All About Strawberries Black Prince - Description Of The Variety, Planting, Care And Other Aspects + Photo

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Strawberries Black Prince in your garden

Garden strawberry is a very tasty berry that is loved by both adults and children. Therefore, gardeners, if there is free space on the site, will certainly plant at least a small bed. It is easy to get confused in the existing variety of varieties. But among them, due to the color of the berries, the Black Prince stands out sharply. Is it worth growing these beautiful berries and how to properly care for them? It will be useful for gardeners and gardeners to know the description of the variety.

Content

• 1 What is the difference between garden strawberries and strawberries?
• 2 Variety description

• 3 Planting strawberries

  • 3.1 Site selection
  • 3.2 Preparing the beds and seedlings

  • 3.3 Landing

    3.3.1 Video: how to plant strawberries correctly?

• 4 Strawberry Care Black Prince

  • 4.1 Watering

    4.1.1 Video: how to water strawberries?

  • 4.2 Top dressing
  • 4.3 Post-harvest care

• 5 How does the Black Prince breed reproduce?

  • 5.1 With a mustache

    5.1.1 Video: propagation of strawberries with a mustache

  • 5.2 Dividing the bush

  • 5.3 Seed use

    1 Video: Seed propagation

• 6 Characterization of diseases and pests

  • 6.1 Table: What diseases is the Black Prince's garden strawberry prone to?

  • 6.2 Photo gallery: typical diseases of the Black Prince

    1 Video: Diseases of garden strawberries

  • 6.3 Table: the most common pests of garden strawberries
  • 6.4 Photo gallery: what pests does the Black Prince suffer from?
• 7 Harvesting and storage

• 8 Reviews of gardeners

  8.1 Video: tips for growing garden strawberries

What is the difference between garden strawberries and strawberries?

If you ask gardeners what exactly they grow on their site, with almost one hundred percent probability you will hear in response: "Strawberries". And with the same probability this statement will be erroneous. The confusion has been going on for more than three centuries. Strawberries and garden strawberries are two belonging to the same family and even genus, but completely different plants.

It is unprofitable to grow real strawberries (aka musk strawberries or Fragaria moschata), especially in large areas. She is "bisexual" - there are both "male" and "female" plants. Accordingly, not every bush will bear fruit. The berries themselves can be unmistakably distinguished by their dark red color with a shade of purple and a specific aroma reminiscent of musk. Even fully ripe berries are difficult to separate from the receptacle. They are smaller than garden strawberries, sharpened to the tip. But the bushes are much more powerful than strawberry ones. This is a real rarity for a garden. Strawberries can be found in the forest, under bushes on the outskirts of meadows and forest edges, as the plant loves moisture and shade.

Real strawberries look very different from garden strawberries.

Garden strawberries (known botanists as pineapple strawberries or Fragaria ananassa) are a self-pollinating crop with incomparably higher yields and large berries. Strawberry tolerates drought much better. Her leaves are darker and not as corrugated as those of a relative. In the "wild" form, in principle, does not occur. This is the result of crossing natural varieties - Chilean and Virginian strawberries.

Description of the variety

Homeland of an unusual variety of garden strawberries Black Prince - Italy. It was bred by breeders of the New Fruits company, based in Cesena, which specializes in this particular crop.

Strawberries Black Prince looks unusual, but the taste does not suffer from this at all

The main characteristic feature of the variety is the berries of a very dark red color. From afar and in the shadows, they can even be mistaken for black. The seeds are also black inside. Hence the name.

In shape, large (40-50 g) berries shining in the sun look like a truncated cone. Their advantage is that during the summer they are not shallow. Due to the dense pulp (there are almost no voids in it), the berry tolerates transportation well and can be stored for 8-14 days.

The content is as attractive as the form. The berries are very tasty and with a pronounced aroma. The pulp is juicy, sweet, with a slight sourness. The seeds stick out strongly, so the strawberries prick slightly to the touch.

The first strawberry ripens in mid-June (mid-early variety), bears fruit until the end of August. In general, 0.8-1.2 kg of berries can be removed from the bush over the summer (20-25 tons per hectare). The older the bush, the higher this figure.

