Strawberries are incredibly easy to grow, and are well worth the extra effort for their sweet, juicy fruits, which far exceed the flavour of shop-bought varieties. Hardy strawberries thrive in full sun in moisture-retentive soil, and propagate themselves by producing runners, from which new plants grow.
Fragaria x ananassa 'Sonata' is the successor of 'Elsanta' – one of the most common varieties grown commercially for supermarkets. While, like 'Elsanta', fruits store well after harvest, those of 'Sonata' strawberries are much sweeter.
A mid-season variety, Fragaria x ananassa 'Sonata' has good fruit set and produces large, uniform fruits over a long period. Place straw under immature fruits to reduce the chances of slugs eating them, and replace plants every three years, as they gradually produce less fruit with age.
