Strawberry variety Cardinal

Cardinal is a non-repairable variety of garden strawberries (strawberries) with a medium early ripening period. Bred in the USA back in 1967, but still remains very popular despite its age. It is appreciated for its excellent taste, good disease resistance, quite good yield. Currently, our hero can no longer confidently compete with the modern popular varieties of the strawberry market, therefore he lives mainly in the dacha plots of amateurs.

The plant is vigorous, tall (about 40−45 cm), medium spreading, medium leafy. Abundant formation. The leaves are large, folded like a boat, of a rich dark green color, with a bluish tint on the lower part of the leaf plate. The flower stalks are quite strong, keep the harvest well, but under the weight of the largest fruits they are laid on the ground. Cardinal's berries are very large, regular elongated-conical shape with a pronounced neck. At the first collection, it is precisely conical specimens that predominate, with subsequent ones there is a tendency to acquire rounded shapes. The first fruits of strawberries are often doubled. The skin of the berry is red in color, with a ruby ​​tint. The flesh is red or dark red, very dense, sometimes with a crunch when biting, while very juicy, has a fibrous consistency and a very rich true strawberry aroma. Small voids are often formed inside the fruit.

The variety has excellent taste. Berries of sweet and sour harmonious taste, one might say classic strawberry, dessert. And what is remarkable, the very dense pulp does not spoil the general sensations of eating the fruit! In this regard, our hero can be called one of the best among the solid-fruited varieties. Strawberries are versatile in use, suitable for any kind of processing, excellent for freezing, delicious fresh. Gardeners especially appreciate the wonderful aroma of Cardinal fruits, which is preserved in compotes, jams and when frozen. Currently, many other modern varieties can only envy this quality.

The average weight of berries in the season can vary greatly, however, figures of 35-40 grams are quite real. In general, Cardinal is famous for its large fruits, but its fruiting is not particularly stable, so you should not expect that all fruits will weigh 60-80 grams, as some nurseries say. Interestingly, many sources report that a distinctive feature of this strawberry is the increase in fruit size towards the end of the season. However, gardeners did not notice such a phenomenon, or they simply keep silent about it, which is unlikely. But another feature of our hero is really real - he bears fruit for the second time in a season on unrooted outlets. Of course, you should understand that the variety is not repaired, so you should not expect miracles - the second harvest will be much less than the main one, if you even want to collect such a trifle.

The yield of our hero is not high, but not small either - it is quite possible to collect about 700-900 grams of berries from a bush. Moreover, it should be noted that such results can be achieved without over-feeding, as is required by modern commercial varieties, and without creating ideal growing conditions. Of course, Cardinal is not able to compete with the current favorites of the strawberry market, but he deserves his place on the site.

Ripening of strawberries occurs at the beginning of June, but in different regions it can start both earlier and later, which is why different sources often indicate different dates. So, in the southern regions, plants can begin to bear fruit along with the early varieties, in the northern ones, almost at the same time as the mid-ripening ones. In general, another very interesting factor affects the ripening time, which we will talk about at the end of the article.

The variety is resistant to various leaf spots and gray fruit rot. Susceptible to powdery mildew.Winter hardiness, in principle, is not bad, but it is better not to risk it and take care of a good shelter. It is advisable to think about covering materials in the spring. Heat resistance and drought resistance are also relatively good, but it is better to avoid such stressful situations. On the other hand, Cardinal can forgive you for minor farming mistakes, so a short-term drought won't hurt the plants much, but it can affect yields.

In agricultural technology, strawberries are absolutely standard, moreover, they do not require increased attention. It is enough only to carry out the necessary care measures in a timely manner, and the plants will reward you with a good and tasty harvest. The variety does not require a large amount of fertilizer, but the lack of nutrients will have a very negative effect on your plantings, so do not neglect the necessary fertilizing. An important point is the timely removal of the mustache. Strawberries form them in large quantities, so this process must be normalized, otherwise a good yield can not be expected. And by the way, the very peculiarity of the Cardinal (repeated fruiting on unrooted rosettes) will not live up to your expectations, so the mustache should still be removed. It is better to get a bountiful harvest from the bush itself than to wait for the "second wave" on the outlets, which will not please you. And in general, not in every region and not in every season, this second wave of fruiting can be observed.

And now it's time to talk about one important and very interesting point. The fact is that many consider the original variety to be lost. And to be honest, it’s quite possible. And reading the reviews of gardeners on the forums, you can be convinced that sometimes the same Cardinal behaves completely differently, and sometimes it looks extremely different in the photo. And this phenomenon has a completely understandable reason - unscrupulous sellers slip the buyers absolutely not what they need, and under the mask of the Cardinal some completely unfamiliar individual settles on your site. It is difficult to say for sure whether the original variety has survived to this day in its original form, so be extremely careful when buying planting material.

Let's make a small conclusion. This old strawberry is very good, and in some of its characteristics can give odds to modern popular varieties. Of course, in terms of yield, it will not surpass them, but by taste it may well be on the list of your favorites. On the other hand, it is very realistic to find an alternative to Cardinal, given the huge selection of varieties on the strawberry market. In general, feel free to try to settle our hero on your site, he will definitely not disappoint you.