Strawberry varieties: Everbearing & robust varieties

When it comes to strawberries, there are sometimes considerable differences depending on the variety. Here is a list of strawberry varieties at different harvest times and flavors.

Strawberries (Fragaria) compete with the Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) for the title of berry queen. Through breeding, an incredible variety of strawberry varieties has been created: Von der white strawberry over climbing strawberries, strawberries for the balcony box or especially sweet Strawberry varieties. But which is the best strawberry variety and are there differences in the culture of modern strawberry varieties such as 'Sonata', 'Senga Sengana' and old strawberry varieties? We provide an overview of strawberry varieties around the large-fruited, single-bearing and remounting strawberries and of course also about the neat little wild and monthly strawberries.

Early and late strawberry varieties: single and multiple bearing strawberries

Strawberries are classified according to how often they produce new fruit. Some only do this once per season, others over and over again. Varieties of single-bearing strawberries are early on, they form the first fruits from mid-May and at the end of June, by early July at the latest, their harvest season is over again. The remounting or everbearing strawberry varieties follow on seamlessly: They bring one first harvest in June or July and, after a short period of rest, more fruits until the beginning of the Frost. They therefore include all medium-early and late strawberry varieties. So if you want to harvest fresh strawberries from early summer to autumn, you can plant early, mid-early and late single-bearing and also e-bearing strawberry varieties.

Tip: The first strawberry harvest for single-bearing strawberries can be brought forward with a few tricks. For this purpose, the plants are planted in black mulch film, covered with film and fleece or built over with flat film tunnels. All of these measures mean that the soil warms up faster and the plant develops quickly. One possibility for the year-round "appointment culture" of strawberries is the use of so-called "Frigo strawberries“. Regardless of the planting date, these always fruit 8 to 10 weeks after planting and, with a little skill, enable a seamless and even harvest from April to November.

Single-bearing strawberry varieties

Single-bearing strawberries are relatively easy to care for, but only produce one harvest period in early summer. There are earlier and later varieties that can be combined for a continuous harvest.

Early single bearing strawberry varieties:

• ‘Clery‘: Very early variety; bright red, firm and very tasty fruits; medium yield with constant size; somewhat susceptible to botrytis (gray mold).
• ‘Lambada‘: Matures very early; very sweet and tasty “lover variety”; light red and even medium-sized fruits; very susceptible to powdery mildew, but otherwise robust; can be planted a little more densely.
• ‘Fraroma‘: Descends from ‘Senga Sengana‘; juicy, very aromatic strawberry; red to dark red; resistant to verticillium and powdery mildew, low susceptibility to red and white spots.
• ‘Honeoye‘: Very productive variety with medium to dark red fruits; Taste is only very good when fully ripe; Despite its early ripeness, it blooms quite late, making it ideal for locations exposed to frost.
• ‘Elvira‘: Early to medium early variety; large, orange-red to red fruits; The pulp is medium to firm and very juicy; good, sweet aroma; less suitable for deep freezing; Advantage: Little susceptible to disease; does not place great demands on soil; Disadvantage: Not particularly suitable for locations at risk of late frost.
• ′ Daroyal® ′: The strawberry 'Daroyal®' bears large to very large fruits and brings high yields; Tasty fruits; Is suitable for reproduction, so shows few crop rotation diseases.

tip: As soon as you are planting, you can ensure that you will later be able to nibble on a rich harvest of Edberry. Use a high quality substrate that meets the requirements of the strawberry, like ours Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil. This also has the ideal composition for soft fruit.

Medium early single bearing strawberry varieties:

• 'Polka': Very productive variety; dark red, rather small fruits; Taste reminiscent of forest berries; very suitable for jam and freezing; relatively robust, but prone to leaf spots.
• ‘Sonata‘: Cross of ‘Elsanta‘ and ‘Polka’; if you like Elsanta, you should switch to this variety, as it is less prone to disease; strong fruit set; juicy, light red fruits with a good aroma; Advantage: tolerates frost well; Disadvantage: susceptible to verticillium and black rot.
• ′ Elsanta ′: Adaptable in terms of location; large, firm and storable fruits with a great aroma; sensitive to frost and wilt disease (Verticilium), root rot (Phytophthora) and fruit rot, should therefore be well cared for.

