Ruby Gem

This short day subtropical strawberry cultivar was selected for its earliness and superb flavor.   It ships well for a cultivar of its succulence.  It requires little or no winter chill in the nursery setting.   Temperate zone nursery propagation suggests that excessive chill may result in irregularities in fruit shape.  Rubygem appears to be best adapted to low chill propagation systems.

Production Cycle

• Comes into production one to two weeks ahead of Festival
• When planted as ‘leaf-on’ stock, fruiting begins at six weeks from date of transplant

Fruit Characteristics

• Highly flavored, medium sized fruit
• Glossy, deep red external color, with red interior color
• Large, leafy and attractive calyx
• Outstanding aromatics and sugar acid balance
• Firm but succulent fruit, not crunchy
• Ships well, with some sensitivity to abrasion
• Moderately susceptible to rain damage

Plant Characteristics

• Low chill requirement
• Subtropical cultivar that initiates flowers and bears fruit at warmer nighttime lows compared to temperate zone selections
• Dense and compact plant habit
• Bloom and fruit carried above and beyond the plant canopy for ease of picking and disease resistance
• Resistant to Fusarium Wilt

Production Requirements

• Push with moderate applications of Nitrogen for first 4-6 weeks of plant establishment
• Once fruiting begins, Nitrogen should only be applied when needed to maintain tissue levels in ‘ sufficient’ range
• During the fruiting cycle, the plant nutrition program should emphasize Potassium, Phosphorous
• Minor nutrients applied in sulfate formulations should enhance fruit aromatics markedly