Content
Strawberry Maestro is a remontant variety of medium ripening, recently bred in France, it is still little known to Russian gardeners. In 2017, its first representatives began to arrive on the markets of Russia and neighboring countries. Keen berry gardeners purchase Maestro strawberry seedlings with caution and only take small batches for testing. This is understandable, because there is very little information about the new variety, so before you buy a lot, you need to find out about the properties of the berry: its yield, taste, growing conditions. Indeed, there are not enough descriptions of the varietal qualities of this berry, but we have collected them bit by bit and bring them to your attention.
Characteristics of the variety
There are a lot of strawberry varieties, the choice is huge, many of them meet all the requirements for growing on our gardeners’ plots in areas with not very favorable climatic conditions. Breeders are constantly working to improve the quality of strawberries: increasing productivity, resistance to diseases and pests, improving the large fruit size and appearance of the berries. How can the new Maestro variety please them? Let's start from the very beginning, that is, with what varietal qualities it has.
Description
Strawberry Maestro - belongs to the variety strawberry pineapple, which does not exist in the form of wild plants, and the name “strawberry” is its everyday definition. We will not change the generally accepted names; this is what many gardeners call it, and we are writing specifically for them. The main botanical data of Maestro strawberries are as follows:
- strawberry roots - fibrous, superficial, lie at a depth of no more than 30 cm, life cycle duration is 3-4 years, after time it is necessary to remove them from the garden bed, replacing them with young seedlings;
- strawberry leaves Maestro - trifoliate (there are 3 leaves on one leaf blade), located on petioles up to 25 cm high, the color of the leaves is light green, becoming dark green as they grow;
- strawberry shoots - creeping, each forming from 1 to 3 (or more) rosettes of leaves that can take root on their own;
- flowers - located on long peduncles growing from the root collar, white (sometimes yellowish or pink), bisexual, self-pollinating, good honey plants;
- strawberry fruit Maestro - complex nuts (seeds) fused into false berries, covered with a juicy red shell, large, weighing 40 g, measuring up to 5-7 cm in length.
Gardeners call such periods “waves.” The first “wave” is always distinguished by the large size of the berries, but their quantity is small.
Advantages
- Strawberries Maestro belongs to day-neutral varieties, which means that the growing season is not affected by the length of daylight hours and a certain temperature, as with conventional short- or long-day varieties.The plant forms fruit ovaries every 1-1.5 months, their growing season occurs within 14-16 days, regardless of the above indicators.
- The yield of Maestro strawberries does not upset gardeners: from one bush per season they collect up to 2-2.5 kg of berries, during the first “wave” - up to 0.5 kg. During the entire period of fruiting, there are 3 to 4 “waves”, with a gradual decrease in the size of the berries and their number.
- In the southern regions of the country, Maestro strawberries bear fruit from April to December, in regions with a temperate climate - from May to October.
- Maestro strawberries can be grown in open ground, in greenhouses and even on balconies, this is facilitated by the plant’s ability to self-pollinate, regardless of pollinating insects.
- The taste of strawberries is pleasant, sweet, the aroma is indescribable (impossible to describe, you must try it yourself).
It is too early to judge the other properties of Maestro strawberries; there are very, very few reviews from gardeners who already have experience growing berries of this variety on their plots. We hope that they will respond and leave comments and their opinions on our page.
Flaws
- If there is insufficient illumination of the bed or a long absence of watering, Maestro strawberries almost do not form tendril shoots, which can lead to a lack of new seedlings for propagation.
- The establishment of new seedlings takes quite a long time, so it is better to buy and plant bushes with a closed root system or with a lump of mother substrate.
- Maestro strawberries have a rather short lifespan of roots; after 3 years, the beds need to be completely renewed.
Peculiarities
Maestro strawberry bushes are low and squat, the roots are compact, do not grow to the sides, they have enough space even in small pots, so they can be grown on the balcony as an annual plant. In such plantings, the main thing is not to get a high yield of berries, but the beauty and unusualness of the design solution for decorating the loggia.
Planting and care
Maestro strawberries are propagated by tendrils, or, more precisely, by rooted rosettes of leaves formed on the shoots. You can prepare such rosettes yourself throughout the season. We will take a closer look at how to do this correctly. When the first rosettes appear, still without roots, you need to secure the tendrils close to the ground, pressing them on both sides with pins. After engraftment and the formation of roots, the tendrils are cut from the mother bush; they are already capable of extracting nutrients from the ground themselves (see photo).
By the time of transplantation (early August), they will have grown stronger, grown many roots and will be ready to plant in a new place. Rooted rosettes, that is, ready-made strawberry seedlings, are carefully dug out of the soil and transferred to the prepared beds.
Maestro begins preparing new beds for strawberries in early spring. The selected area is dug up and sown with green manure plants, which enrich the soil with essential microelements, improve its structure and prevent development weeds. These are crops such as: buckwheat, rapeseed, vetch or oats. Over the summer, the grass is mowed several times, leaving it on the site. Before planting strawberry seedlings, dig up the bed, embedding the remains of green manure into the ground; they will serve as a good nitrogen fertilizer.
Planting strawberry seedlings in open ground:
- Strawberry seedlings are planted at the end of April, when the soil surface is quite dry;
- The length of open beds is made at your discretion, there should be from 2 to 4 rows on the bed, the optimal distance between the beds is 90 cm, between seedlings in a row - 30-40 cm;
- holes for planting strawberries are made in a checkerboard pattern so that the plants do not shade each other;
- apply fertilizers to each hole in the proportions specified in the Instructions, and if you planted green manure, then there is no need to add nitrogen fertilizers;
- the holes are watered, the seedlings are held vertically, capturing all the leaves and trimmings of the mustache, sprinkled with earth, lightly compacted;
- mulch the soil with peat, and place straw or dry reeds on top.
There is not much space in greenhouses to plant strawberry seedlings, but in areas where the climate is harsh, this is necessary, because people love strawberries there too.
Planting strawberries in a greenhouse:
- Strawberry seedlings can be planted in greenhouses in early April;
- Each gardener can choose the size and shape of plantings at his own discretion: a regular two-row bed, pots, boxes or vertical planting in bags and pipes;
- soil - ordinary garden soil;
- fertilizers - special for berry crops.
In heated greenhouses, you can organize year-round fruiting of strawberries by planting batches of seedlings at different times.
Remontant varieties of strawberries are quite demanding in terms of care, and Maestro responds well if all the necessary conditions are met:
- neutral or slightly acidic soil with a loose structure;
- regular watering if there is not enough rain;
- potassium and phosphorus fertilizing at least once every 2-3 weeks;
- nitrogen fertilizers in early spring or autumn;
- removing weeds, loosening parched soil, pest control and disease prevention.
Reviews
Conclusion
There are a great many varieties of strawberries, it is impossible to try each of them, but if you decide to grow something new, why not choose the Maestro variety. Try it, and share your reviews and comments with us and our dear readers. We will be looking forward to them.