The bushes are quite powerful and spreading, they grow quickly. Adult plants from a distance can be mistaken for short tomatoes or potato plantings.

The leaves are not too large, dark green, shiny, slightly corrugated. Shoots with a large number of ovaries rise above the bush. When the harvest ripens, they literally bow down to the ground under their own weight.

The powerful bush of the Black Prince grows rapidly

This variety tolerates frosts well down to -18–20 ° C, but is not too resistant to drought. Short-term return frosts that occur in spring are not afraid of him either.

The black prince actively bears fruit for at least 5-7 years (the average period for garden strawberries is 3 years). With proper care, this period can be extended by another 2-3 years. The older the bush, the longer it can be harvested during the season.

The Black Prince's harvest only increases over the years

The variety has a characteristic feature - it gives a mustache only the first 3-4 years after planting. Therefore, take care of the material in advance if you want to breed the Black Prince on your site.

Planting strawberries

The optimal time for planting is early autumn. In warm southern areas, this procedure can be carried out in April or May.

The experience of gardeners shows that the Black Prince strawberry can bear fruit without transplanting for 8-10 years. But only if the place is correctly chosen and the soil is prepared.

Seat selection

The black prince loves loose, breathable soils. The ideal option is sandy loam soil, light loam or forest gray soil. Add river sand to the black soil when preparing the beds. Strawberries of this variety do not bear fruit on heavy clay, silty and peaty soils, since the roots quickly rot. Even good drainage does not help.

The site should be sunny and protected from cold northerly and north-westerly winds. Otherwise, in winter, the root system will freeze out even at temperatures around -10 ° C. This is facilitated by winds blowing snow off the ground. If the Black Prince is protected from drafts, he will endure temperatures of -18–20 ° C.

If groundwater approaches the surface closer than 60–80 cm, look for another place. A slight slope is not critical, but steep slopes and wet lowlands will not work.

If before that any legumes, cereals, onions or carrots grew in the garden, this is an additional plus. You can pre-sow the site with green manure plants. Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and cabbage to strawberries are highly undesirable.

Preparing the beds and seedlings

The soil for garden strawberries is dug to a depth of 25–30 cm about a month before planting, while adding rotted manure or humus (5–7 l / m²) to the soil. It is also useful to apply fertilizers based on peat and humin (Flora, Fitop), which loosen the soil and improve its structure. If the soil is not very fertile, add superphosphate (50-60 g / m²) and potassium sulfate (35-40 g / m²). For spring planting - urea (25–30 g / m²).

To make your job easier, treat the soil with Round Up or Hurricane. Any other herbicide will do. This way you don't have to fight the weeds.

Find out the acidity of the soil in advance. The black prince prefers neutral or slightly acidic soil. Add dolomite flour (200-300 g / m²) to highly acidified soil. Lignin is used to increase acidity.

In the seedlings of the Black Prince, a couple of days before planting, the roots are soaked in Epin's solution to stimulate growth. Use a pale pink potassium permanganate solution to disinfect them.

Landing

Place the holes at least 40 cm apart. The gap between the rows is about 50 cm. The Black Prince, especially in the presence of fertilizers, intensively builds up the green mass.

About 0.5 L of water is poured into each well. The roots of the seedlings are carefully straightened so that they do not bend up. The growth point (popularly called the heart) is left 1–2 cm above the surface of the earth.

It is very easy to check if you have planted the bush correctly. Pull lightly on the leaf stalks. If the seedling remains in your hands, proceed to replanting.

The soil around the seedling is tamped, the strawberries are watered again. When the moisture is completely absorbed, the bed is mulched with straw, freshly cut grass or covered with a special breathable material.

Plantings need abundant watering over the next two weeks.

The Black Prince can also be grown commercially

Video: how to plant strawberries correctly?

Strawberry Care Black Prince

In order to regularly receive the maximum possible yields of garden strawberries, a lot of attention should be paid to plantings. The Black Prince variety is no exception.

Watering

Garden strawberries are very hygrophilous, but they need daily watering only after planting and during flowering. Stagnant water is bad for the development of the bush. The soil must be moistened to a depth of about 40 cm.

