Strawberry variety Maestro

Strawberry Maestro is a remontant variety of medium ripening, recently bred in France, it is still little known to gardeners. In 2017, its first representatives began to enter the markets of Our Country and neighboring countries. Enthusiastic berry growers carefully purchase Maestro strawberry seedlings, and take them only for testing in small batches. This is understandable, because there is very little information about the new variety, therefore, before buying a lot, you need to learn about the properties of the berry: its yield, taste, growing conditions. Indeed, descriptions of the varietal qualities of this berry are not enough, but we have collected them bit by bit and bring them to your attention.

Characteristic of the variety

There are a lot of varieties of strawberries, the choice is huge, many of them meet all the requirements for growing on the plots of our gardeners in areas with not very favorable climatic conditions. Breeders are constantly working to improve the quality of strawberries: they increase yield, resistance to diseases and pests, improve large-fruitedness and appearance of berries. What can please them with the new variety Maestro? Let’s start from the very beginning, that is, with what varietal qualities it has.

Description

Strawberry Maestro – refers to a variety of pineapple strawberries, 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, as many gardeners call it, and we write just for them. The main botanical data of the Maestro strawberry are as follows:

• strawberry roots – fibrous, superficial, lie at a depth of no more than 30 cm, the life cycle is 3-4 years, after the expiration of time it is necessary to remove them from the garden, replacing them with young seedlings;
• maestro strawberry leaves – trifoliate (3 leaves are located on one leaf plate), are located on petioles up to 25 cm high, the color of the leaves is light green in color, becomes dark green as it grows;
• strawberry shoots – creeping, on each, from 1 to 3 (or more) rosettes of leaves are formed, which are able to take root on their own;
• flowers – located on long peduncles growing from the root neck, white (sometimes yellowish or pink), bisexual, self-pollinating, good honey plants;
• Maestro strawberry fruits – complex nuts (seeds) fused into false berries, covered with a juicy red shell, large, weighing 40 g, 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 number is small.

Advantages

1. Strawberry Maestro belongs to the varieties of neutral daylight hours, which means that the vegetation process is not affected by the length of daylight hours and a certain temperature, as in ordinary short or long day varieties. The plant forms fruit ovaries every 1-1,5 months, their vegetation occurs within 14-16 days, regardless of the above indicators.
2. The yield of strawberries Maestro 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. For the entire time of fruiting, there are from 3 to 4 times “waves”, with a gradual decrease in the size of the berries and their number.
3. 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.
4. Maestro strawberries can be grown outdoors, in greenhouses and even on balconies, this is facilitated by the ability of the plant to self-pollinate, regardless of pollinating insects.
5. The taste of strawberries is pleasant, sweet, the aroma is indescribable (impossible to describe, you must definitely try it yourself).

It is too early to judge other properties of Maestro strawberries, there are very, very few reviews from gardeners who already have experience in growing berries of this variety on their plots. We hope that they will respond and leave comments and their opinion on our page.

Disadvantages

1. With insufficient illumination of the beds or a long absence of watering, the Maestro strawberry almost does not form mustache shoots, which can lead to a lack of new seedlings for propagation.
2. The engraftment 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.
3. Maestro strawberries have a rather short lifespan of the roots; after 3 years, the beds must be completely updated.

Features

Maestro strawberry bushes are low, squat, the roots are compact, they 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 unusual design solution for decorating the loggia.

Planting and care

Maestro strawberries are propagated by mustaches, or, more precisely, by rooted rosettes of leaves that form on shoots. You can harvest such sockets yourself throughout the season. We will take a closer look at how to do it right. When the first rosettes appear, still without roots, you need to fix the antennae close to the ground, pressing them down on both sides with hairpins. After engraftment and formation of roots, the mustache is cut off from the mother bush, they are already able to extract nutrients from the ground themselves (see photo).

By the time of transplantation (early August), they will get stronger, grow a lot of roots and will be ready for planting in a new place. Rooted rosettes, that is, ready-made strawberry seedlings, are carefully dug out of the soil and transferred to prepared beds.

Maestro begins to prepare 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 weeds from developing. These are crops such as: buckwheat, rapeseed, vetch or oats. During the summer, the grass is mowed several times, leaving it on the site. Before planting strawberry seedlings, they dig up the bed, planting the remains of green manure in 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 rather dry;
• in length, open beds are made at their discretion, there should be from 2 to 4 rows in the garden, the optimal distance between the ridges is 90 cm, between seedlings in a row – 30-40 cm;
• pits for planting strawberries are made in a checkerboard pattern so that the plants do not shade each other;
• fertilizers are applied to each well in the proportions specified in the Instructions, and if you planted green manure, then there is no need to add nitrogen supplements;
• the holes are watered, the seedlings are held vertically, grabbing all the leaves and trimmings of the mustache, sprinkled with earth, slightly compacted;
• mulch the soil with peat, place straw or dry reeds on top.

There is not much space in greenhouses to plant strawberry seedlings there, 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 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, it is possible to organize year-round fruiting of strawberries by planting batches of seedlings at different times.

Remontant strawberry varieties are quite demanding for care, and the 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 top dressing at least 1 time in 2-3 weeks;
• nitrogen fertilizers in early spring or autumn;
• removal of weeds, loosening of dry soil, pest control and prevention against diseases.

Reviews

Conclusion

There are a lot of strawberry varieties, it is impossible to try every one of them, but if you decide to grow something new, why not choose the Maestro variety. Try it, and share your feedback and comments with us and our dear readers. We will be looking forward to them.