Nothing is quite like a fresh juicy red strawberry from the garden! The closer you get to the source of your food, the higher the quality likely is and strawberries are no exception! Planting this fruit in your home garden makes these delicious red berries readily accessible at peak flavor. Think of all the wonderful recipes you can incorporate your fresh strawberries in!
With many different cultivars of strawberries, you can help lengthen your production time by planting several types that produce at different times. Keep your zone in mind when choosing strawberry plants, as this may play a factor in which ones thrive in your area. If you have a sunny location and well-draining nutrient-dense soil, you are nearly there! It may be hard to choose just one, but luckily you don’t have to. Start your strawberry patch at home!
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Types of Strawberries
Strawberry plants come in three main categories: June-bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral. These categories differentiate the plants based on the time of year the plant produces, as well as how much fruit you’ll be able to harvest. June-bearing cultivars produce large yields in the spring, while everbearing types produce two crops from summer to fall. Day-neutral (a fairly new categorization) refers to the plants that continually produce.
Plan your garden right and you can have a bountiful harvest throughout the entire growing season!
1. Earligrow
Another early spring June-bearing strawberry cultivar, ‘Earligrow’ produces a medium yield of glossy red strawberries. The fruit itself is medium to large with a classic flavor profile. This cultivar produces one of the best-tasting berries, though you can decide that for yourself! With disease resistance, this cultivar is a great choice for those first-timers.
2. Honeoye
‘Honeoye’ strawberry plants produce their fruit in early to mid-springtime. A bountiful yield of beautifully red, large berries makes this cultivar an attractive choice for home gardens. Keep in mind that picking these berries at peak time is important to retain taste, as overripe berries become bitter. But don’t worry, it will be hard to keep your hands off these little treats for long!
3. Jewel
Strawberries from the ‘Jewel’ plant, a June-bearing strawberry cultivar, will peak in mid to late spring. You will get a typically heavy harvest at this time and the large berries taste delicious! Use these strawberries in yummy dessert recipes and if you can hold yourself back from eating them all the fruit also freezes very well.
4. Ozark Beauty
This strawberry cultivar is in the everbearing category, producing a late spring/early summer crop and a fall crop. ‘Ozark beauty’ is one of the favorites of the everbearing varieties and can adapt to its growing conditions well. This cultivar produces tasty berries with high yields. It’s no wonder this is a favorite!
5. Annapolis
This June-bearing cultivar produces light red strawberries in the early spring season and has vigorous growth and high yields! The fruit of the ‘Annapolis’ is medium to large, works great in desserts, and freezes well. These strawberries are a great choice to start the season off strong!
6. Ogallala
If you need a hardy cultivar in the everbearing camp, ‘Ogallala’ is a great choice! This plant is great for many different growing zones and is even drought-tolerant. The berries from this cultivar are deep red and of course, scrumptious.
7. Seascape
This cultivar is a day-neutral variety and produces beautiful and high-quality berries from early summertime until fall! The yields are high for this cultivar from August to early September and if you do not have a lot of space, ‘Seascape’ plants work great growing in containers. You can even try them in hanging baskets, as it does not produce runners.
8. Tribute and Tristar
These two cultivars are very similar in characteristics with only slight differences. As a popular day-neutral choice for many years, ‘Tribute,’ and ‘Tristar’ both have great-tasting berries and a reliable production throughout the season. The main difference between these two is that ‘Tribute’ is larger in size, though ‘Tristar’ has a better flavor.
Fresh For The Picking
Growing delicious strawberries at home is a great way to get your hands on the most in-season peak-flavor fruit! With many different cultivars to choose from, you can plant a strawberry patch that provides fruit for much of the season. Cultivars like ‘Annapolis’ and ‘Earligrow’ will start the season strong with bountiful harvests, and the day-neutral ‘Seascape’ can produce through fall.
Do you enjoy growing strawberries at home? Which is your favorite cultivar? Share your experiences and favorites in the comment section below. Don’t forget to pass on this list of homegrown cultivars to other strawberry lovers too!
