Mara des Bois: A Strawberry That Actually Tastes of Strawberry

Mara des Bois is a repeat-fruiting strawberry with an unusually deep, aromatic flavour that many gardeners describe as closer to a wild strawberry than any commercial variety. It is not the heaviest cropper, but it fruits from June to the first frosts — a steady supply of berries for months rather than a single summer flush.

The Backstory

Mara des Bois was bred by Jacques Marionnet in France and released in 1991. The name translates roughly as strawberry of the woods, and honestly, that's exactly what it tastes like. Marionnet set out to marry the intense fragrance of wild woodland strawberries with the size and repeat-cropping habit of a modern cultivated variety.

And he pulled it off. Mara des Bois tastes like a wild strawberry scaled up. The aroma reaches you before you've even taken a bite, a heady perfume that fills the room the moment you carry a bowl indoors. The flavour is complex, sweet but with real depth, and a world away from the flat, one-note sweetness of most supermarket berries.

What Makes It Different

Most modern strawberry breeding puts yield, shelf life, looks and disease resistance first, with flavour languishing somewhere near the bottom of the list. The upshot is berries that look immaculate and taste like faintly sweetened water.

Mara des Bois was bred the other way round, with flavour as the whole point. The berries carry higher levels of aromatic esters than most commercial varieties, and that's where the wild-strawberry scent comes from. The sugar-acid balance is carefully judged too: sweet enough to enjoy fresh, but with enough acidity to give the flavour its complexity and depth.

They're smaller than most modern varieties, typically 15 to 20 grams against 30 grams or more from something like Elsanta. They're conical, dark red, and soft when fully ripe, and that softness is a big part of why they've never gone mainstream commercially: they simply don't survive the packing and transport that a supermarket berry has to endure. Their loss, our gain.

Growing Mara des Bois

Mara des Bois is an everbearing, or perpetual, variety, which means it produces flushes of fruit from June right through to the first frosts in October. That's a real edge over the June-bearing sorts that give you three glorious weeks and then call it a day.

Position is the first thing to get right: full sun is essential for the best flavour, because in shade the berries come out less sweet and less aromatic. Give it rich, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter, too, as this is a hungrier plant than many and it rewards generous feeding. On that note, apply a high-potassium liquid feed every two weeks through the cropping season, which is more often than most strawberries need, but Mara des Bois is fruiting non-stop and needs the fuel. Keep watering regular and consistent, because erratic watering gives you misshapen fruit and dulls the flavour. It throws a moderate number of runners, so let a few root each year for replacements, since Mara des Bois loses vigour after two to three years and needs replacing more often than some.

Container Growing

This is one of the best strawberries I know for containers and hanging baskets. The compact plants, the continuous cropping and that intense flavour make it ideal for patios, balconies and doorsteps. Use a good multi-purpose compost with added perlite for drainage, and feed regularly.

A hanging basket with three Mara des Bois plants in it will give you fragrant berries from June to October, and it'll smell wonderful every single time you walk past.

The Trade-Offs

Nothing this good comes free, and it's only fair to lay out the catch. Mara des Bois yields less than most modern varieties, the berries are small, and they go soft quickly after picking, so they need eating or processing the same day. The plants are more prone to powdery mildew than tougher sorts like Florence or Hapil, and in a wet summer those soft berries are vulnerable to botrytis, grey mould.

And the plants wear out. Expect good cropping for two, maybe three years before they lose their vigour and want replacing. The answer is simple enough: root a few runners each year so you've always got young plants coming through behind them.

Is It Worth It?

If you grow strawberries mainly for flavour, and you don't mind putting in that bit of extra effort with the feeding and the replacing, then yes, without hesitation. Mara des Bois is the best strawberry you can grow. One mouthful of a sun-warmed berry picked at perfect ripeness and every supermarket strawberry you've ever had will suddenly seem like a pale imitation.

My advice would be to grow it alongside a reliable heavy cropper like Cambridge Favourite or Florence for your jam and freezer supplies, and save the Mara des Bois for eating fresh, straight off the plant, ideally while it's still warm from the sun. That's the moment it was bred for.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Mara des Bois compare to Cambridge Favourite?

Very differently. Cambridge Favourite is a summer-fruiting variety that crops reliably over three to four weeks and is over by July. Mara des Bois is everbearing and fruits from June until October or November, producing smaller quantities over a much longer season. Cambridge Favourite yields more fruit in total; Mara des Bois offers better flavour over a longer period. Many gardeners grow both.

Is Mara des Bois good for growing in containers?

Yes — it adapts well to pots and raised beds, which makes it particularly useful for small gardens or patio growing. Its everbearing habit means the long season justifies the space. Use a free-draining compost and water consistently, as containers dry out faster than the ground. My strawberry soil guide covers compost mixes for containers, and my indoor growing guide covers windowsill and conservatory options.

What are the downsides of Mara des Bois?

Lower yield than many summer-fruiting varieties, slightly shorter plant lifespan than some types, and the berries are small — which makes them slower to pick in bulk. If maximum harvest volume is the goal, my guide to the highest-yielding varieties covers the options that outperform it on weight. For flavour, though, it is in a class of its own among widely available UK varieties.

Where can I buy Mara des Bois plants in the UK?

Most specialist online fruit nurseries stock it — Suttons, Thompson & Morgan, and Marshalls are reliable sources. It is less commonly found in garden centres than standard varieties like Cambridge Favourite or Elsanta, so ordering online gives you more reliable access to good-quality plants. Order in late summer or autumn for the freshest runners at the best price.