Mara Des Bois

I have grown strawberries in Southern California previously with success. I thought when I moved to Northern Idaho that I would not be able to enjoy as many sweet strawberries as I had in California. Wow, was I wrong! I planted 25 Mara De Bois in late spring in raised beds with plenty of compost and a topped with bark as the weather warmed up. They all took well to their new home. By late June, they were making a few sweet strawberries. Since mid-July, they have exploded with runners and berries. We cannot eat all the berries they are making. I have resorted to making fruit rolls out of them. I will try freezing them also. I am getting more berries from these plants than I ever have in California. The Mara De Bois are also larger than expected (medium at least). There are two other varieties of strawberries nearby and they are making nice strawberries but are nothing in comparison to the Nourse Farm berries. I have always had great success with the plants I have received from Nourse Farms and am so grateful to have found them!

Jerilyn
Home Grower
Zone 6
08/09/2023

Excellent, 1st year planted in Spring, fruited in Fall. 2nd year, fruited in May and continued into the Fall. Sweet & fragrant berries.

Doug
Home Grower
Zone 6
06/12/2023

Heavenly flavored strawberry .. smaller than the others but the taste is unmatched by anything and the smell divine .. i fought the slugs the first time I grew these but will keep on keeping on .. people ask for these “”French berries”” because they’re ones to remember ! A delight ..

Jess
Home Grower
Zone 5
05/15/2023

All 100 of my roots took hold and grew to produce fruit. I planted them in a neutral Ph soil enriched with composted green matter (leaves, twigs, etc.) on a bed of green manure (wood chips mostly and plant debris) under-girded by a layer of nasty, urban, heavy clay soil. My garden is in zone 5b. I prune runners--they want to run!--and pinched off flowers until early July. I watered and fertilized as per instructions in Nourse's "Planting and Success Guide." As of the end of July 2021, the production of fruits has been modest but the profusion of flowers and green fruits suggest the August harvest will be quite good. The fruits range in size from small to medium-large. Texture is not firm but firm enough for easy picking. The flavor, fragrance, and color are as advertised. They make for a fabulous photograph! Thus far my wife and I have been eating the fruits directly. I would be grateful to other Mara des Bois gardeners to comment on how they consume their harvest (in jams, pies, smoothies) and how well the fruits thaw after being frozen.

Norman L
Home Grower
Zone 5
07/27/2021

I have received these plants late April in Columbus, OH. Planted them immediately in raised beds. They looked puny, barely 2 inches each, 25 bare roots. Bare means bare. A few days after planting them and watering them, a big frost WITH serious snowing came and lasted 3 days. To my everlasting surprise, a week later after the snow melt, 23 out of the 25 roots I received had new green leaves. I am flabbergasted. The strawberry plants look very healthy and vigorous. I don't know how they will turn out, but I will definitely order from these folks again. Remarkable!

Lily W
Home Grower
Zone 6
05/10/2021

Mara Des Bois is a premium-quality berry regarding the flavor and fragrance - more like a wild berry. It yields fairly well but the quality is what you will like the most. We have 25 plants and always get more than enough for cereal each morning. The birds don't notice them as they started bearing after the wild berry season - a real plus!

Dave
Home Grower
Zone 4
05/06/2021