G'Day!
- Been there, done that! i think you will be quite happy with the plants you grow from these seeds, but do be aware that the germination rate for strawberry seed is quite low, even under ideal conditions. From my packet of Pinetree Apine seed, i got perhaps a dozen good plants to grow. But that's OK; they produce runners, so even if you only get a few sturdy plants, soon you will have plenty.

- Oh, and if they don't work for you, or you'd just be interested in more diversity, send me an e- well before the Mid-Atlantic Gardeners' spring swap and i'll be happy to bring you young plants of a half dozen different varieties of strawberry plants. (As a new gardener, you really must come to the swap; even if you have no plants to trade, just bring something for the potluck picnic and we'll send you home with lots of nice plants. If you really can't make it, i could send you strawberry plants by post in the spring.)

- Yes, you CAN plant your seeds now if you wish. You could also wait 'till spring. Why not try some now and save some for later? As i recall, the Pinetree seed packet has enough seeds that you can try it both ways.

- To plant:
- Have the ground prepaired. That means digging down a foot, to get the ground nice and fluffy. They will want the usual ideal garden soil, "light and rich, steadily damp but well-drained." Strawberries transplant very well, so you could start 'em in a nurse-bed where you can baby then for their first few months and them outplant them to their final locations later. If your soil is too heavy, shredded leaves or straw will help "open it up." A bit on the acid side is good, but not necesary.

- Since you are planting right before winter's chill, you don't need to pre-chill. Nature will do that for you! But DO soak the seeds in cool water for half an hour before planting.

(For spring seeds, put them in a ziplock to keep 'em dry and put 'em in the 'fridge for two weeks before soaking. Then, put 'em BACK in the 'fridge between damp paper towels for up to a week, set virticly so any sprouting roots grow down between the layers, not flat which would make the roots try to burrow into the towels.)

- Rake up the soil surface, then draw your furrow or dibble (poke) your planting holes, just first-knuckle deep. Drop in your seeds, allowing a "perch" (distance between thumb and pinky tips) between each for growing space, and smooth the soil, then pat down firmly and water. You may want to lay strips of cardboard or layers of newspaper between them, weighted down and disgused by a thin layer of soil or mulch, so what weeds do take hold can't root deep and so will be easer to pull without disturbing you plants. The "straw" in strawberry refers to mulching the plants. Mulching reduces weeds, shelters form cold, retains soil moisture, and keeps the fruit up off the ground.

- Water gently so as not to wash the seeds about, but really soak the ground until the water pools. Do this for three days, and then continue to water lightly twice a week, if there's no rain and it's not freezing, until the seeds sprout and the plants grow four leaves. Then once a week if there's no rain, until they are full size. After that, they are quite drought resistant; regular watering isn't needed to keep the adult plants healthy, although steady water does help with even fruit formation.

- Alpines will, like any strawberry, fruit best in full sunlight, but are more shade-tolerent than other varieties. All are quite winter-hardy here; most are actually evergreen. With this warm spell, some of my everbearing strawbs are still blooming! (But they haven't set fruit in a month or more. Still, pretty.)

- In theory, the first year you should snip off all runners and flowers, so all the energy goes to making the plant stronger. Well, i do so just until the plant looks established and then let it do as it will.

- i like to use strawberry plants as a bedding or living mulch about the bases of larger plants, such as irises and monarda. They are great for the edges of raised beds because you can let the runner-babies drip over the sides - very pretty.

- The flowers are very pretty in an unassuming way, rather like white anemony blossoms; everbrearing varieties put on a big spring show, then start up again in mid summer and just keep blooming - and fruiting - even past frost. Pretty and delicious!

- Do be ware of wild strawberries. They are a major weed in our area. They start out looking cute, but will swarm over any smaller, more delicate plants you may have. Those wildlings put the "straw" in their flavor!

- Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know, but strawberries are one of my favorite plants because they are so easy and give such rewards!
- Happy Gardening - and welcome to the MAG forum!

-vlad

thank you!!! that's a huge help.

cheryl

Alpines (F. vesca) with runners, Vlad? Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? I have a substantial planting of alpine strawberries, and I've never yet seen a runner on them. They propagate by seed, and once in a while, in a warm wet fall, the "crownlet" that the blooms emerged from will grow its own roots. If it happens to fall to the ground just right, it roots in and I can transplant it, but it's nothing like the way regular strawberries (Ever- or June-bearing - hybrids of F. virginiana & chiloense) behave.

