With strawberries, there are sometimes significant differences depending on the variety. Here is a list of strawberry varieties of different harvest times and flavors.

Strawberries (Fragaria) compete with Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) for the title of Queen of the Berries. Breeding has resulted in an incredible variety of strawberry varieties: from the white strawberry to climbing strawberries, strawberries for the balcony box or particularly 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 for the large-fruited, once-bearing and reblooming strawberries and, of course, for the pretty little wild and monthly strawberries.

Early and late strawberry varieties: Strawberries that bear fruit once and several times

Strawberries are classified according to how often they produce new fruit. Some only do this once per season, others all the time. Varieties of once-bearing strawberries are early, they bear the first fruit from mid-May and their harvest season is over by the end of June or the beginning of July at the latest. This is followed seamlessly by the reblooming or everbearing strawberry varieties: they bring a first harvest in June or July and, after a short period of dormancy, continue to bear fruit until the onset of frost. They therefore include all mid-early and late strawberry varieties. So if you want to harvest fresh strawberries from early summer to autumn, plant early, mid-early and late once-bearing and also ever-bearing strawberry varieties.

Tip: The first strawberry harvest of once-bearing strawberries can be brought forward with a few tricks. For this purpose, the plants are planted in black mulch foil, covered with foil and fleece or built over with flat foil tunnels. All these measures cause the soil to warm up faster and the plant to develop quickly. One way of growing strawberries all year round is to use so-called “frigo strawberries”. Irrespective of the planting date, these always bear fruit 8 to 10 weeks after planting and, with a little skill, enable a complete and even harvest from April toNovember.

Once-bearing strawberries can bear fruit even earlier with black foil

One-bearing strawberry varieties

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

Early one-bearing strawberry varieties:

  • 'Clery': Very early variety; bright red, firm and very tasty fruits; medium yield with consistent size; slightly susceptible to botrytis (grey mold).
  • 'Lambada': Ripens very early; very sweet and flavorful "lover's variety"; light red and regular medium-sized fruits; quite high susceptibility to powdery mildew, but otherwise robust; can be planted a little more densely.
  • 'Fraroma': descended 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; flowers quite late despite early ripening, so ideal for locations at risk of frost.
  • 'Elvira': Early to medium early variety; large, orange-red to red fruits; Flesh is medium to firm and very juicy; good, sweet aroma; less suitable for deep freezing; Advantage: Less susceptible to disease; not very demanding on soil; Disadvantage: Not really suitable for locations endangered by late frost.
  • ′Daroyal®′: The strawberry ′Daroyal®′ bears large to very large fruits and produces high yields; Tasty fruits; Is suitable for reproduction, so shows few crop rotation diseases.

Tip: Even when planting, you can ensure that you can later enjoy a rich strawberry harvest. Use a high-quality substrate that meets the needs of strawberries, such as our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Soil. This also has the ideal composition for berries.

Medium early one-bearing strawberry varieties:

  • 'Polka': Very productive variety; dark red, rather small fruits; taste reminiscent of wild berries; very good for jam and for deep-freezing; relatively robust, but prone to leaf spot.
  • 'Sonata': cross between 'Elsanta' and 'Polka'; those who like Elsanta should switch to this variety as it is less susceptible 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 (Verticilium), root rot (Phytophthora) and fruit rot, should therefore be well cared for.
′Elsanta′ can be stored well and is therefore also popular for commercial cultivation

Late bearing strawberry varieties:

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

Repeating or everbearing strawberry varieties

The everbearing strawberries bear fruit from the end of June until autumn. They require intensive maintenance of watering, fertilizing and mulching to produce large, tasty and pristine fruit.

  • 'Ostara': The strawberry 'Ostara' is a variety that bears at least twice; heart-shaped, orange-red to red fruit with a good, slightly sour 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 fruit is thinned out, the quality and size of the fruit improves significantly; strong growth and long fruit stalks, therefore sufficient distance in the planting row required.
  • 'Mara des Bois': Repeat bearing variety; wild strawberry flavor; rather soft, short-life 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 vigorous growth, also well suited for heavy soil.
  • ′Sweet Mary XXL′: The strawberries of ′Sweet Mary XXL′ are ready for harvest from July; the fruits are extremely large and still have a good taste.
′Sweet Mary XXL′ forms enormous fruits, but only from the month of July
  • 'Senga Sengana': Dark red fruits; medium-high and regular yield; excellent for processing and freezing; relatively high susceptibility to botrytis (grey mold) therefore do not plant too densely; poor shelf life overall and hard to store.
  • 'Asia': The 'Asia' strawberry bears very large, shiny red fruits in late June to early 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 much interruption.

