Strawberry variety Temptation (F1)
Temptation is a remontant variety of garden strawberries (strawberries) for universal use. The place and date of its origin are unknown, but it is believed that this unique variety was created by Italian breeders. According to some other sources, the novelty was developed by British specialists. This hybrid appeared on the market not so long ago, but has already managed to declare itself. Ripens very early, large-fruited, fruitful, and even bears fruit on an unrooted mustache - you can grow strawberries indoors, in containers and pots, even on the balcony of an apartment. And most importantly, the exclusive novelty has excellent taste and a very bright unique aroma, which is a rarity for most remontants. The only big drawback of our hero is the average winter hardiness and weak resistance to drought and heat. This variety is a hybrid, therefore, the F1 mark must be on the seed bag.
The plant is quite compact, well leafy. Leaves are medium in size, dark green in color. The formation is very abundant. Peduncles are long and tall, which is a feature of the variety, and are formed in large quantities - one strawberry bush is capable of producing up to 20 peduncles, and sometimes more. Various sources report conflicting information regarding the shade of flowers - the color can vary between pale pink and white. Temptation boasts an enviable decorative effect for a variety created primarily for harvest purposes. During flowering and fruiting, the bushes look very elegant, both in the garden and in closed ground, pots and containers.
The berries are quite large, have a regular round-conical shape. The skin is bright red, shiny, at the stage of full ripeness it acquires a rich scarlet color. Achenes are small, yellow, depressed to a medium depth. There are quite a lot of seeds on the berry, however, this does not affect the taste; when consumed, the seeds are practically invisible. The pulp is dense, fleshy, juicy, bright red on the cut, without blotches.
This variety has excellent taste. The berries are sweet, while not devoid of pleasant sourness, some gardeners even note that the taste of this strawberry is very close to real wild strawberry. A striking feature of this variety is the bright nutmeg aroma of the pulp, which favorably distinguishes it from many other remontants. Berries are versatile in use, can be used for any kind of processing and freezing, and, of course, they are great fresh. The presentation of the fruits is excellent, although their sizes are not uniform, as, for example, in Albion... Thanks to their dense pulp, the berries tolerate transportation very well.
The average weight of the fruits of the Temptation is 30 grams. However, it is worth noting one caveat: this indicator can vary greatly depending on the method of growing strawberries and the period of fruiting. So, when grown in open ground and non-year-round fruiting, plants are able to bear fruit very stably with large berries. If strawberries are cultivated in greenhouses with the aim of harvesting throughout the year, then the average weight of the berries will be slightly less - 15-20 grams. In any case, the variety does not have gigantic fruit sizes, and it will be extremely rare to get a specimen weighing more than 35 grams from it. However, this is generously compensated by the yield - up to 1.5 kg of berries per bush. And this is really a very good indicator, not overestimated by the marketing ploy - it is quite possible to get 1.5 kg of strawberries per season, without creating ideal conditions for the plants and not using an abundant amount of fertilizing. On average, the yield indicator is kept around the mark of 1 kg per bush per season.Fruiting is long-term, very stable, while gardeners note that the palatability of the late harvest waves is much better than the first.
The variety is early maturing, but in some regions it is able to start producing crops at very early dates. A kind of neutral daylight hours, due to which it can bear fruit all year round. A feature of the Temptation is the ability to bear fruit on unrooted rosettes, which allows you to successfully grow this strawberry indoors, and it looks especially advantageous in pots. Moreover, due to the independence of fruiting from the length of daylight hours and the possibility of cultivation in containers, this variety will be an excellent option for growing on the balcony of an apartment. Indeed, in addition to a good harvest of really tasty berries, this hybrid has an excellent decorative effect. This strawberry can be safely called a successful brainchild of breeders, which combines a decent yield and enviable decorative qualities.
And now it's worth talking about the shortcomings of the variety, and they are quite impressive and can be a reason for refusing to buy planting material. Firstly, the variety has an average winter hardiness. Without shelter, he is able to withstand cold temperatures down to -17 ° C, and only if there is sufficient snow cover. Stronger frosts are capable of very much harm to plants, which, of course, can be solved by a reliable shelter. In any case, in regions with harsh winters, the Temptation is best grown indoors under controlled conditions, while more winter-hardy varieties are more suitable for open ground. The next drawback of our hero is weak resistance to heat and drought. This entails the need for shading plants and a painstaking attitude to watering. The lack of moisture hits the strawberry yield very hard, as a result of which you can quickly become disillusioned with this hybrid. Separately, it is worth noting the tendency of this strawberry to plentiful supply. An excessive number of whiskers greatly reduces the yield of bushes, therefore, their number should always be controlled. Another big disadvantage of the hybrid is growing from seed. Not every experienced gardener succeeds in this undertaking, and it will be really difficult for a beginner to cope with it.
In agricultural technology, the variety is generally unpretentious, does not require any special care, except perhaps more careful adherence to the irrigation regime. There is not much data on the resistance of the hybrid to diseases, so timely preventive measures should not be neglected.
Thus, Temptation is a very promising new product that has already earned a good reputation for itself. The variety very successfully combines good yield, excellent taste and decorative properties. But you should be careful when buying strawberry seeds - buy planting material only from trusted producers.