Cheryl, I'm not sure what Pinetree is providing, based on what Vlad says, but I supposedly have the same variety you do. Mine make a tidy little heap not quite basketball size (~7" sphere), bloom and fruit all summer and fall providing I water them, and are substantially evergreen. Put them about 12 inches apart in a row and you have a mini-hedge effect, with no trailers.
Need extras? Scoop up the seedlings from the fruit you discarded because the slugs got there first, or if you're really desperate, divide the parent plant so each baby has some leaves, a crown, and some roots. I'll probably have some at the spring swap, as I spread mine out last year.

The "wild" strawberries Vlad mentions are indeed a pest, probably Waldsteinia aka Barren Strawberry. If the flowers are yellow, the fruits are VERY red, and the insides are pure white, just get rid of it and all its runners. (Of course, he could have actual wild fragaria, and just want more production per area . . . also, the wild ones could possibly carry disease to the tame ones.)

Good luck and have fun - Robin

G'Day!
- Oop! my mistake; Robin's right. my alpines propogated from fruit i didn't harvest, not runners. So, they propogate MUCH more slowly than "regular" strawberries.

- Robin, how does one differentiate "probably Waldsteinia aka Barren" from "actual wild fragaria"? my "wildlings" are small, never from very full plants, and have plenty of fruits which are quite small and utterly flavorless.

- Your alpines sound happier than mine. Basket-ball size mounds? my alpines aren't much bigger than softball sized.

- See you at the swap? (i will have Tribute, Maxim, and Ozark to share, but would like more alpines or other varieties. Not that this is an exchange solicitation, as i would only post that on the Exchange page, once we decide where/when the spring swap will be.)

- Happy gardening,
-vlad

Hi Vlad,
My turn for 'oops' - it wasn't Waldsteinia I was thinking of, it was Duchesnea indica (see link below). This other link
http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/wild_strawberry.htm
(sorry about the length) shows the real edible sort. Your 'wildlings' definitely sound like Duchesnea, with very flat plants, and lots of tiny flavorless berries.
My 'basket-ball' sized plants have been in place for a year and a half. Mine don't try to get big until they're transplanted to good spacing, for whatever reason. Of course, F. vesca is naturally about 3 times the height of F. virginiana, which is almost prostrate (like a tame strawberry, only more so). (It really gets fun where you have both Fragaria species growing wild, as we did in Monroe County NY where I spent my teenage years!)
Yes, I should be at the swap, unless it happens while I'm in Maine working on the cottage.

Robin

Here is a link that might be useful: Duchesnea indica

Having had a patch of white berried plants from seed for about 6-8 years, I am sure they do not form runners. But the patch is big enough and the plants vigorous enough that I am sure I could seperate out the outside pieces. Really very easy plants to grow, and Vlad spared no details on how to get going. The white are less attractive to the birds so i sometimes get a few. The rest go to rabbits, voles, chipmunks and slugs (if the weather is very wet). I say they are easy to grow because I neglect so many of my plants and these thrive anyway.

G'Day!

- Robin, that is it exactly! So, is D. indica an undesirable wild weed strawberry, or an undesirable weed that just looks like a strawb? In either case, boy, is it tough to get out of the beds once it takes hold! VERY prolific.

- Bogturtle, those white berries sound interesting. Apine and runnerless? But multiplying at a reasonable rate anyhow? By seed, do you think, or do the crowns split? These i would like to try!

- "Vlad spared no details" Er, yes, that's what happens when one checks one's favorite garden web forums either after too much coffee or way too late at night! "Just because i'm ignorant doesn't mean i can't have an opinion!"

- Folk, Bogturtle's garden website is off to a GREAT start! (Follow through his GW page to get there.) Glad i have an oversized screen, as i am "allergic" to aol cookies, so i can't view trhe larger versions fo the pix. But GREAT JOB! Very inspirational. Makes me want to do soem Winter-Sowing to get a head start on next year. Can't wait to see more seasons on that site!