Old strawberry varieties

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

  • 'Königin Luise': early variety; delicate and sweet; bright red fruits; needs pollinator variety.
  • 'Reuraths Very Earliest': Early one-bearing strawberry variety; medium-sized, round fruits; intense aroma with a balanced sour taste.
  • 'Mieze Schindler': Late variety; medium-sized, very aromatic, sweet fruits; rather soft flesh, e.g. ideal for jam; low soil requirements; needs pollinator variety e.g. 'Ostara' or 'Senga Sengana' in their vicinity.

White strawberry varieties

  • 'Snow White': Late one-bearing varieties; ripe fruits are white with red nutlets; little sensitive to diseases; aromatic fresh pineapple taste.
  • ′Natural White′: Small, fruits only about 2 cm in diameter; brings higher yields with pollinator varieties like 'Ostara'.
Some strawberry varieties bear white fruits

Tip: The names 'White Dream', 'Anablanca', 'Anabella' and 'Natural White' are all clones of the same white strawberry variety and are just 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 everbearing varieties mentioned above in order to make optimal use of the limited space. And you can grow strawberries vertically to create even more of the delicious fruities.

Growing strawberries in balcony boxes is actually quite practical: the fruits hang down on the left and right edge and are not soiled by the soil. They dry off quickly after rain or watering, so they are less likely to be affected by fruit rot. tipsfor the perfect strawberry harvest on balconies can be found in our special article on strawberry cultivation on the balcony.

In principle, all strawberries are very suitable for cultivation in planters

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

  • ′Loran′: The strawberry ′Loran′ forms hanging infructescences, particularly decorative in tubs 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 cultivar ′Toscana′ bloom with large, dark pink flowers; very ornamental: awarded in the FleuroStar competition; fruits from May to September; good hardy; medium sized fruit.
  • ′Elan′: The strawberry ′Elan′ forms overhanging infructescences; medium to large fruits; fruit ripening from May to October; needs moist, nutrient-rich soil; very suitable for growing in tubs and balcony boxes.

Tip: The nutrients in planters such as pots or balcony boxes are used up faster than in the bed. Therefore it should be fertilized regularly. For strawberries we recommend our 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, since strawberries neither twine nor climb or spread themselves up with thorns. However, because some varieties produce an extremely large number of offshoots, they give the impression of a luxuriantly rampant climbing strawberry or hanging strawberry - if staged correctly. In fact, no strawberry could hold itself to a framework on its own, all "climbing strawberries" have to be tied up.

  • 'Herzbergs Triumph': Strong climbing, so ideal as a climbing strawberry; bearing twice; very good sugar-acid ratio; descends from 'Mieze Schindler'.
  • ′Hummi′®: This climbing strawberry forms long, strong shoots; everbearing strawberry variety with harvest from July to September; Can be tied up to a height of 1.5 m; bred as early as the 1950s and is therefore an old variety.
  • 'Korona': medium-early one-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 vitiligo and powdery mildew; with strong runners as a hanging or climbing strawberrysuitable.

Strawberries of the month and wild strawberries

Monthly strawberries (Fragaria vesca var. hortensis) are wild strawberries modified by breeding (Fragaria vesca ). They do not form runners, but only multiply via seeds. Its fruits are much smaller than those of garden strawberries, but have a particularly aromatic taste. The fruits ripen from June to September. The plants are also very decorative as path and bed borders. There are also interesting varieties of the monthly strawberry:

  • 'Rügen': Typical wild strawberry aroma; annual plants bear the most beautiful fruit; relatively robust.
  • ′Alexandria′: Bears more and larger fruits than ′Rügen′ and is considered the best strawberry of the month.
  • ′Baron von Solem′: There is a red and a yellow fruit variant of this variety, which increases its ornamental value even more.
Monthly strawberries form only small, but particularly aromatic fruits

Tip: The typical garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is a crossbreed from Chile - Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) and Scarlet Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana). Just like its progenitors, it has an eight-fold duplicated genome, which is reflected in particularly large fruits. In contrast, our native wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is tiny. The monthly strawberry (Fragaria vesca var. hortensis), which can also be cultivated, was bred from it. Its small fruits have a particularly intense taste and are also very decorative.

You have decided on one or even more strawberry varieties? Then it's time to plant strawberries! We explain how strawberries are planted and why this is best done in July of the previous year!

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Fruit