For the first time, All-America Selections has selected a strawberry cultivar.
Photos provided by All-America Selections
Strawberry Delizz is an F1 hybrid grown from seed. Although strawberries are perennial plants, Delizz is grown as an annual and promises harvest throughout the season. It was developed by ABZ Seeds, a Dutch strawberry breeding company.
The uniform, compact plants reach about 10-24 inches tall and about 12 inches wide – ideal for containers, hanging baskets or small garden plots. Plants require full sun and good drainage for maximum production. First harvest can be expected in 120 days from seed, 60 days from transplant.
According to the breeders, Delizz plants purchased at the garden center can yield fruit up to four weeks if grown indoors close to a window in full sunlight. Grown outdoors, the plants should produce for at least three months during summer to early autumn.
Harvest frequently for best fruit quality and to encourage additional flowering and fruit set. Average harvest should be about 45 small-medium sized berries per plant.
It’s too soon to know what the pricing will be for this new concept in home strawberry gardening. Your local garden center will know if it plans to stock it for the 2016 growing season.
AAS is an independent, nonprofit organization that tests new varieties and introduces what it considers to be the best garden performances as AAS winners. They also are selected based on performance in the greenhouse. Although no plant offers a guarantee of success in an individual garden, the AAS winners have proven themselves worthy over a broad range of growing conditions.
You can try these new selections alongside your old standbys so you’ll have a means of comparison.
AAS winners should be available through local garden centers and mail-order catalogs next spring. More information about these and previous years’ winners is available at http://www.all-americaselections.org/