Few berry-producing bushes are more perfect for any yard than plump, red strawberries. These undeniably cute plants thrive in the sunniest of garden spots, well-drained loamy soils, and pretty much any container or garden bed you’ve got room in. Some varieties put out spindly runners, giving you a continual supply of rooting seedlings you can use to increase your own patch or gift to equally green-thumbed family, friends, and neighbors to start theirs. One tiny, often overlooked detail is, however, flower color. Is your strawberry plant blooming pink or red instead of the expected white? Then you’re a lucky gardener! Rosey flowers indicate your garden beds are full of everbearing or day-neutral strawberry plants, and you can expect both summer and fall harvests of luscious strawberries. And that certainly beats the standard one-and-done picking period in June.

In fact, there are three types of strawberries to choose from: June-bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral. June-bearing strawberry plants give you one big harvest in the summer and are great for gardeners with preservation in mind — think jam making, freezing, or dehydrating. However, they can be problematic in parts of the U.S. that experience frosts into June. Everbearing and day-neutral crops produce berries throughout the summer months and even well into the fall. The strawberries they produce are often a little smaller than their June-bearing counterparts. These varieties grow best in the northern U.S. states, where they were originally cultivated, but can still be grown elsewhere with the right care. For example, day-neutral strawberries may need cover, like polytunnels, in particularly cold climes, though everbearing can often survive chilly winters outdoors.

For home gardeners after the longest possible strawberry harvest, it just so happens that strawberry cultivars with blushing rather than washed-out blooms fall into the latter two types. Two of our favorite everbearing strawberry cultivars are the Fragaria x ananassa ‘Berried Treasure Pink’ and ‘Berried Treasure Red’, which boast ruffled semi-double flowers in vibrant red or light pink and wee berries that make great gardening snacks. Pink-red flowering Fragaria x ananassa ‘Toscana’ stays relatively compact at 12 by 16 inches around, making it an easy fruit to grow on a balcony or patio if you don’t have space for a garden. ‘Tarpan’ thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 8 and will keep fruiting right up to the first fall frost.

Gardeners wanting vibrantly pink-red blooms to brighten a container arrangement should buy Fragaria x ananassa ‘Ruby Ann’ or ‘Frisan’ Hot Pink, while those seeking candy floss-pink flowers can try ‘Gasana’, ‘Berries Galore Pink’, or the original ‘Frisan’. Looking for something a bit unusual? Most varieties of pineberries, sometimes known as white or pink strawberries, have light pink blooms and are everbearing. There are also a few day-neutral options for blush-loving gardeners to consider. Fragaria x ananassa ‘Rainbow Treasure’ has surprisingly large berries and flowers that grade between white and light pink. Canadian-created Fragaria. x ananassa ‘Roseberry’ and ‘Rosalyne’ both have classically pink flowers, with Roseberry’s a little darker, and fruit throughout the summer. Whichever cultivars you decide to buy for your garden, look for crowns, plugs, or plants at nurseries in late winter and early spring.

Warning: While you can reliably assume a red or pink flowering strawberry plant will be everlasting or day-neutral, don’t make the mistake of assuming all everbearing strawberries have pink or red flowers. There are many white-blooming cultivars that fall in this category. However, it’s important to note that a few strawberry cultivars with bloom colors that deviate from the standard white are predominantly ornamental, meaning you’ll end up with lots of pretty flowers to admire but little or, worse, no fruit for your smoothies or pies. If you’re after those tasty treats, avoid Fragaria ‘Lipstick’ and ‘Pink Panda’ — both of which are marsh cinquefoil and beach strawberry hybrids — and Fragaria ‘Red Ruby’. Of course, if you just love the cottagecore vibes strawberry plants provide in a patio container garden or rockery but don’t want to deal with growing fruit, plant away!

Advice on how to grow and care for a strawberry plant with pink blooms is the same as that for white flowering everbearing or day-neutral varieties. Strawberries grow as well in a container as they do in the ground — or perhaps even better for some cultivars — so long as the soil is well-draining. If you have a backyard full of clay, plant them in raised beds. They need full sun to grow lots of berries, so choose your planting location carefully. Plant new strawberry seedlings in the late afternoon and water them thoroughly to reduce transplant and heat shock. Apply fertilizer for up to six weeks after planting. Removing the flowers for the first month will increase fruiting on everbearing strawberries.