Pot Grown Strawberries

Over the years Chris Bowers’ pot grown strawberries have often been said to be synonymous with ‘choice and quality’. Their reputation is well known throughout Europe and we receive enquiries from many parts of the world. The advantage of our pot grown strawberries is simple, they are grown in a special fertile pot for planting straight into the garden upon receipt. The pots are much larger than many others dispatched and the roots grow through their special pots so
there is no root disturbance. The result is that often just after two weeks in your garden, they are well established and seem as though they have always been there!

The benefits are obvious:

• No check to the growth at the time of planting
• Quick Establishment
• The heaviest crop possible the summer after planting
• No waiting 2 years for a crop with Chris Bower’s pot grown strawberries!

Add to this the obvious benefits of a superior, virus-free healthy plant, and the difference in the results becomes clearer. Customers who have been planting our strawberries for the past 20 years or more already know this, new customers may order with every confidence. Never settle for second best, it is always false economy. If you order early, we can normally despatch during the summer to your preferred time for planting.

Varieties

EMILY *NEW*

Raised by the Institute of Horticultural research East Malling (East Malling Research Station) Emily is a very special new early cropping variety. Emily gives us a higher yielding and earlier season alternating to Honeyoye, In a favourable area you could be picking your first fruits in late May from outdoor cropping without protection! The fruits are medium sized with an attractive conical shape and deep red colour. The flavour is very good with that tangy freshness similar to Honeyoye. Picking 5 days before Honeyoye and 10 days earlier than Elsanta for 50% harvest: the plants are erect in habit and moderately vigorous. The fruit is very well displayed. One word of warning for those of you in Scotland and the far North. The blossom is early so be prepared to give this protection from frost.

NEW - INTRODUCING ‘MAE’

A superb new early strawberry.
Quite an unusual new variety in many ways for ‘Mae’ has attributes more suited to the home gardener than the homogenized Supermarket industry the Horticultural Breeding stations tend to cater for these days. Most importantly Mae has outcropped all other early strawberry varieties in trials, this is hugely impressive because it is the earlies which are generally the least generous with their yield. Mae has more than a dash of the good old fashioned strawberry flavour, soft sweet and very juicy. It is not the most disease resistant strawberry you will grow but nor is it especially disease prone and the results this variety can achieve are very worthwhile. The flavour, handsome berries, naturally very early season and top yield make Mae an ideal choice we can highly recommend. Raised from ‘Marmolado’ a much older variety we have always rated highly and this is probably where the lovely, lovely flavour has come from, MAE crops seven days earlier than Elsanta and is ideal for pots, early cloching, the standard strawberry bed etc., etc.

HONEYOYE

The wonderful new variety that we introduced in 1988. Honeyoye is a very early variety for picking early June onwards. The bright red fruits are medium sized, very attractive and have an excellent flavour. Very heavy cropping for an early variety, far higher quality, good, healthy growth and bright glossy red fruits with a firm, juicy, mouth-watering flesh. Easy to pick. Ideal for exhibition, by far the best flavoured early variety. A new variety from America with a great future. Very highly recommended, already the most popular early cultivar by far.

ALICE

A new outstanding early strawberry!
Bred by HRI East Malling, the home of so many of England’s finest Strawberries. Alice has produced exceptional trial results and has been eagerly anticipated indeed. Cropping a week or more before Elsanta, the very regular conical berries have high percentage of Class 1 fruits and a most attractive shiny bright orange red skin. Everyone comments on the extremely sweet and juicy flavour and the bright attractive skin. Disease resistance is better than with the older earlies. Alice is a new variety sure to please with some very impressive qualities. Early ordering advised.

KIMBERLEY - NEW

A very promising new early variety with larger berries than others of this season, regular quality and fewer misshapen fruits, very good sweet but distinctive, rich flavour. Does well under glass as well as the open garden. Very impressive results can be achieved with this variety.

ROSIE

Bred by the HRI East Malling and recommended as a successor to Honeyoye, the glossy red conical berries have a very even shape and better overall quality. Flavour very good. Early Season.

GORELLA

A favourite variety in Europe for many years, early cropping with large red fruits. Strong but compact growth. Mildew can be a problem, but one of the best older varieties, good crops of well flavoured firm fruits.

ELVIRA

A recent introduction from Holland that is ideal for growing under cloches or glass. An early variety with large, bright fruits that are firm and juicy. Excellent flavour, a good yield of quality fruit. Health is generally good, but mildew can be a problem in some areas. One of the best varieties for early forcing or growing in pots.