- Happy gardening,
-vlad

Vlad, Duchesnea is definitely in the "weed pretending to be strawberry' category. Take whatever action you feel is necessary. I pull it ruthlessly, but very slowly, to get all its offspring.
Yes, there are several cultivars of F. vesca that are 'white' or 'yellow', and they are somewhat less attractive to birds. They seem to do just about as well for me as the red-fruited ones. I don't have any at the moment, because my last plant was overrun by some out-of-control vinca minor. I haven't replaced it because I prefer the fruit on the reds (the yellow is almost 'perfumey', a bit too much so for me). They multiply by seed just like the red vescas, but can also be split.

Robin

Newinva, I grew the Ruegens from seed I got from Richters and either the same or another cultivar from Martha S. :) Both germinated fairly well and the plants grew reasonably quickly on my south-facing window sill. I put them out in full to mostly sunny spots.

They don't have runners, but they do clump up nicely and I've had a few come up from seed around the clumps.
I've relentlessly dug up clumps to divide, which they do very easily. Each division will make a servicable clump in a year or two. I do the dividing mostly in early spring or early fall, but I've done it even in high summer.

I've been using mine as edging and filler for bare spots. They stay mostly green all year (I cut back old growth when needed) and give me sporadic fruit from early spring to early fall. Also, they seem to require no real fussing over or water. The fruit doesn't get eaten by birds as much as it does by ants, but I still get a fair amount.

G'Day!
- i hope someone has white or yellow Alpines at the MAG Spring Swap!

- i expect to bring a hundred or more extra Tribute (non-Alpine) strawberry plants to the swap. They spread faster and have larger and more plentiful fruit, although their production rate drops off more sharply when they are in shade. They make a great underbedding for taller ornimentals, or to fill the circle you don't want lawn in around the base of trees (to avoid lawnmowers / weedwhips cutting the bark; garden-as-moat).

- Hint: to reduce slug and ant damage, keep a pile of little flat stones or brick chips by your strawberry bed. When you see an especially lovely strawb starting to ripen, slip the stone under it, to keep it high and dry.

- Mike, the Swap date has been set, May 14; SEE the Exchange Page (this forum) for details. Hope to see you there!

- Happy gardening,
-vlad

had excellant germination--indoorplants in WEST window.THEY ARE NOT GROWING--MANY ARE DIENG.help!!!!!!!!

Hmmm, how are they dying? Could it be damping off? (Someone jump in here with technical details, please!) I find that having a growing medium that's too damp will sometimes cause "sudden death" to seedlings that have just emerged, the stems will look sort of pinched near the base. Winter sowing seems (so far) to keep most damping off at bay (the freezing and thawing may kill the fungi that cause the problem, which lives in the soil.). Keeping a good air flow and not too-moist soil helps.

Otherwise, could the soil not be damp enough? Or maybe not enough light (Western exposure, but is there too much shade) or too much light? Or, how insulated are your windows? My back windows are ricketty and sometimes the plants too close to them in winter get bit.

I hope they pull out!

Thanks.1-The potting soil was sterile 2-I am useing a self watering from tthe bottom set-up 3-room temperature is 60 to 70deg F 4-tHE PLANTS NOT DIENG ARE NOT GROWING 5-other plants -- peppers,tomatoes,lettuce eseing same
setup,in same window,are doing great--growing so much that thy will go into 3inch pots next week.Present seet-up is 24 2x2 unite,and have 2 setups - THANKS

Just a guess - I think they probably have a bit too much water, and may be damping off. I'd recommend taking them off the self-waterer, and possibly once the soil dries out some, putting them in a plastic bag in lieu of greenhouse (so they don't dry out TOO fast).
As far as the "not growing" on the ones which are still alive, that's much less of a problem - just annoying. Alpine strawberries from seed are among the slowest darn growers that I've ever dealt with. Once they have true leaves, they seem to just sit there, eventually sprouting a second pair, but not getting materially larger for quite a long time.
That's why I now let them do their thing around the parent plants, and simply transplant the results. Saves fretting over growth rate, and grieving over the ones that didn't make it, and worrying about whether they've had sufficient cold treatment!
Good luck to you and your berries, anyway . . .

The best way to start Alpine Strawberries that I've found is to put the seeds on the surface of sterile mix in seed flats, then cover with plastic wrap.

Without the plastic wrap, the seeds take a month to do anything. With it, you'll see sprouts in five days.

