What is your favourite strawberry?

[Squash64]

I want to buy some strawberry plants but I'm confused.
There are so many varieties on offer, I just don't know what to choose.

The most important thing for me is flavour.  I'd rather have fewer fruit for a short season than loads of tasteless pap all summer.

Can anyone recommend a really tasty variety please?

[Squash64]

[powerspade]

Royal Sovreign        yum yum

[PurpleHeather]

Well one thing with strawberries is that they are good at reproducing new plants.

If you get say 3 plants of each of a few varieties and carefully label them then you can choose the ones you prefer and take runners from them. Granted that wont give you an instant bed of strawberries but then growing your own is a long term project. Taste is personal.

I can not recommend a variety by name because I can not remember what mine are called but I think that the bigger the strawberry the less it tasty it seems to be. The huge ones that come from Spain taste of nothing at all. Also commercial ones are grown for keeping well, the tastiest ones seem to need to be picked and eaten as soon as they are ready.

[manicscousers]

squash, I have some marshmello runners if you'd like some, maybe 6, I think..won't know until wednesday  :)

[saddad]

DebP and OH both rate Marshmello  :)

[grawrc]

I love Marshmello too. And the little tasty French ones - Gariguette and Mara des Bois.

[Squash64]

squash, I have some marshmello runners if you'd like some, maybe 6, I think..won't know until wednesday  :)

That's really kind of you, thank you so much!

[asbean]

Most of ours are Marshmello - we love 'em  :P :P :P :P :P

[Deb P]

Gariguette....long pointy fruits, outstandingly sweet and delicious to my taste buds.

Marshmello..I got a huge crop from my 2 year old plants this year, bigger blunter fruits but also with outstanding flavour.

I am also propagating Angelina and Ciflorette, both are French varieties that are either a cross with Gariguette or alleged to be better.........only had a few fruit off them last year, and couldn't really tell much difference, but hope to see what they can really do next as they are now planted out instead of in pots. ;D

[Slug_killer]

I'd agree with PurpleHeather and also ask down the lottie as it can depend on soil type.
(You might also get a few freebies there as well as most people have too many).

[dtw]

Avoid Elsante, they are the tasteless Tesco ones grown for their keeping qualities.

[saddad]

Honeyoye isn't too bad... good crop, silly name...  :-X

[Melbourne12]

Florence are good.  We're just about to replace our strawberry plants, and will  plant Florence again.  Agree also about Mara des Bois, although we've found that over several years the "wild strawberry" taste seems to fade.

[flowerofshona2007]

I still can't find one that beats Cambridge Favorite ! Love the Maxin ones and could send you a few runners if you would like to try them, there big but nice taste and not like hard bullets !

[landimad]

Any plant that gives lots of strawberries are the best in our house.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[reddyreddy]

another vote for cambridge favourite  ;D

[grawrc]

I am also propagating Angelina and Ciflorette

Thanks Deb! I'd forgotten the name of the next one I wanted to try - Ciflorette it is!

[Digeroo]

I want to buy some new plants but there are so many to choose from, so I will also be following this thread.  I have been given quite a few plants which is very nice, but no one seems to know that varieties they have bought.

I am particularly interested in some of the perpetual cropping ones.  Some people seem to have a few strawberries for months and months.

I also like the pink flowered ones, seem to be a nice flavour and they are so pretty to look at, though not a heavy cropper.  Does anyone know what variety this is?

[Squash64]

I still can't find one that beats Cambridge Favorite ! Love the Maxin ones and could send you a few runners if you would like to try them, there big but nice taste and not like hard bullets !

I'd love to try them if you have any spare, thank you so much,

[Squash64]

Thanks for your recommendations everyone.

So far it's Marshmello in the lead with 6 votes
Gariguette and Cambridge Favourite with 2 each
and
Royal Sovereign,
Mara des Bois
Angelina
Ciflorette
Honeoye
Florence
Maxin
all with 1 vote each.