Everbearer Strawberry ‘Sweet Summer’
Is there anything more summery than picking a sun-warmed strawberry straight from the garden? That first juicy bite is one of the season’s simplest pleasures, and when you grow your own, you can enjoy fruit with a freshness and flavour that shop-bought strawberries struggle to match.
And if you are going to grow strawberries, it makes sense to choose one of the very best varieties. That is why our Plant of the Month for August is the outstanding everbearer Strawberry ‘Sweet Summer’.
This hardworking variety produces generous crops of large, conical strawberries that are firm, beautifully juicy and packed with sweetness. Rather than concentrating its harvest into one short burst, ‘Sweet Summer’ continues fruiting through summer and into autumn, potentially providing up to a kilo of delicious berries from each plant over the growing season.
It is also remarkably easy to accommodate. Producing relatively few runners, the plants remain neat and manageable, making them excellent for patio pots, raised beds and smaller gardens. Easy to grow and naturally productive, ‘Sweet Summer’ offers months of home-grown flavour from surprisingly little space.
What Makes Strawberry ‘Sweet Summer’ Stand Out?
The real strength of Strawberry ‘Sweet Summer’ is its combination of flavour, productivity and convenience. Its large, conical fruits have a firm texture, yet remain wonderfully sweet and juicy, making them delicious eaten straight from the plant or served with desserts, breakfasts and summer drinks.
Each established plant can produce as much as a kilogram of fruit across the growing season, so even a small collection can provide a highly rewarding harvest. The crops are spread over several months rather than arriving all at once, giving you plenty of opportunities to enjoy freshly picked strawberries.
Unlike vigorous varieties that send runners sprawling across beds and pots, ‘Sweet Summer’ produces relatively few. This keeps plants compact, tidy and easier to manage. It also makes the variety particularly well suited to containers, where the ripening fruit can hang attractively over the sides and remain conveniently within reach.
What Are Everbearer Strawberries?
Traditional summer-fruiting strawberries generally produce one concentrated crop, usually over a few weeks in early or midsummer. Everbearer strawberries behave differently, producing repeated flushes of flowers and fruit over a much longer period.
Rather than relying on shortening or lengthening days to trigger flower production, these hardworking plants can continue flowering and setting fruit throughout the growing season when conditions are suitable. In the UK, this usually means crops from summer into early autumn, with harvesting sometimes continuing until the first frosts arrive.
The individual flushes may be smaller than the main harvest from a traditional summer-fruiting variety, but they arrive over many more weeks. This makes everbearers ideal for gardeners who prefer a steady supply of fresh strawberries rather than one large glut. Their extended season is also perfect for regular picking, snacking and adding freshly harvested fruit to meals throughout summer.
Three Simple Hacks For Growing Better Strawberries
- Give them maximum sunshine! Position strawberry plants in a warm, sheltered spot that receives plenty of direct sunlight. More sunshine helps the fruits develop their characteristic sweetness and rich flavour, while shelter protects flowers and ripening crops from harsh winds.
- Keep moisture levels consistent! Strawberries need regular watering, particularly when they are flowering, developing fruit or growing in containers. Water around the base of the plants rather than soaking the leaves, crowns and berries, as consistently wet growth can encourage fungal problems.
- Keep the fruit clean and protected! Tuck clean straw or a suitable mulch beneath developing strawberries to lift them away from damp soil. In containers, allow the fruit to hang over the rim where possible. Pick ripe berries promptly and use netting where birds are likely to reach the crop before you do.
You can shop established Strawberry ‘Sweet Summer’ plants in 9cm pots here!
So You Have Purchased Your Strawberry ‘Sweet Summer’ Plants. What Should You Do Next?
Strawberry plants need a good six to eight hours of full sun a day for optimal fruit production, so place your pot somewhere sunny.
Strawberry containers should be watered daily and will need regular feeding, once a month until blooming, due to the limited amount of nutrients in the pot. Water regularly to prevent the plants drying out. When watering, try not to get the fruit wet.
Feed your strawberry pot at least once a month until flowering and then every ten days with a liquid feed that is high in potassium and low in nitrogen, such as our own liquid strawberry feed.
Fruit should be picked as soon as berries are red, if possible, in dry weather, taking care to leave the green stalk in place once fruit is picked. If possible, pick first thing in the morning as this is when fruit is at its juiciest. Take care to pick the full strawberry, complete with their stalks and green calyxes.