If you do not lower the rate during fruiting, the berries will turn out to be watery and less sweet. They cannot be saved in any form. On average, one watering (10–25 l) per week is sufficient.

It is not recommended to use sprinklers for irrigation - water gets on the berries. But also constantly watering at the root, you wash off the topsoil. The roots are very close to the surface. Dig grooves between the rows and water over them.

It is advisable to take warm water - about 20 ° C. Therefore, the optimal time for watering is evening. During the day, the water in the tanks will have time to heat up.

When you have finished watering, loosen the soil well. Otherwise, a hard crust will form on it.

Video: how to water strawberries?

Top dressing

Top dressing of the Black Prince can be either liquid (fertilizers are dissolved in water and watered plantings), and foliar (scattered over the surface of the garden). It should be noted right away that garden strawberries do not tolerate fertilizers containing chlorine in any form. Therefore, potassium chloride, for example, is excluded.

Before feeding (about half an hour), water the plants, avoiding getting moisture on the heart.

If you are spraying fertilizer on the leaves, pay special attention to the underside. It is she who is responsible for absorption.

In early spring, garden strawberries need nitrogen for the intensive formation of green mass. A universal option is ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate or urea (15–20 g per 10 l of water). Fertilizer can be applied at the root or sprayed on the leaves. To enhance the effect, you can combine feeding. For example, apply Nitroammofosk at the root and spray the plants with urea.

When the buds are tied and the flowers bloom, feed the plantings with fertilizers containing phosphorus (simple or double superphosphate).

Ripening berries require complex mineral fertilizers (Ammofoska, Nitroammofoska, Berry, Master, Plantafol, Agricola, Rubin, Stimovit for strawberries). You can add all the necessary trace elements separately (ammonium nitrate or urea - 10-15 g, simple superphosphate 35-40 g, potassium sulfate - 10-15 g). Repeat the same feeding after harvesting, excluding nitrogen-containing fertilizer.

Those who do not like chemistry, preferring organic agriculture, may well replace it with organic matter. The following remedies are most popular:

1. Infusion of cow dung or bird droppings. The original component is poured with water in a ratio of 1: 4, tightly closed with a lid and placed in a warm, sunny place. After a week, what happened is stirred. For feeding, the infusion is diluted with water in a proportion of 1:10 or 1:15, respectively. Manure and dung are natural sources of nitrogen.
2. Infusion of leaves and stalks of nettle. It is prepared in the same way, only it is diluted in a 1: 2 ratio.
3. Wood ash. It is an alternative to potash-phosphorus fertilizers. You can add it directly to the ground, you can prepare an infusion. 50 g of ash is poured with a liter of warm water, filtered in a day and used for its intended purpose.

Folk remedies - a worthy alternative to chemicals

Post-harvest care

Autumn care consists of the following procedures:

1. Remove old mulch. This is an ideal wintering place for larvae of pests and spores of pathogenic fungi.
2. Water the garden and trim off any yellowed and dried strawberry leaves. Remove all plant debris.
3. Spud the plantings, while embedding rotted manure or humus into the soil. An alternative is vermicompost. Be sure to make sure that the roots are covered with earth. Loosen the soil between the rows. Water the Black Prince well (1-1.5 liters per bush).
4. Water the plantings occasionally but abundantly. Taking into account the weather, of course. For disinfection, you can water the garden bed with a solution of potassium permanganate 1-2 times.
5. Trim off any forming whiskers. Do not touch the remaining green leaves. Firstly, nutrients accumulate there, and secondly, it is a strong stress for the plant.
6. Before the very frosts, cover the plantings with any breathable covering material in several layers.

How does the Black Prince breed reproduce?

Reproduction of garden strawberries The Black Prince does not differ from other varieties. Likewise, mustache, seeds and bush division are used.

With a mustache

The optimal way of reproduction, requiring a minimum expenditure of time and effort, provided by nature itself is a mustache. In this variety, they are quite powerful and take root well. Choose the ones that are closest to the parent bush. They are the most developed.

Strawberry mustache Black Prince appears only in the first 3 years

In the climatic conditions of central Russia, the Black Prince garden strawberries are planted in the last decade of August or in September. For the time remaining before frost, the rosette has time to take root and accumulate nutrients necessary for wintering.