Late single bearing strawberry varieties:

• ′ Florika ′: The strawberry Florika is a cross between a wild strawberry and a garden strawberry; very easy to care for; Standing inflorescences, therefore no mulch layer necessary; small fruits with a particularly good taste; soft pulp, therefore consume immediately.

Remounting or everbearing strawberry varieties

The everbearing strawberries fruit from the end of June until autumn. They require intensive care through watering, fertilizing and mulching to produce large, tasty and flawless fruits.

• ‘Ostara‘: The strawberry 'Ostara' is at least twice pregnant; heart-shaped, orange-red to red fruit with a good, slightly acidic aroma; the flesh is juicy and medium to firm; relatively high site requirements: needs nutrient-rich, humus-rich, loose soil with sufficient moisture; if the fruits are thinned, the quality and size of the fruits improves significantly; strong growth and long fruit stalks, therefore sufficient spacing in the row of plants is required.
• ‘Mara des Bois‘: Multiple bearing variety; Wild strawberry flavor; rather soft, not very durable variety that should be eaten or processed quickly; small to medium-sized, brick-red fruits.
• ‘Symphony‘: Large, medium-red and sour-aromatic fruits; Relatively robust root system and strong growth, also well suited for heavy soils.
• ′ Sweet Mary XXL ′: The strawberries from 'Sweet Mary XXL' will be ready for harvest from July; the fruits are extremely large and still have a good taste.

• ‘Senga Sengana‘: Dark red fruits; medium and regular yield; excellent for processing and freezing; relatively high susceptibility to botrytis (gray mold) therefore do not plant so densely; Overall poor shelf life and hard to store.
• ′ Asia ′: The strawberry 'Asia' bears very large, shiny red fruits from the end of June to the beginning of July. Good taste; high yield; firm and durable fruits. The plant is resistant to diseases and pests.
• ′ Seascape ′: The strawberry 'Seascape' comes from California and is characterized by its great heat tolerance: While temperatures above 25 ° C damage other strawberry blossoms, 'Seascape' still bears fruit; Harvest from June to September without major interruptions.

Old strawberry varieties

Everything was better before? Old strawberry varieties are considered to be particularly tasty and they are said to have the best and most genuine strawberry aroma. In fact, the cultivation of strawberries is twofold: On the one hand, the varieties are robust, storable and disease-tolerant professional field cultivation, on the other hand, some breeders also pursue the goal of a particularly beautiful flowering or particularly tasty Fruit. So that old strawberry varieties are better in everything and new varieties are worse in everything cannot be said per se.

• ‘Queen Luise‘: Early variety; tender and sweet; bright red fruits; needs pollinator variety.
• ‘Reurath's very earliest‘: Early single bearing strawberry variety; medium-sized, round fruits; intense aroma with a balanced sour taste.
• ‘Kitty Schindler‘: Late variety; medium-sized, very aromatic, sweet fruits; rather soft pulp, ideal for jam, among other things; low soil demands; needs pollinator variety, e.g. B. ‘Ostara‘ or ‘Senga Sengana‘ in their vicinity.

White strawberry varieties

• ‘Snow White’: Late single bearing varieties; ripe fruits are white with red nuts; little sensitive to diseases; aromatic fresh pineapple taste.
• 'Natural White': Small, fruits only about 2 cm in diameter; brings higher yields with pollinators like 'Ostara'.

Tip: The names "White Dream", "Anablanca", "Anabella" and "Natural White" are all clones of the same white strawberry variety and are only sold under different names.

