of pollination. You can try to transfer pollen from flower to flower with a brush.

Benefits and uses of strawberry tree berries

The fruits of the strawberry tree are consumed both fresh and processed. Jam, jam, jelly, candied fruits are made from berries.

Produce on the basis of the fruits alcoholic drinks, for example the Portuguese brandy "medronho".

For long-term storage, the fruits can be dried or frozen. Dried berries in an airtight container at room temperature can be stored for 1-2 years.

In addition to berries, other parts of strawberries, which have useful properties, have also been used. IN folk medicine decoctions and tinctures from flowers are used to treat diseases of the throat and oral cavity, from leaves - for diseases of the digestive system, a decoction of the bark or roots is used externally for dermatological diseases, wounds and burns. Leaves, roots and flowers have antiseptic, astringent and diuretic effects.

Strawberry is a honey plant, honey is obtained from it with bitterness.

Important! Only ripe fruits are suitable for food purposes. Unripe not only tasteless, but can also cause food poisoning.

Strawberry breeding methods

For a strawberry tree, propagation methods such as seed and vegetative (cuttings) are acceptable.

Seminal

To grow a strawberry tree from seed, use purchased seed or seeds of fully ripe fruits harvested in the fall.

With this method of propagation, the seeds must first go through a 2-month process of stratification.
To do this, they need to be placed in a mixture of sand and peat in a ratio of 3: 7 or in rotted pine needles and kept at low, but not negative temperature. Seeds ready for sowing have a cracked shell. Then the seeds are soaked in warm water for a week. Sowing is done to a depth of 1.5 cm in a container with well-drained strawberry soil or soil mixture for palm trees, which is then placed in a shaded, warm place.

Still puzzling over how to increase the strawberry harvest in the country? Then we suggest paying attention to the original design idea especially for summer cottage gardening!

You no longer need to take land from cucumbers or potatoes to make another extra strawberry patch.

True, at the first stage, you will have to make a little more effort than for arranging a ground bed with garden strawberries but worth it!

A tree with hanging strawberry containers is as attractive as it is productive. Up to forty strawberry plants can be grown on one tree without fear of slugs and soil phytopathogens.

To create such a delicious installation, you will need:

• Dry wood

• A tool to dig a deep hole for installing a tree, and a drill

• 10 50 cm thick hanging hooks and staples and screws for securing

• 10 hanging baskets made of thick wire or galvanized metal with coconut fiber liners

• 10 metal chains for baskets

• Installation for drip irrigation, as it will be inconvenient for you to constantly water the upper basket by hand. However, the drip irrigation system can be excluded if you like to do acrobatics, and you can simplify the task of supplying plants with moisture using hydrogel balls. Placed in the soil mixture, they will accumulate water during irrigation, and then give it to the plants.

Choosing a dry tree, remove the bark and treat the trunk with moisture-repellent impregnations, at the same time get rid of insects that can live in old wood.

When choosing strawberry varieties, pay attention to remontant varieties, capable of producing several harvests per season, for example, garden strawberries "Queen Elizabeth". The curly and frost-resistant Alba strawberry is a good choice.

How to plant a strawberry tree

Choose the sunniest place on the site. Dig a hole 50 to 70 centimeters deep to support the weight of the post with the filled baskets.

Mark the pole for the hooks and drill holes for the screws.

Attach the hooks and place the table vertically using a spirit level. For reliability, the base can be concreted or compacted as tightly as possible.

Fill each basket with good quality soil, then plant 3-4 strawberry plants in each basket.

Hang the basket and adjust the chain.

How to care for a strawberry tree

Watering is an important part of maintenance, as the soil in containers dries out quickly in summer time... As stated above, the best option will be the installation of drip irrigation systems.

If you prefer to water by hand, do so only on the outer circle of soil in each basket where the air circulation is greatest. This will prevent root rot, which strawberries are sensitive to when excessive watering, and will also help protect the foliage of garden strawberries from moisture and the development of diseases.

Be sure to regularly feed the liquid to ensure that the plants required amount nutrients for the production of large, beautiful and juicy berries.

Remove shoots and dry foliage and keep birds out of the berries. Feathered, especially starlings, love to feast on fresh strawberries, especially when you so kindly hung the baskets of plants higher. To scare away birds, you can decorate the tree with "pendants" from old discs that glare in the sun, or leave a branch under a funny stuffed animal. Alternatively, apply a humane repellent to the top of the barrel. Thus, you will ward off the birds not only from the berries growing on the structure, but also drive them away from the garden without causing harm.

