Types and varieties

Summer-fruiting, perpetual and alpine

Three types, many varieties. Grow a mix and the harvest lasts from early summer to autumn.

How this site works. Every fact is in our own words and linked to its source, beside it. Growing advice comes mainly from the RHS, the UK’s gardening charity.

There are three main types to grow: summer-fruiting, perpetual and alpine. RHS

Summer-fruiting

Summer-fruiting strawberries are the most popular and have the biggest fruit, with a short, heavy crop lasting two or three weeks. RHS

Early, mid and late varieties of summer-fruiting strawberries crop between early June and early August. RHS

Perpetual (everbearers)

Perpetual strawberries, or everbearers, give small flushes of fruit from early summer to early autumn, sometimes until the first autumn frosts. The crops and fruits are smaller. RHS

Alpine

Alpine strawberries, also called wild or woodland strawberries, give small crops of tiny, scented berries on and off through the summer. RHS

Alpine berries are usually red, but a few varieties have white or yellow berries. RHS

Alpines grow in sun or light shade and can be left to fend for themselves. RHS

When each type crops outdoors, roughly (our chart, from the RHS).Drawing: our own, simplified and not to scale

Grow a mix of types and you can pick home-grown strawberries from early summer through to autumn. RHS

RHS-recommended varieties

The RHS suggests looking for varieties with its Award of Garden Merit (AGM), given to plants that did well in its trials. RHS

‘Honeoye’ AGM: early, with plenty of large, firm, well-flavoured fruits. RHS
‘Vibrant’ AGM: an early variety that may give a second crop in good conditions. RHS
‘Hapil’ AGM: early to mid-season, with heavy crops of large, glossy, sweet berries. RHS
‘Cambridge Favourite’ AGM: mid-season, very popular and reliable, with good disease resistance. RHS
‘Florence’ AGM: late-season, with firm, well-flavoured fruit and good disease resistance. RHS
‘Pegasus’ AGM: late-season, with large, sweet berries and good disease resistance. RHS
‘Rhapsody’ AGM: late-season, with large, glossy red berries and some disease resistance. RHS
‘Symphony’ AGM: late-season, with glossy red berries and excellent flavour. RHS
‘Finesse’ AGM: a perpetual, with sweet, tasty berries from early summer to early autumn. RHS

Early, mid and late refer to when in the summer the variety crops. Listed in roughly that order, with the perpetual last.

A watercolour painting of a strawberry plant stem with several large red strawberries and leaves — The Barrymore variety, painted for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Old American varieties like this one are rarely sold now.Picture: Mary Daisy Arnold (USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

Wild and old kinds

The woodland or alpine strawberry, F. vesca, grows across much of the Northern Hemisphere and has small, intensely flavoured fruits. Britannica

The musk, or hautbois, strawberry (F. moschata) is still grown in some places for its musky smell and flavour. Britannica

Common North American wild species include the Virginia strawberry (F. virginiana) and the beach strawberry (F. chiloensis). Britannica

Wild strawberries grow in open woods, meadows, sand dunes and on beaches. Britannica

A botanical illustration of the wild strawberry, with leaves, white flowers, runners and small red fruits, labelled in French — The woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, from an 1891 French plant atlas.Picture: Amédée Masclef, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

A close-up of a large white strawberry flower with a yellow centre — A flower of the beach strawberry, Fragaria chiloensis, one parent of the garden strawberry.Picture: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Region, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped and resized)

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