[chris23005]

I would like to have a few strawberry plants this year, so first of all am I too late to plant them? If not, what varieties do you suggest? To my mind there is no point in growing your own strawberries unless they are really full of flavour so what are your recommendations?

[8doubles]

I have some very good strawberries but i could not say what type they are, i was in a friends garden when he was picking some and after testing quiet a few i asked him to save me some runners.
He had done the same to get the plants in the first place so the name was forgotten years ago.
It`s not a bad system, you know what you are getting (flavour wise) and it`s cheap.

Taste is a personal thing so others recommendations may not suit your taste.

[Pompey Spud]

We love Marshmellow from Marshalls seeds.

We have Mae, Marshmellow and another one which has escaped me.

[chris23005]

Thank you both! Yes you are right, taste is a personal thing but strawberries from the garden have surely got to be better than the ones from the supermarket which taste bland - just watery! I remember strawberries tasting sweet and with a real strawberry taste - beautiful when they are warm from the sun. I guess I am trying to recapture a childhood .......!

Will have a look at "Marshmallow" - thank you.

[sclarke624]

Elsanta are nice.  This year I will be tasting Irresistible as recommended by DD.  Exclusive to T&M.

[JohnB47]

I have a feeling (nothing more) that the same strawberry will taste different when grown on different sites.

Still, I bought a few 'florence' after it was voted best for flavour in a vote during a strawberry festival shown on a Hugh Fernley-Wittingstall program last year.

I'll try and remember to post how they taste, if I dare pick any this year.

[Hobnails]

I have grown Irresistible for the last two years in pots and in a bed.
I found they gave a pleasant ad sweet taste, but nothing spectacular.
They fruited over a short period with good sized berries in June with a
short second flush later. I found them more prone to disease and needing more
nursing than I care for.
I have planted another bed with Marais De Bois- which has more of a woodland/alpine
strawberry flavour but gives a bigger berry and crops over a longer season.
If this is succesful I shall replace Irresistible when the bed ends its third year next year.

[maxie]

Ill second marshmellow from marshalls what a cropper.

[sclarke624]

I have a feeling (nothing more) that the same strawberry will taste different when grown on different sites.

You are probably right, areas with more sun maybe sweeter, stuff you feed plants with, soil.  Wouldn't suprise me. 

Afterall there must be some reason the Foreign strawberries are hard and unsweet. LOL

[whippersnapper]

I have 'Everest' - everbearing variety with very good flavour, large size fruits and heavy cropping.