Pick berries on time, do not let the fruit rot.

Each new season should begin with disinfecting the baskets and filling them with a new soil mixture, since over the summer the plants will use up the entire supply of nutrients in the soil, which can also become a place for the accumulation of phytopathogens.

(Idea for strawberry tree and photo by Van Chaplin).

Strawberry tree (kudrania)- a plant of the mulberry family. There is also another name - strawberry tree. The birthplace of these berries is East Asia... In the wild, the plant can be found in Afghanistan and Iran.

Fruits of a heart-shaped shape can reach a diameter of 2.5 to 5 cm. During the ripening period, the berries acquire a red or burgundy color (see photo). Quite often, curls are confused with mulberry. The sweet pulp has a ripe persimmon flavor. It contains a small amount of brown seeds.

Storage and transportation

Delicate curly berries are not intended for transportation at all. As for storage, it will not be possible to keep the berries for a long time, so if you have stocked up with a large number of fruits, then it is best to freeze them, or cook something of them.

Beneficial features

The presence in such fruits of many useful properties evidenced by the rich vitamin and mineral composition. So, the composition of kudraniya includes many nutrients, among them there are B vitamins, which have a beneficial effect on activity nervous system. They help get rid of insomnia, stress and fatigue.

The berries contain ascorbic acid, which helps to improve and strengthen the immune system. In addition, vitamin C helps the body resist the effects of viruses and infections.

There is also carotene in the fruits of the strawberry tree, which is necessary for vision and to reduce the risk of eye diseases.

Cooking use

They eat curls, both fresh and processed. Fruits found wide application in cooking: from berries it turns out very delicious jam, jam, etc. Juicy pulp is used to make a variety of drinks, for example, compotes, juice, fruit drink, etc.

Berries can be harvested for future use by drying. The dried fruits can be further used by adding them to tea.

Curl benefits and treatment

The benefits of curling are due to the rich composition of nutrients. It is necessary to include these berries in your diet for people who suffer from increased blood pressure, stomach ulcers and 12-colon ulcers. The fruits will be useful for anemia, as well as for metabolic problems. In addition, it is recommended to eat the berries of the strawberry tree for people who have problems with the liver and spleen.

Exotic fruits help relieve heartburn and improve blood health.

Kudrania is used in folk medicine, and not only fruits are used in recipes, but also other parts of the plant. For example, the bark is a strong antiseptic, which allows you to prepare a decoction on its basis for washing wounds, cuts, bruises, etc. In addition, such a decoction will help in the healing of burns and ulcers.

Harm of the strawberry tree and contraindications

The harm of kudraniya can bring people with individual intolerance to the product, and therefore the appearance of any kind of allergic reaction will become a contraindication to eating delicious exotic fruits.

A strawberry tree at home can be grown from seeds. Sowing is carried out all year round.

Growing conditions

Before sowing, the seeds are stratified for 60 days in a planting mixture consisting of high-moor peat (70%) and sand (30%), after which they are soaked in warm water for 6-7 days. Sowing is carried out in drained soil to a depth of 1.5 cm. The container with the plant is placed in a warm, shaded place. As the soil dries up, watering is carried out. The first shoots will appear in 2-3 months.

To grow a strawberry tree, you need an earthen mixture taken from under woody plants... IN summer period seeds are exposed to the open air, and in winter they are kept in a cool room.

Adult strawberry plant in special care does not need. Regular watering is necessary during the growing season and fruiting. During the growth period, composting is required 2 times a month. In winter, feeding is carried out once a month, but only if the tree is in a heated room. At a temperature of less than 10-11 ° C, feeding is not needed.

Strawberry tree grown from seeds in indoor conditions, reaches a height of no more than 1 m. Its flowering occurs in the second year after sowing and lasts from September to December.

Strawberry tree care at home

• Location and lighting.

Place the plant in a bright place, but not in straight lines sunbeams... The room must be ventilated. Optimal temperature regime in summer - 18-22 ° С, in winter - 8-10 ° С. In summer, the shrub can be taken out into the fresh air.

• Watering.

Watering should be regular and abundant, but without overflow. Especially watch out for sufficient moisture in the earthen coma during the period of active growth and ripening of fruits. The water should be soft, settled.

• Air humidity.

Does not need spraying.

• Soil and replanting.

Young plants are transplanted every 2 years, older ones - as needed.

• Top dressing.

