What first springs to mind when you think of iconic duos? Perhaps it’s the costumed escapades of Batman and Robin? Or the dulcet tones of Simon and Garfunkel drifting on the airwaves? For American readers, it’s no doubt the combination of peanut butter and jelly – deadly to me, I’m afraid, thanks to a pretty pesky (read: life-threatening) allergy.

For us Brits, though, it’s got to be – like, absolutely has to be – strawberries and cream. A summer staple and bastion of English tradition, fresh, juicy strawberries lathered in cool cream are hard to beat. Growing your own makes them taste all the sweeter, and in this guide, we’ve put together the best strawberry varieties to grow for a range of wants and needs. Our mouths are already watering…

Jump to:

• Best early-season strawberry
• Best mid-season strawberry
• Best late-season strawberry
• Best everbearing strawberry
• Best strawberry for pots
• Best strawberry for taste
• Best yielding strawberries
• Best strawberry for disease resistance

Best early-season strawberry

‘Honeoye’

Honeoye, I’m home! This RHS award-winning variety is one of our very favourites, thanks to its vivid red colour and excellent juiciness. Ready to harvest up to a week earlier than popular mid-season varieties like ‘Elsanta’, ‘Honeoye’ is the perfect pick for those gardeners who can’t wait to get their strawberry fix.

Best mid-season strawberry

‘Sonata’

If Mozart was still around, he’d have composed a ditty or two about ‘Sonata’ strawberries, of that there’s no doubt. A mid-season variety yielding large, weather-resistant fruits, ‘Sonata’ strawberries work brilliantly in sticky jams and conserves, pavlovas and, of course, eaten fresh with a dollop (or three) of cream.

Best late-season strawberry

‘Florence’

Producing strawberries towards the end of July, ‘Florence’ has our vote for being the best late-season variety. A deserving recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM), ‘Florence’ yields highly flavourful strawberries that both store and eat well. Despite being a relatively new variety, it’s already become immensely popular, and we can’t say that we’re surprised!

Best everbearing strawberry

‘Flamenco’

Broadly speaking, there are two types of strawberries: June-bearing and everbearing. Rather than producing their fruit in one big hurrah during the summer, everbearing strawberries produce fruit throughout the season, often cropping from the start of summer right the way through to autumn.

‘Flamenco’ is a wonderful everbearing variety, typically producing its sumptuously sweet strawberries from July until October. Alongside exceptional flavour, these strawberries also boast great firmness, making them ideal for freezing. Oh, and it produces lots of fruit, too (as if you needed any more convincing).

Best strawberry for pots

‘Elsanta’

There are a good number of strawberry varieties that grow well in pots but our pick of the bunch goes to ‘Elsanta’. Resistant to bruising, large, juicy, and highly reliable, ‘Elsanta’ strawberries are ideal for container (and growbag) growing. Compared with strawberries purchased from the supermarket, patio-grown ‘Elsanta’ strawberries have incredible flavour. So, now you know that limited space doesn’t mean limited growing.

Whether you’re growing your strawberry plant(s) in a pot, window box or hanging basket, the general principles remain the same. Make sure there’s ample drainage, use a high-quality, peat-free compost like John Innes and water regularly. Remember, plants grown in containers require much more frequent watering than those grown in the open ground, as their compost dries out more quickly.

Take a look at this great video from GrowVeg for an in-depth walkthrough of how to grow your strawberry plants in pots.

Best strawberry for taste

‘Mara des Bois’

Loved by chefs the world over thanks to its intense, punchy flavour, ‘Mara des Bois’ is an everbearing (also known as perpetually fruiting) alpine (Fragaria vesca) variety, but unlike other alpine strawberries, which typically grow very small, ‘Mara des Bois’ strawberries are comparable to garden (Fragaria x ananassa) varieties in terms of size. With its fragrant fruit, adorable flowers and lush green foliage, this French tour de force is a culinary sensation.

Best yielding strawberries

‘Rhapsody’

If you want a bumper strawberry crop, we’re talking a trug-so-heavy-you-can-barely-carry-it crop, then we’d recommend ‘Rhapsody’. A modern Scottish variety that’s been awarded the RHS’ AGM, ‘Rhapsody’ is heavy-cropping, versatile and delicious to boot. You may think it’s a case of quantity over quality, but this selfish so-and-so boasts both!

Best strawberry for disease resistance