Strawberry varieties for the balcony

In principle, all strawberries can be grown both outdoors and on the balcony. If you want to grow strawberries on the balcony, it is best to use the above-mentioned everbearing varieties in order to make optimal use of the limited space. And you can Grow strawberries verticallyto produce even more of the delicious fruits.

Growing strawberries in the balcony box is actually quite practical: The fruits hang down on the left and right of the edge and are not soiled by the floor. They dry off quickly after rain or watering and are therefore less likely to be affected by fruit rot. You can find tips for the perfect strawberry harvest on balconies in our special article on Strawberry culture on the balcony.

These three varieties grow particularly compact and therefore fit perfectly in planters:

• ′ Loran ′: The strawberry 'Loran' forms hanging fruit clusters, particularly decorative in pots and hanging pots; compact growing, therefore particularly suitable for balconies; Fruits are dark red and sweet; needs a well-drained, moist and nutrient-rich soil.
• ′ Toscana ′: Strawberries of the 'Toscana' variety bloom with large, dark pink flowers; very decorative: Awarded in the FleuroStar competition; Fruits from May to September; well hardy; medium-sized fruits.
• 'Vigor': The strawberry 'Elan' forms overhanging fruit clusters; medium to large fruits; Fruit ripening from May to October; needs moist, nutrient-rich soil; very suitable for cultivation in pots and window boxes.

tip: In planters such as pots or window boxes, the nutrients are used up faster than in the bed. Therefore it should be fertilized regularly. For strawberries, we recommend ours Plantura organic tomato fertilizer with a three-month long-term effect.

Climbing strawberry varieties

From a botanical point of view, there are actually no climbing strawberries, as strawberries neither twine nor twine or spread themselves with thorns. However, because some varieties produce an extremely large number of offshoots, they create - correctly staged - the impression of a lush climbing strawberry or hanging strawberry. In fact, no strawberry could hold on to a scaffolding on its own, all “climbing strawberries” have to be tied up.

• ‘Herzberg's Triumph‘: Strongly trailing, so ideal as a climbing strawberry; twice in foal; very good sugar-acid ratio; comes from 'Mieze Schindler'.
• ′ Hummi′®: This climbing strawberry makes long, strong shoots; everbearing strawberry variety with harvest from July to September; Can be tied up to a height of 1.5 m; already bred in the 50s and thus an old variety.
• 'Corona': Medium early single-bearing strawberry variety; medium to large fruits; red to dark red, medium-firm to firm fruits; balanced in sweetness and acidity; high yield, especially in the second year; also suitable for heavy soils (at best, heavy soils should be improved with humus); however susceptible to white spot disease and powdery mildew; due to strong runners suitable as hanging or climbing strawberry.

Monthly strawberries and wild strawberries

Monthly strawberries (Fragaria vesca var. hortensis) are breedingly modified Wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca). They do not form runners, but only reproduce via seeds. Their fruits are much smaller than those of garden strawberries, but they have a particularly aromatic taste. The fruits ripen from June to September. The plants are also very decorative as borders and borders. There are also interesting varieties of monthly strawberries:

• 'To reprimand': Typical wild strawberry aroma; annual plants bear the most beautiful fruits; relatively robust.
• 'Alexandria': Bears more and bigger fruits than 'Rügen' and is considered the best strawberry of the month.
• ′ Baron von Solem ′: There is a red and a yellow-fruited variant of this variety, which increases its ornamental value.

Tip: The typical garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is a hybrid of the chile strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) and the scarlet strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). Just like its parent species, it has an eightfold duplicated genome, which is expressed in particularly large fruits. In contrast, our native wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) tiny. It became the cultivable monthly strawberry (Fragaria vesca var. hortensis), whose small fruits taste particularly intense and which also have great ornamental value.

Have you decided on one or, better still, several types of strawberry? Then it’s about to start right away Strawberries plants! We explain how strawberries are planted and why this is best done in July of the previous year!