Strawberry needs to be fertilized, feeding only in spring and summer with complex fertilizer once every 2 weeks. In autumn and winter, at temperatures below 12 ° C, the plant is not fed. In a warm room, fertilizing is carried out once a month.

• Reproduction.

The strawberry tree is propagated by seed or apical cuttings.

• Other.

The plant tolerates shaping and pruning well. Can be grown in bonsai culture.

The strawberry tree (lat.Arbutus) is considered to be a heather tree. The evergreen plant has a smooth brownish bark and a bizarre branch shape. Undersized shrub or a small tree, as a rule, reach 3-5 meters. Some varieties grow up to 12 meters.

Leaves are bright green, ovoid. The plant got its name because of the fruits that resemble strawberries. You can eat them. Moreover, the fruit has a strawberry smell. It is allowed to eat fresh fruits or make jam. When grown at home, they will taste less intense. The plant is considered a long-liver. It can bear fruit for 200 years.

Flowers white or yellow color... They form drooping panicles, somewhat similar to blueberry flowers.

The plant is considered a real relic. During excavations in Jordan, fossilized strawberry trunks were discovered. Among other things, its description is present in the writings of Theophastus, who lived in 300 AD. On the this moment this plant is the symbol of Madrid. It is depicted on the city's coat of arms, along with a bear eating the fruit of the tree.

One of the key characteristics of the strawberry tree is that it sheds bark constantly. This is why the plant has many original names: "Shameless", "whisper", "health resort". Getting rid of the bark, the tree makes rustling sounds.

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of strawberry is not fully understood.

The fruits contain:

• ascorbic acid;
• vitamin B;
• organic acids;
• carotenoids;
• Sahara.

In the leaves:

• flavonoids;
• tannins.

Habitat

Like any heather crops, strawberries thrive both on loamy soils and on fertile drained soils. Average frost resistance - can withstand temperatures up to -15 degrees. Loves sunny areas, drought-resistant.

Benefits and Applications

Almost all parts of the plant are used by humans.

1. Furniture, watch cases, and caskets are made from bark. The wood is strong and heavy, does not rot.
2. The flowers are used as a diaphoretic.
3. The extract from the bark is actively used for tanning leather. Previously, it was used to dye wool for tapestries.
4. The roots and leaves are used to treat the genitourinary system.

The shelf life is a couple of years.

Due to its undemanding conditions, artubus is often planted in parks and gardens.

Growing from seeds

You can grow a strawberry tree at home from seeds. Wherein planting material are stocked in the fall, and sowing can be done all year round.

• To begin with, stratification is carried out in a mixture that includes sand (30%) and high moor peat (70%). The process takes 2 months.
• Then the plants are left in warm water for a week.
• Then you can sow into the soil to a depth of one and a half centimeters.
• After a couple of months, sprouts will appear.
• Watering is done as the soil dries out.

In winter, leave in a cool room. Care is simple. During the growing season, watering is required. Feeding with compost is carried out - a couple of times a month. In winter, feeding is carried out 1 time in 30 days, provided that the temperature in the room is above 10 degrees.

The strawberry tree grown from seeds reaches a height of only 1 meter. Flowering can be expected in the second year from September. The plant can also be propagated by cuttings obtained from young trees. At the same time, they are first planted in a greenhouse, and only then into the ground. Of the tree pests, spider mites can be noted.

Growing in the winter garden

IN middle lane strawberries are grown only in conservatories or greenhouses. Also, the plant can be used as a supplementary crop.

This means that in winter it is kept indoors, and in summer it is taken out in tubs outside.

Consider a description of plant care in a winter garden or at home.

• The optimum temperature for growing is +22 degrees.
• Watering should be moderate, water should be soft.
• Crown pruning is carried out in the spring.
• Feeding with organic and mineral fertilizers is carried out 2 times, in spring or summer.
• Reproduction occurs in two ways - apical cuttings or seeds.
• In winter, the temperature should be from +3 to +10 degrees. At a higher temperature environment the plant can form ugly growths.
• The room in which the strawberry is kept, be it a winter garden, a greenhouse or a house, must be periodically ventilated.
• The soil for a strawberry tree can be anything from acidic to alkaline, from dense to loose. When growing at home, you can purchase ordinary soil for indoor plants.

Strawberry tree - ornamental shrub, characterized by unpretentious care. Its fruits are edible and used as medicinal products. Since the plant is thermophilic, it is recommended to grow it in winter gardens, greenhouses and at home. Reproduction is done by cuttings and seeds.