Hargreaves Plants offer to the High Street

For many years Hargreaves Plants has been proud to be at the forefront of varietal developments in the commercial sector.  Hargreaves is now looking to bring this ethos to those companies that supply into the major multiples, and all mail order businesses, to bring the best possible selections to the high street and internet.

As one of Europe's largest soft fruit propagators, Hargreaves is pleased to be able to offer all varieties that could be wished for, both as potting grade bare rooted product and the finished product, potted and ready for despatch from the nurseries.  The company can also offer other added value services, such as root trimmed strawberries despatched ready for potting, pre cut raspberry canes for potting, and bundling into pre-specified numbers prior to despatch.  Alongside this is a promotion of a whole new range of varieties with mind blowing tastes offering the consumer the chance to grow the produce that you can buy on the high street. 

Varieties

Hargreaves is pleased to be able to offer the following soft fruit options to the market.  Please follow the links under each heading to take you to more detailed variety attributes:

Strawberries

Alongside the conventional varieties of Honeoye, Cambridge Favourite, Elsanta and Florence, Hargreaves is able to offer more modern varieties such as Darselect, Elegance, Eros, Daisy, Lucy and Judibell, along with everbearing varieties such as Albion, Portola and Finesse.  Hargreaves is also developing an ornamental range of pink and red flowering strawberries, white fruiting strawberries and a white alpine and red alpine, both of which have a super sweet taste.  Climbing and trailling varieties of everbearer are already available.

Raspberries

Along with all the traditional offerings, Hargreaves can also offer Korpiko, Chemainus and Tadmor to give excellent summer fruiting spread.  Into the autumn, Polka is available and more importantly the best primocane, Erika, which offers superb fruiting taste and quality and gives the buyer the opportunity to grow what will soon be regarded as the industry leader in this market.

Blackberries

Hargreaves embarked into a breeding program with the University of Arkansas that gave the company super sweet varieties such as Ouachita, Natchez and Navaho.  In conjunction with John R Clark, the world renowned blackberry expert, Hargreaves also commercialised Reuben, a primocane blackberry which fruits on the first year wood.  With an upright growth habit that can also double crop, it is a must for any home garden.

Gooseberries

All bare rooted traditional varieties are available, as is Xenia, a true early dessert gooseberry that is a must for anyone who loves berries in their garden. 

Blueberries

Hargreaves is able to offer all of the traditional varieties in both 9cm and 2L pots as micropropagated stock, ensuring they grow into a strong bush rather than a leggy tree.

Black/Red/White Currant

Hargreaves is pleased to be able to offer all of the traditional varieties of currant.  These are available as both bare rooted and potted stocks.

Asparagus

Hargreaves has access to the best breeding programs all over the world and have a trials site to match this commitment.  The company can offer exceptional green varieties such as Mondeo (early), Ariane and Pacific 2000 (mid) and Guelph Millennium (late) to the consumer.  This range is augmented with Pacific Purple and Stewarts Purple, as well as being able to offer the commercial industry standards of Gijnlim and Backlim.  This completes the most comprehensive range of varieties in the market today.

Rhubarb

Hargreaves is now in a position to offer all of the main varieties in split crown form, with a range that includes Timperley Early, Victoria, Champagne, Raspberry Red, Suttons, Stockbridge Arrow, and now Goliath, which is a superb variety for forced production.  The company is also able to offer Victoria in modules from seed raised production and is constantly trialling innovative ways of improving the offer using the technologies from the micropropagation lab at Hargreaves' head office.

Variety Development

As mentioned, Hargreaves Plants has for many years taken pride in its technical abilities and variety research and developments.  The company is now looking to expand the available offer to the high street from these programs.  For every commercial variety that is released there are simply hundreds of others that would not besuccessful in these markets but exhibit unusual characteristics that offer fantastic point of sale difference.  These are now being activelt trialled on bespoke sites in both Lincolnshire and Norfolk alongside the commercial varieties.  Varieties that will be at trial stage in this and forthcoming seasons are:

Pink Flowering Strawberry

Climbing and Trailling Strawberry

Dwarf Raspberry

Alpine Red and White Strawberry

Day Neutral Rhubarb

These are open to viewing in season, along with any of the more conventional varieties by appointment with Jonathan or any other member of our sales team.