A new plant should have 5-6 fully formed leaves. Then it can be separated from the main bush and planted in a garden bed. Do not push the plant too deep so that it does not start to rot, but shallow planting is also undesirable - the strawberries will dry out. The root collar should be approximately level with the top edge of the pit.

Some gardeners recommend pinning the mustache rosette to the ground with a piece of wire and only detaching it when it is well rooted (after 35–40 days). This will help the plants avoid the stress of transplanting.

Mustache transplants need attention too

Video: propagation of strawberries with a mustache

Dividing the bush

Dividing the bush is a method especially relevant for the Black Prince strawberry. She only gives a mustache for the first three seasons.

Examine the plants and select those that have the most short, horn-like shoots for division. They are located at the very roots. Each shoot should have one apical bud, 3-4 axillary and rosette leaves.

The selected bushes are dug out of the ground, the soil is washed off from the roots and the bush is carefully cut into pieces with a sharp knife disinfected in a saturated purple solution of potassium permanganate. Slices are sprinkled with activated carbon, ground into powder. Each horn with roots and a deciduous rosette is planted in the ground.

Seed use

Growing strawberries from seeds is the most time consuming method. Moreover, it does not guarantee the result. It is not a fact that the seedlings will retain the varietal characteristics of the parent plant.

Garden strawberry seeds have a fairly long shelf life.

Pick some of the largest, ripest berries from healthy bushes. Cut the flesh and seeds into thin strips from the middle or at the base and place in the sun on a piece of paper or thin cloth.

When the pulp is wrinkled and dry, rub it between your fingers, separating the seeds. Store them in a cool dry place in hermetically sealed glass jars or paper bags. The shelf life is 3-4 years.

Before planting, keep the seeds for 3-4 months at a temperature of 3-5 ° C, flooding with a thin layer of water. Add liquid as it evaporates. The seeds must be completely dry immediately before planting.

To save time, cover the seeds with concentrated sulfuric acid and let sit for a quarter of an hour. Then rinse them for at least 30 minutes in cool running water. Dry before planting.

Low containers are filled with a mixture of turf, dry peat and coarse river sand taken in a 2: 1: 1 ratio. For every 5 liters of the mixture, add a glass of wood ash and a little humus. The soil is pre-disinfected by treating with steam or cold, spilling boiling water.

The optimal time for planting seeds is February. They are scattered over the surface of a well-moistened soil. The containers are covered with polyethylene or glass to create a greenhouse effect. Seedlings should appear in 10-14 days. After another 2 weeks, the seedlings can be dived.

Seedlings are planted in separate containers after 2-3 true leaves appear

Ready seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the first decade of June. Seedlings will not bear fruit this summer. You will only get the harvest for next year.

Video: seed culture propagation

Characteristics of diseases and pests

The Black Prince variety is resistant to most of the most common diseases that garden strawberries suffer from, but by the end of the season it is prone to all kinds of spotting. You can also note the high resistance of the transparent strawberry mite. But the list of diseases and pests is not limited to this.

Table: What diseases is the Black Prince's garden strawberry susceptible to?