CAMBRIDGE VIGOUR

early mid-season, medium to large fruits of very good flavour and appearance. A good variety for a frost pocket because the blossom trusses develop late. In its maiden year this variety is early with exceptional flavour, in the second and third years mid-season with a very good flavour. The plants are large and upright and are also excellent for growing under cover, one of the best for growing in used gro-bags after tomatoes etc. have finished cropping. Specially recommended for flavour in its maiden year, this variety is a very old favourite, susceptible to Mildew.

A NEW BRITISH STRAWBERRY- IN THE OLD FASHIONED STYLE -‘NORFOLK NECTAR’

Raised and introduced by Chris Bowers & Sons. Norfolk Nectar is the first release from our own breeding programme tailored for you the home gardener, with flavour top amongst its priorities. Norfolk Nectar is a cross between our two most flavoursome strawberries, Chapelaine (our top seller of the last 10 years), and the grand old favourite Royal Sovereign. Norfolk Nectar has inherited Chapelaines enviable growth characteristics, forming a compact, neat, well foliated plant with noticeably large blossoms which emerge over a long period. This means that during late frost seasons, Norfolk Nectar will still produce a crop where others may fail completely. With the further influence of Royal Sovereign, the grand old dame of english strawberries in its parentage, Norfolk Nectars flavour has been raised to rapturous levels. An eating sensation, the tender, succulent, juicy and seductively sweet berries satisfy the most demanding taste buds and provide a tempting tea time treat for up to 6 weeks during the summer. The berries are an attractive heart shape and a bright, clean orange scarlet colour. Norfolk Nectar was bred with flavour in mind but it should be noted it has a very good health record as well and has consistantly outyielded Cambridge Favourite in our trials and is suited to standard outdoor cultivation, in pots, under glass and cloches. Our 30 years fruit plant experience has gone into this, the first ‘fruits’ of our breeding programme. Specifically with home gardeners in mind. We are proud to introduce Norfolk Nectar, a variety of truly outstanding flavour, quality and performance. P.B.R. Applied for Exclusive to Chris Bowers & Sons. Price: Quality pot grown plants supplied. 10 plants £18.95, 20 plants £32.00, 40 plants £59.95, 50 plants £70.95.

MELODY

Raised by the Scottish Crop Research Institute. Melody has been extensively trialled for the last 15 years. Crops have been good and reliable and the plants have proved to be highly resistant to Red Core. The fruit size is small to medium, does not bruise easily and has an attractive strong colour. The fruit comes away from the stalk and has a very good strawberry flavour. Makes a lovely jam, a classic in pies and good for yogurt and all dessert use. Melody is a good new addition to the modern varieties and will prove ideal for those who still prefer the traditional smaller fruits.

ROYAL SOVEREIGN

Early mid-season, excellent quality and superb flavour, does well on the heavier types of soil. Not a heavy cropper but a gold medal for flavour. Needs regular spraying for Mildew and other diseases. Difficult but still superb when grown well.

TAMELLA

In the first year the crop is early with large fruits, in the second season onwards the crop reverts to mid/late season with heavy crops of medium sized berries, fruits are an attractive conical to wedge shape with a fair flavour. Plants are very susceptible to Crown Rot in some soils. Now a well established very heavy cropping variety from Holland. A good choice for the north, plants will often crop well for five years or more.

TOTEM

A mid-season variety raised in British Columbia, giving a yield of exceedingly firm, red fleshed berries. Totem has given good results after freezing. The standard variety for your freezer. Some resistance to Red Spider Mite. An excellent variety with a good flavour and regular heavy crops. Often ripens early/mid season.

KORONA

A recent introduction, the fruits are large and extremely dark in colour. The fruit is well displayed and crops very heavily. Fruit size is maintained in successive seasons. Raised at Wageningen Research Station in Holland.

EROS *NEW*

Raised at H.R.I. East Malling from a cross between Elsanta and Allstar. Eros is an alternative variety to Elsanta with a higher percentage of class 1 fruits, fewer mis-shapen berries, a higher yield potential and greater resistance to Red Core. The fruits have an attractive glossy skin with a good mid-red colour and are regular and conical in shape. Texture is similar to Elsanta and well flavoured.The plants are moderately vigorous with an erect and open habit that displays the fruit well. Eros has the advantage that the crown of the plant is more frost hardy in northern areas. A lovely new mid-season variety with heavy yields of exceptional quality fruit.

CAMBRIDGE FAVOURITE

Mid-season variety providing a heavy crop of quality fruit with a good flavour. Excellent for jam, and all purposes. Can also be grown under cloches and in pots, a regular and heavy cropper. The standard variety to which all other varieties are compared. We use the new improved Clone 3A from the Nuclear Stock Association.

