What is the difference between strawberries, victoria and strawberries?

The harvest for the gardener is joy and pride, because at this moment you can see the fruits of your labor.And if these fruits are sweet tasty berries, it becomes doubly more pleasant. The most common berries in our country - strawberries and strawberries, often still use the name "Victoria". But many gardeners do not even know the difference between these seemingly similar berries. So what is the difference?

The human attention of strawberries has already won many centuries ago, in Russia its mass cultivation in gardens began in the 14th century. Strawberry was originally called the type of strawberry with the name "green strawberry". It is distinguished by berries round in form, thanks to them the strawberry got its name - the berries resemble balls. In the process of cultivation of this strawberry in the gardens, a little later, a hybrid of green strawberries and forest strawberries was obtained, while receiving fragrant muscat strawberries.

Having noted the excellent taste qualities of this type of strawberry, according to the Tsar's decree, strawberries were grown in Russian gardens along with wild strawberries.

But Victoria appeared relatively recently, in the 18th century, when in Europe there was an accidental crossing of 2 types of strawberries - Chilean (imported from South America) and Virginia, which at that time was successfully cultivated in Europe. In the process of crossing turned out surprisingly large berries, characterized by a bright aroma. It was this first hybrid that was brought to Russia and was named "Victoria" in honor of the British queen. Victoria is also referred to as pineapple strawberries.

Since then, a lot of time has passed and the breeders have brought a huge number of different varieties of strawberries, but many gardeners often use the name "Victoria" for all kinds of strawberries and strawberries growing in the garden, which is fundamentally wrong.

Strawberry is a perennial plant, quite cold-resistant and easily cultivated in any climate. Strawberries belong to the family Rosaceae. Taking into account the varieties bred by breeders, strawberry has more than 150 varieties. This berry is home to East Asia, from where it spread to Europe and America.

Strawberries have creeping shoots, which are called "whiskers", they take root very easily. The root system is not deep - about 30 centimeters. Leaves of complex shape, are on the petioles up to 10 centimeters long. Strawberry bushes (musk strawberries) have maximum splendor, their height reaches 30 centimeters, the smallest bush has flat strawberries, whose dimensions reach only 10 cm. The berries have the type of "multi-poles" with numerous seeds on the surface. The color of the berries ranges from pale pink to deep red.

The chemical composition of strawberry berries and garden strawberries is almost identical. They consist of more than 90% of water, they contain a large amount of fiber, vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

The content of vitamin C in strawberries and strawberries is very high, which makes them extremely useful for stimulating the body's defenses, and also extremely useful for the cardiovascular system. Vitamin A is useful for skin and eye health, B vitamins are responsible for stress resistance and regulation of the nervous system. Trace elements such as potassium, magnesium and sodium regulate the work of the heart, calcium and phosphorus are good for bones and teeth, and pectins have a positive effect on the work of the gastrointestinal tract.

Due to its rich composition, strawberries are excellent in combating such diseases:

• infectious and viral diseases;
• inflammatory diseases;
• diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
• diseases of the endocrine system, diabetes of varying severity;
• diseases of the kidneys, liver and biliary system;
• inflammatory diseases of the skin.

Both plants have increased frost resistance and have similar growing conditions. Strawberries love to grow in sunny, windless places, preferably near any fence, so that the bed with plantings is not blown by the winds in winter. Strawberries prefer fertile soil, prone to rotting roots on wetlands.

As for the care of strawberries, she loves loosening the soil and abundant watering. These plants are very responsive to the application of organic fertilizers, which increase plant immunity and affect the yield.

In terms of botany, Victoria and strawberry have significant differences. For example, Victoria is a monoecious plant, that is, capable of self-pollination, there are flowers of both sexes on its bushes, which makes pollination more simple, a lot of ovary is formed. Strawberry is a dioecious plant, that is, flowers of one sex grow on its bush, which makes pollination more problematic.

In order for the strawberries to be successfully pollinated, it is necessary to have strawberry bushes with male flowers that will not produce fruit. At the site where strawberries are grown, there must be at least about a quarter of the male plants for the successful cultivation of berries. Due to the low yield of this crop, strawberries are not grown commercially.

The structure of peduncles in strawberry and Victoria is also different. Strawberry peduncles are above the leaves, directed upwards, very abundant in bloom. Victoria's flower stalks are closer to the ground, it is advisable to mulch its bushes so that the berries do not lie on the ground. Victoria's bloom is not as plentiful as strawberry.

The size of the berries in these two berries is very different, the strawberries have small berries (up to 5 grams in weight), but very fragrant. In Victoria, however, the berries are regular in shape, large, with high yields, but inferior in taste to strawberries. The color of the berries is also different. Victoria berries, as a rule, have a uniform saturated color, reaching burgundy tones. The strawberry fruit is pale, on the shady side, it can be completely white.

The leaves of strawberries are lighter in color than those of Victoria. This difference makes it easy to determine which varieties of bushes grow in the garden. Victoria's crop can be harvested for a long time, since this variety is endowed with the property of repairing, unlike strawberry, which blooms and bears fruit only once per season.

You will learn more about the differences between strawberries, Victoria and strawberries in the following video.