Disease	Symptoms	Prevention and control methods
Gray rot	On leaves, petioles and berries, rapidly growing soft brown-gray spots appear that are fleecy in appearance.	Spraying with a 2% solution of Bordeaux liquid (200 ml per 10 l of water) before flowering and Azocene - after harvest. The rate for one bush is about 0.2 liters. To deal with the problem during the summer, use Teldor, Signum, Switch.
Late blight	Dry areas of dark brown color appear on the berries, slightly depressed inward. Ripening of berries stops. The leaves dry up and fall off.	Spray freshly blossomed leaves with Metaxil, Ridomil, Quadris.
Anthracnose	Small gray-brown spots with a scarlet border appear on the leaves and fruits, and ulcers of the same color appear on the fruits. They grow rapidly, merging into one formation. The surface of the spot turns brown and cracks, the leaves and stalks die off.	The fungus thrives in high humidity, so do not add strawberries. For prevention, spray the buds with Signum and Switch solution. At the first signs of the disease - Antracol, Metaxil, Quadris.
Powdery mildew	Plants are almost entirely covered with a thin layer of whitish or grayish bloom, in which small black dots are noticeable. A characteristic moldy smell appears. You can't eat such strawberries.	Before flowering, spray the bushes with a solution of soda ash or colloidal sulfur (45-50 g per 10 liters of water). An alternative is Topaz and Quadris preparations. If the disease manifested itself massively during the season, repeat the procedure after the end of the harvest. You can also use in summer and autumn Switch, Fundazol, Bayleton (processing no more than once every 12-14 days).
Brown spot	Purple spots appear on the top of the blade. These areas then dry out, turning brown. Leaves fall.	In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, spray the plantings and beds with a 4% solution of Bordeaux liquid or Nitrofen (30 g per 10 l of water). Repeat the treatment, reducing the concentration of Bordeaux liquid by 4 times, just before flowering, after another 10-12 days and after picking berries. Spray the blossoming leaves with Falcon, Metaxil, Quadris, Ridamil or Euparen. For prophylaxis in the fall, spray the garden with a solution of sulfuric acid (100 ml per 10 liters of water) or pour with Ordan's solution.
White spot	On the leaves, petioles and stalks, small, translucent dry spots with a purple border appear in the form of an almost regular circle. Then holes are formed in these places.
Verticilliasis	The spores of the fungus multiply in the roots of the plant. Gradually they dry out from the inside and die off. The leaves turn yellow and shrink, their growth slows down. The petioles turn red.	There is no effective cure. Carefully select planting material and in no case plant strawberries where any nightshade grew (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, tobacco). They themselves do not suffer from the fungus, but they carry it. Ideally, strawberry beds should be removed as far as possible from these plantings.

Photo gallery: typical diseases of the Black Prince

With verticillium it seems that strawberry bushes are dying for no reason

White spot is one of the most common problems with the Black Prince.

Brown spotting leads to too early leaf fall

Strawberries affected by powdery mildew should not be eaten

Berries affected by phytosporosis dry out before our eyes

Gray rot most often develops in conditions of high humidity

If you don't fight anthracnose, you don't have to wait for the harvest

Video: diseases of garden strawberries

Table: the most common pests of garden strawberries

Pest	Symptoms	Prevention and control methods
Raspberry-strawberry weevil	Male pests feed on young greenery, gnawing through the leaves. Females lay their eggs in flower buds. The larvae hatched from them also eat the leaves and ovaries of berries.	5-7 days before flowering, the bushes and the garden are sprayed with Karbofos (40 g per 10 liters of water). The same procedure is repeated when fruiting ends. Folk remedies - infusion of wood ash, mustard powder, tansy, wormwood, hot pepper pods with the addition of shavings of laundry soap. 2-3 tablespoons of crushed (if necessary) raw materials are poured with a liter of boiling water and insisted in a warm place for at least a day. Before spraying the soil and the underside of the leaf, filter the infusion. Shake the bushes at least once a week by spreading newspapers underneath. Destroy pests. During the summer, you can spray the leaves with Nurell-D, Karate, Zolon, Aktellik. Try to place your raspberry and strawberry plantings as far apart as possible.
Nematode	Small whitish worms settle in flower buds, leaf axils and roots, laying eggs inside. The hatched larvae feed on greenery. Plants do not grow well, peduncles are abnormally short and thick. The leaves are deformed and covered with red spots. The fruits are also deformed and smaller.	Before planting strawberries, the garden is watered with warm (40–45 ° C) water. The seedlings are soaked in water of the same temperature for 10-15 minutes, which is then washed with cool water. In the fall, they must uproot and destroy suspicious bushes and clear the garden of plant debris.
Strawberry leaf beetle	Adults lay eggs under the leaves and in the axils. The hatched larvae feed on greenery. Having bred en masse, they can eat the whole garden in a matter of days.	Spray the blossoming leaves with an infusion of wormwood. Finely chop the greens, pour 50–70 g with a liter of cold water and leave for 2-3 days. Filter the liquid before spraying. Pay special attention to the bottom surface of the sheet plate. Carry out at least 3 treatments with an interval of 7-10 days. Loosen the soil more often to destroy the pupae.
Slugs, snails	Pests feed on leaves and berries, leaving through tunnels in them. Sticky, shiny stripes on the leaves are also clearly visible.	Special chemicals for killing slugs - Metaldehyde, Meta, Thunderstorm, Slug-eater, but they are harmful to people and pets. Try to do with folk remedies - infusions of tobacco leaves, hot pepper, dry citrus peels, wormwood, tomato tops. They are prepared and used in a similar way to infusions to combat weevil. Pests do not differ in speed of movement and ability to disguise, therefore manual collection (but not with bare hands) can help. Slugs do not have a protective cover - surround each bush with several ring barriers of coarse sand, pine needles, wood ash, and fine gravel. Traps give a good effect. Several cans of bait are dug into the ground - sugar syrup, jam, beer. Once every 2-3 days, the bait needs to be changed, simultaneously removing the pests that have come across.