ELSANTA

A mid-season from Holland. Ripening a few days later than Cambridge Favourite, the fruit is medium to large, firm and a bright almost brick-red colour. The flavour of the orange-red flesh is good. Heavy cropping and now being widely planted by commercial market growers. The firmness of the juicy fruits allows them to keep their ‘fresh picked’ look for several days. An excellent variety. Flavour very good, disease resistance not so good. Recommended.

MARMALADO

Named after the Mountain, Marmalado is a midseason variety introduced from Italy. Very high yielding with very high quality fruits produced from a good compact plant that has the benefit of useful disease resistant. Easy to pick, the conical fruits are of good size and colour and keep well after picking. The flavour is excellent. Marmalado has the benefit of forcing well under pots and clothes and is highly recommended as ideal for garden culture. We are very pleased to have rebuilt our stocks of this cultivar sufficiently to offer it once again.

RED GAUNTLET

Mid season variety, a heavy crop of large fruit that frequently produces a small second crop in autumn. A good variety for cloches, the fruit is well above the ground and has some resistance to Botrytis, grows well in most soils. Popular variety and one of the most reliable of all varieties for the past 30 years.

TENIRA

Fruits medium size, conical. Heavy cropping in the first year, in following seasons the crop is much less. Vigorous upright growth that displays the fruits well. Flavour very good.

PROVIDENCE

A useful variety for its compact growth. Bright orange-red fruit.

*PEGASUS

A new mid-late season variety release by the Institute of Horticultural Research East Malling. Pegasus has excellent disease resistance with tolerance of Verticillium Wilt, moderate resistance to Botrytis and is less susceptible to Mildew than many varieties. The quality of the fruits is very high with an ideal shape and glossy skin finish. This variety should give very good results for the exhibitor. Fruit size is large with an almost melting flesh that is sweet and juicy. Flavour is good. Pegasus has cropped heavily in trails and has consistently outyielded Cambridge Favourite. Highly recommended as a very good quality dessert fruit a few days later than Elsanta.

BRENDA

We have reintroduced this very old favourite by popular request. Suffering surprisingly little from disease considering its age (last popular well over 30 years ago) the very dark green foliage partly hides the moderately sized torpedo shaped dark red juicy berries. As might be expected the flavour is superb. Stock limited.

FLORENCE

A new late maincrop season variety from HRI East Malling which crops from early July to early August. The firm brightly coloured and regularly shaped berries have an excellent flavour and are well displayed for easy picking. Resistant to wilt, powdery mildew and vine weevil. Does well under cover and produces very few small berries.

LAURA

Laura is a new late Summer Season variety bred from Pandora and Cambridge Late Pine. Laura makes an easily managed upright plant displaying the abundant crop of well-shaped orange red berries to perfection. LAura has out-cropped Elsanta in trials and has shown resistance to both Verticillium Wilt and Blossom Weevils. Producing the bulk of its crop in late July, after most maincrop varieties, Laura is a very useful new introduction. Recommended.

*RHAPSODY

A superb new late season variety from the Scottish Crop Research Institute. Every now and again we have had the pleasure to introduce a new variety that is just that ‘extra’ special. Rhapsody is just such a a variety, a name that will give you pleasure for many years to come. Raised from a cross between 61G5 (Talisam x Cambridge Vigour) and Cambridge Favourite. The season is late with a 50% pick date some 10 days after Cambridge Favourite. In ministry trials, Rhapsody has had a consistent record of very good health including resistance to Red Core. The yield has been very heavy, consistently outyielding Cambridge Favourite, often by a considerable margin. Plant habit is attractive with characteristic pale green crinkled foliage that is erect to display the fruit well. The medium to large sized fruits are attractive glossy red, long conical in shape with a solid juicy, mouth-watering red flesh. The flavour is superb. Without any doubt Rhapsody has inherited and even improved upon the wonderful flavour of its grandparents Vigour and Talisman. Recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture National Fruit Trials as a new late season variety with high yields, improved quality and better disease resistance. Rhapsody is a must for every connoisseur of flavour. Very highly recommended.

PANDORA

The very late variety from HRI East Malling. In trails, Pandora has cropped from mid-July to mid-August, up to 17 days later than Cambridge Favourite and is the latest cropping of normal season varieties. Pandora is the only strawberry variety to require a pollinator so do not grow this variety on its own. It is worth noting that younger plants can sometimes crop earlier than expected in the maiden year. Growth is vigorous so slightly wider spacing is beneficial. The fruits are large, bright orange-red and conical in shape, good juicy texture and a very pleasant flavour. Disease resistance is good, especially to Verticilliun Wilt and Mildew. Pandora has proved to be very heavy cropping with a large percentage as class 1 fruits. Many mid-late season varieties will pollinate but we would suggest Pegasus an an ideal pollinator.