Best Strawberry Varieties?

Thanks again Matt. We’ll see.:slight_smile:

I only have a short experience with two varieties, Earliglow and Sparkle (plus some alpines). Last year was the first year we got fruit from them and it was amazing. I think Sparkle had a slight edge in flavor, but Earliglow was a bit easier to manage, less prone to mold, and easier to pick without smooshing the berries. My wife doesn’t agree with me about the flavor though, she thinks Earliglow is just as good with better texture. The June bearing plants were from Nourse and grew extremely well.

I just posted a longer writeup on my strawberry project at my blog. Here are a couple pics from last season.

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I picked up 25 Rutgers Scarlet this spring. The description from Nourse:

Rutgers Scarlet is a new release from the Rutgers breeding program. This variety features outstanding berry quality with exceptional flavor. In our trials we experienced some unpollinated blossoms which resulted in only a moderate yield for Rutgers Scarlet. This was offset somewhat by a high percentage of saleable berries that are firm with an attractive deep red color, slightly conical shape, and some of the best flavor out of any of the varieties that we offer! The flavor and overall quality of Rutgers Scarlet should result in return customers who are seeking premium quality strawberries.

These are some of the largest tastiest berries we have ever grown, let alone tasted. I plan to pick up another 25 in the spring to replace some less productive varieties.

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Thanks for the report! I plan to add some next year. I was looking at a few, this one looks worthwhile. I have a raised bed that I need to rework. Most of it will be pineberries, but I have some room for others. Pineberries have the most complex flavor I have tasted in strawberries. I hope they develop some better cultivars that are firmer, and have a better shelf live, still as is, I’ll take them every time.

My first Mara des Bois are just starting to come in and turn red. Fighting the catbirds for them now. Will net today!

Wow someone behind me! Mine are done with the first wave of fruit. MDB are excellent too. Easy to grow. I have bought a few types and many got mixed up, I have some that are top rate and big too, not sure what they are though? Some June bearing type is all I can tell. This seems to be a good year for strawberries. I noticed that all types are tasting really good, maybe it’s me? I’m not sure? I was going to eliminate my musk strawberries, and the first wave was so outstanding, I’m rethinking that! They are not productive, small, need male plants. Not easy to grow. Why I was going to pull them. No other strawberry though tastes like them, very different from all others.

Drew, it has been very chilly here, a horribly cold spring and most of my strawberries are really tiny. :cherry_blossom:

Mine were small too, as the weather turned they did increase in size some. I didn’t take any photos, except one (pineberries, MDB, and others)


The small yellow are from a native wild strawberry. I like the reds better, but I don’t have any growing at the moment. Christina is the cultivar. I find these grow very well here. Other alpine types perform poorly here. I would probably not grow these, but I don’t have to do nothing to them, and the birds never take them. So I find a use for them.

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If Musk attained the size of other Strawberries,they might be the only kind I’d grow. Brady

They are very different! I have found a couple plants in my garden that appear to be larger musk strawberries. They might be a cross? Not sure? I’m going to try and isolate the plant. They are cone shaped too, not like most musk. I don’t what they are?

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We’ve been picking our Earliglow, Sparkle, and alpines for about two weeks now. Roughly 2 liters a day. This pic is 2 days worth of June berries and the first thorough picking of the alpines. I think the flavor is a little less pronounced in year 2 of fruit from the June bearers, with the difference between Earliglow and Sparkle being easier to notice (Sparkle has the edge in flavor, but less production and more runners). If only I could get the asparagus to grow as well as the strawberries…

Kids are working on a batch of strawberry ice cream in one of these pictures. Alpines are making more berries than I was expecting.

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Nice! Lot’s of berries! What alpine do you grow? Looking for a good red.

I have Mignonette, Alexandria, and Atilla. Unfortunately I can’t tell which is which, and some berries I pick are far better than others. Atilla is a mixed bag because it runners like crazy. This is cool for covering an area without having to work at it much, but it is annoying because of course they don’t stop when you want them to so they spread out of bounds and get too crowded in the bed. I suspect given the plant locations that Atilla hasn’t given the very best tasting berries. Anyone else have something to say on red alpine variety flavors?

Gorgeous! Well done Holly~

Thanks for the info, I want to try Alexandria. I had a good day today for strawberry harvest Making a smoothie right now.

The large ones are Sparkle?

Large ones are a mix of Sparkle and Earliglow. Sparkle on average seem to be a bit smaller than Earliglow, but still some quite large ones in there.

The bowl of little ones is the alpines.

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Anybody growing the Shuksan strawberry in the Eastern U.S.? How does it perform here?

I understand this variety was bred for the Pacific Northwest and is a delicious but highly perishable June-bearer when grown there.

Raintree is currently giving them away as bonus plants to folks who place big orders within the next week.

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I grow some Shuksan in the PNW and I’m not particularly impressed by it. Don’t get me wrong, it is good especially if you get them for free:-) but I think many other varieties are better.

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I have Mignonette, Alexandria, Quattro, and Reine des vallees. The last one is my favorite.

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