Photo gallery: what pests does the Black Prince suffer from?

Slugs and snails eat any greens in the garden, including strawberries.

Massively bred strawberry leaf beetles can deprive you of plantings in a few days

Nematodes, especially on the roots, are difficult to detect in a timely manner

Raspberry-strawberry weevil damages both greenery and fruits

Harvesting and storage

Not a single variety of fresh garden strawberries can be stored for more than a month. Black Prince as well.

If you plan to eat fresh berries or process them for the winter, wait until they are ripe. For sale, especially if transportation is ahead, strawberries are harvested 5-7 days before they are fully ripe. They are not deep red, but pinkish in color, perhaps even with white spots.

Strawberries are harvested only by hand, every 2-3 days, so that it does not overripe and crumble. It is strongly not recommended to separate the stalk and receptacle. The best time to harvest is in the morning, but wait for the dew to dry.

The Black Prince variety has a high yield.

Having selected the strongest and undamaged berries, arrange them in cardboard boxes or plastic containers and put them in the refrigerator, in a special compartment for vegetables and fruits. You do not need to close the containers tightly. Plastic bags will not work - the taste of the berries will deteriorate significantly. You need to wash strawberries only immediately before use.

Make sure that there are no fruits near the strawberries that produce high ripening ethylene. First of all, these are bananas, apples and pears. In this case, the berries will last for 10-12 days. At room temperature, strawberries will last for a maximum of two days.

Another option is to freeze the strawberries. In this form, you can keep the Black Prince for 5-6 months. The selected berries are washed, dried on napkins and laid out on cutting boards, baking sheets or trays so that they do not touch each other. Put the berries in the freezer for 3-5 minutes, turning on the quick freeze mode. Then collect the strawberries in small sealed plastic containers or frozen food bags. Determine the portions based on how much you use at a time. Defrosting and re-freezing will turn the berries into a sticky, tasteless porridge.

Frozen strawberries will take up less space if you first pass them through a meat grinder or grind them in a blender, adding sugar in a 1: 1 ratio.

The Black Prince variety is suitable both for fresh consumption and for desserts, pastries, and winter preparations. Preserves, jams, compotes turn out to be remarkably tasty. Homemade wines and liqueurs come out no worse.

Strawberry jam Black Prince turns out to be tasty and aromatic

Gardeners reviews

Vadim Sumy

https://forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=4703

Shcherbina

https://forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=4703

Dmitry86

https://forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=4703

Natasha11

https://forum.rmnt.ru/threads/chernaja-klubnika.103868/page-2

Alenna

https://fermer.ru/forum/sadovodstvo/152627

Pan Irina

https://www.tomat-pomidor.com/newforum/index.php?topic=7393.40

Video: tips for growing garden strawberries

The Black Prince garden strawberry is distinguished by its wonderful taste, unpretentious care and is rarely affected by pests and diseases. Older gardeners note that Black Prince berries are a real taste of childhood. Therefore, they are not ready to exchange the variety even for more productive and promising hybrids. And the dark burgundy color uncharacteristic for strawberries will make the Black Prince a real highlight of your garden. However, the selection does not stand still - strawberries appeared, superior in characteristics to this variety. The Black Prince is already slightly outdated, but it is still a worthy competitor to the novelties of breeding.