I am curious if others in Southern California have experimented with growing strawberry varieties not recommended for our area. I was always struck that zone recommendations online often say not to grow strawberries in zones greater than 7, but the majority of the nation’s strawberries are grown in coastal California.
I tried several varieties. Not enough time to be totally sure but so far my favorite for flavor is Earliglow. Very sweet, very aromatic. I am planning on growing more of that. I am surprised it is never recommended here and I wonder what else would do well here?
if you can grow eariglow, you can grow just about any of the commercial varieties there. i just ordered some archer from indiana berry. I’ve read good reviews on this one. its just been released last year. big berries and red all the way thru. flavor supposed to be great.
I just wanted to update this post with some experiments I did on strawberry cultivars’ adaptability to inland southern Calfornia. I am interested in the heirloom/classic soft-fruited cultivars. The nurseries tend to sell what the commercial growers make and those are often rock hard. So we are on our own a bit if we are interested in the soft-fruited varieties and exploring local adaptation.
Belrubi was surprisingly good. Despite root aphids, it is highly productive in April, soft and flavorful. It might be my best-performing short-day cultivar.
Marshall, not surprisingly, is both good and productive. It was once the dominant commercial cultivar in California (I believe about 90 years ago). I only have 2 plants right now. I love that it is as soft as alpines.
Sparkle did not do well here at all. When it did fruit, the flavor was poor. Its range appears to be more northern climates only.
Charlotte was good the first year but seemed watery off-season. I do not have many plants of it left but unless it surprises me later, I probably wont grow it.
Earliglow was a lot smaller and less productive this year. I am not sure if that was from water disruption in the later summer. The flavor is great but it is not yet a proven winner on year to year productivity.
I am hoping to try some new varieties in the coming year. Has anyone else tried some of the more rare varieties in this area? It looks like Baker Creek is offering a lot of heirloom options now and it will be interesting to see how they do here.
Conclusion:
The classic French cultivar, Belrubi, appears to be suitable for southern California conditions. It ripens in April and May.
Based on the last 2 years, Quinault is quickly becoming my top strawberry so far. It produces really well, has excellent taste and just the right firmness (for us).
Sequoia seems a bit too big and insipid with not a lot of production.
Seascape was ok. It seemed to get bug pressure more than the others for some reason even though it’s in the same bed. Also, production was not comparable to Quinault.
Albion and Mara De Bois - as it turned out, we were out of town for the good crop from these over the summer (though they are not June-bearing) and so we’ve gotten very few. And then there was a watering issue with my drip irrigation with both these varieties. Long story short, I’m not sure I can trust any results from these 2 this year. I’ll keep them and trial for another year. They are kind of flowering now so we will see if we actually get a crop.
@JamesN - Any updates to your strawberry trials here? I really appreciate your thorough analyses for SoCal. I’m trying to do the same and add notes as I try things.
I sort of gave up on hybrid strawberries because I thought they were too much work to avoid bugs. I do have Gaviota still and a few other types that I let grow wild. The Gaviota do a better job of naturally lifting the smaller berries in the air, and avoid predation by earwigs a bit better. In general I have switched to alpine varieties. If you successfully grow one plant, then the next winter you split the clump into like 40 new plants, right as the rainy season starts. Alpine are easier for me and a nice treat in the spring when I am in the yard doing work anyway.
I grew Albion in 3g pots this year and they did pretty well. Biggest and best berries were in Spring, but they did produce all year. A lot of rats/squirrels got to the fruit, but they are being ignored now and still holding a few now.
Where did you get Quinault from? That one sounds interesting and I may give it a shot.
I got Quinault from Laguna Hills Nursery. I don’t think they have it in stock yet. I am also waiting for it to replenish my stock. I don’t know if I’ll have enough runners to plant the number I want since I want double down. I foolishly cut off a bunch of the Quinault runners that were growing wild earlier this year instead of planting them somewhere else. I will do that next year.
Thanks @MichaelTheBeloved - I’ll have to try that. I have gotten feedback to try Chandler from a few folks now including (IIRC) @Fusion_power, @fruitgrower and from @757Will on other Strawberry threads here.
@JamesN Yea I hear you. I am still trying with the strawberries mostly because I got pretty good production this past year and the family love them. I almost decided to give up on my little clump of Alpines but then I can’t bring myself to remove them. I might just go ahead and split them up this year so that I have some snacks in different parts of the yard as I work outside
I didn’t know they carried them. Should have paid more attention to the newsletter last year lol. I got my Albions from Gary last year. Thanks for the info.
I really like Chandler, but in my garden the Albion’s do the best and are slightly better tasting, as well as firmness and longevity. They also grow a lot faster.
Very good to know! Do you usually replace your Albion every year (whether from your own runners or from another purchase is a separate matter) I saw something somewhere that said this particular variety should be replaced every year. Not sure how true that really is.
I’ll do a small trial of Chandler then to see how it works in my space.
Actually - looking at my notes, it’s now not clear if I bought them from Gary only (or at all) or from an Armstrong Garden Center in Irvine. One of the 2 for sure. I definitely did NOT order them from somewhere online. I’ll keep a look out and let you know if I see any somewhere nearby.
since I want double down. I foolishly cut off a bunch of the Quinault runners that were growing wild earlier this year instead of planting them somewhere else. I will do that next year.