[JohnB47]

Just munching away at my Royal Sovereign and Florence strawberries but some of the Royal Sovereign are a bit weak and need replacing.

I'm thinking of what to plant in their place now, so as to get ahead of the game for a reasonable harvest next year.

So, any recommendations?

Ta.

[DD.]

Put "Irresistible" into a forum search!

You'll find them here:

Irresistible

[Yorkie]

I have bought Irresistible on DD's recommendation (they'd better be good  ) - they came as puny plants but soon established and are now very vigorous.  Haven't yet ripened but looking good.

[DD.]

You'll also find more refrences in the forum under the mis-spelling "Irresistable".

[Yorkie]

You'll also find more refrences in the forum under the mis-spelling "Irresistable".

Or even references 

[DD.]

That was a typo, not a mis-spelling, there is a differance, you know! 

[Yorkie]

I'm resisting, I'm resisting the urge to do a quote of your last post .... ! 

[JohnB47]

Interesting, thanks.

On that site, for bare root plants, it says "Despatch: By end of Oct 2011". So that means I could buy them now and get them in the ground straight away, yes?

Any other good ones out there?

[Gandan57]

Interesting, thanks.

On that site, for bare root plants, it says "Despatch: By end of Oct 2011". So that means I could buy them now and get them in the ground straight away, yes?

Any other good ones out there?

                                                                                           

Sorry to disappoint you John, but I`m sure it means they will be sent out in the autumn, which is, of course, the correct time to plant bare root plants.                                         

At the end of July last year, when I took on my allotment, I went to a local garden centre and bought four potted strawberries for £1.50 each. I deliberately picked ones with a lot of runners. They were planted in the ground, kept well watered and the runners weighted down with lumps of clay soil.

By around October I moved the lot to a new bed and I now had over 40 plants. I`ve now been picking fruit for maybe three weeks and the plants from runners actually started fruiting slightly earlier than the four parents.

[DD.]

Mine were planted autumn 2008, bare roots, one leaf per plant at best.  In 2009 they just went rampant and now I've got a bed that really should have been thinned out.

I did manage to take the runners off last year, well before they'd reached full production, but still had nearly 200 viable ones.

[kermit]

Lol 

[JayG]

Can't let this thread sink without trace without mentioning (again!  ) my heroic, single Albion strawberry plant bought on impulse at Ludlow market in October 2009.

Last year it produced a couple of pounds of large, delicious strawberries and about 30 new plants from runners, of which I kept 10 and gave the rest away.

The 10 babies have already started producing fruit and also runners, although this year I will be cutting all the runners off to give them a chance to establish better.

(Not much of the above is recommended practice for strawberries but it is such a vigorous and willing variety it seems a shame to stop them doing what comes naturally!)   

[viettaclark]

Yup! I'm impressed with the Albion too. Also grow Flamenco and Maras de Bois all of which are perpetual.
A friend gave me come Cambridge runners but I shall be binning the plants.....too mushy and no flavour!

[axxeman]

I have been growing Malling Opal for ten years, and I wouldn't entertain any other variety.  They are an everbearer and I normally stop picking around November 10th.  If I used polythene they would fruit into December.  Big, sweet, and juicy fruits.  I have 34 troughs with 7 plants per trough.  Normally pick a casserole bowlful every other day.

The only weakness with this variety is susceptibility to crown rot, and they are knackered after 2 years with the constant fruiting.  Pinch off the flowers in May if you want runners first for new plants...

[JohnB47]

Thanks everyone.

Gandan57 - looks like I'll try local garden centres. Albion seems a possibility for it's good long picking season.