What did the ancient rulers of Russia eat? Judging by the name, this is the princess - a berry that looks like raspberries, and pineapple, oddly enough, tastes like it. It grows in Kamchatka, Sakhalin, the Far East, the Kuril Islands, in the tundra and forest-steppe zones. Its habitats are the shores of lakes, forests and swamps. Its other names are also known: arctic raspberries, hohlyanitsa, polar pineapple, and woodland.
The herbaceous plant belongs to the family Rosaceae. This perennial shrub reaches a height of only twenty to thirty centimeters. It blooms with pale pink or bright raspberry flowers of both sexes, and the dark red, fragrant multi-drupe fruits resemble blackberries and raspberries at the same time. They ripen from July to August.
Not only the princess is good for her taste, the berry contains many useful substances. It contains acids (malic and citric), sugar, coloring and tannins, vitamin C, essential oils. In the leaves of the bush there are saponins, flavonoids and anthocyanins. Gradually, this valuable plant conquers space in the garden plots of summer residents and receives well-deserved recognition. Hybrid varieties are being bred. For example, in Finland it was crossed with raspberries.
If you are interested in the princess - the garden berry - then you should heed the advice on the rules for its cultivation. The root of the plant is creeping. Shrub yields can be increased due to the influence of mycorrhiza. This is a symbiosis that occurs between the roots of winter plants and mycelium of fungi. Under favorable conditions, mycorrhiza develops and the yield of berries increases. Before planting the plant in the soil, add mycorrhizal fungi. The grassy shrub is frost-resistant, but its terrestrial part dies every winter.
He loves sunny places of the princess. The berry prefers soil, which is enriched with humus and consists of humus, manure and sand. The earth should pass air well and be moderately moist. For better pollination, it is recommended to plant several plants next to each other. The best way to propagate them is by root offspring. They separate easily and take root quickly. The method of planting seeds is much less commonly used. They are sown in open ground and sealed to a depth of up to 0.5 cm. Then the grooves should be sprinkled with sand and covered with sphagnum with moss. Stable high yields appear in the third year of plant life. Lignified peduncles in the fall are recommended to be cut.
After such leaving the princess very well develops, the berry turns out to be large and juicy. The plant in the spring gives root offspring. The result is a continuous grassy carpet. Due to this property, the culture is grown not only for the sake of delicious fruits, but also as a decorative element. She will decorate flowerbeds, paths, borders. The princess, a berry, whose photo is presented in the article, looks very beautiful. The fruits are good both in fresh form and as jam. They make juice, fruit drink. Tea made from the leaves of the meadow is also very tasty. Thanks to all these valuable properties, as well as its unpretentiousness, culture can become as popular with gardeners as ordinary raspberries.