"Having had a patch of white berried plants from seed for about 6-8 years, I am sure they do not form runners"

BogTurtle, where did you get the seed for these?

Back over 20 years ago, I bought some Pineapple Crush Yellow Alpine seed from Parks.

These were great and wonderful strawberries. They tasted like pineapple, whipped cream and a hint of regular strawberry flavor.

But I was young and stupid, started them in the Fall and despite some awesome berries they died before I could plant them out in the Spring.

Since then, I searched high and low. No luck.

I finally had to invent the Internet, then the first Web browser, just so companies would finally start listing their seed catalogs online.

Darn that Bill Gates, he took the longest time to 'get it' with my inventions. Seriously, some people...

And now, finally, my work is starting to pay off.

But the last two times I found and ordered Yellow Wonder seed, not ONE plant had yellow fruit, always RED !

I use them for edging since the flavor is at best okayish compared to Quinalt, the best red I've tried. Their main strength is looking vigorous without pampering.

By the way, these three year old reds are throwing runners. Just a lot LESS than Quinalt, so that would make them Runner-Less.

Would you like to swap for some of your established Yellow Alpines?

If I can get a Yellow Alpine somehow, I will take cuttings from it, and try to clone them with my ultrasonic mist box.

I'm about to pull the seeds out of the freezer and give it a third try, but if it doesn't work this time I'm shutting down the Internet and calling this a lost cause.

Help! I think I may have lost my sanity!

In the summer of 05 I bought a pink flowered strawberry in a local nursery. I planted it in a pot on my porch, never thinking to notice its name. I was very impressed with this plant, it grew and bloomed beautifully all summer long and produced quite a few delicious berries too. It did not have runners but instead formed a healthy large mound. That fall I separated it's rooted stolons and replanted them. I left them all outside in the pot over the winter and was very disappointed in the spring to find that they had all died.

So, last spring I went to the same nursery to purchase more of that lovely plant. They sold me Fragaria Lipstick. And told me that was all they had available. I was very disappointed with Lipstick because all it seemed to want to do was run all over the place and make dozens of small plants and very few small flowers
In the mean time, I have searched the Internet and everywhere else I can think of, to find another plant like the one I had before. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps I had Pink Panda that first year. But, I believe it is also a runner producing plant. Lipsick is classified as an Alpine, and I thought Alpines were runnerless.? Can someone please help me? Is Pink Panda the plant I'm looking for? Or am I looking for a plant that is extremely rare, or does not exist? I'd really be greatfull for any help that anyone has to offer so I can locate the right plant for growing this spring!

Thank you
Patsy

Patsy,
I suspect you had Pink Panda the first time, but did you grow Lipstick and the other strawberry in the same conditions? I can see how something in the ground, perhaps not overly rich or (especially) evenly moist, might run to reproduce itself, while the same plant might be fat and bushy in the average decent commercial potting mix. I've often seen different responses between pot-growing and in-ground, and they aren't always in favor of the natural conditions.

Robin

I have been growing Alpine Strawberries for years (Alexandria). I start them in Park Starts (sponge plugs available from Park Seeds online). I get 90% germination at room temperature without pre-chilling. They germinate in 9 days and then I grow them under fluorescent lighting for another 3-4 weeks until they are 2" tall by 2" wide. I then transplant them outside after the last spring frost at 6" spacing. They produce a small crop the first year in late August and every year thereafter (unlike regular strawberries). They do NOT have runners, however, they do drop seeds if you don't pick every single berry. The seeds don't drop very far away so these plants are not very invasive -- easy to control, just mulch around your bed.

I'm pretty sure sowing on the surface is a must- that might be the difference between the accounts of low germination rates and high germination rates.

About a month ago, I tried planting some of the seeds I ordered from Bountiful Gardens by making furrows in outdoor flats with a dome and covering with about a 1/4 inch of soil. 3 weeks later, not a single one had germinated.

However, I was determined to try again with more controlled conditions. So, after reading on another site that Alpine Strawberries actually require light to germinate, I started a new flat indoors with fluorescent lights and no dome, surface-sowing the seeds. I've also been misting them morning and night to make sure the cells don't dry out from the lights. Now, only 7 days later, a few of the seeds have started to send out roots. It's not many, but it's a lot better than I was doing before, and it hasn't been that long. I'm hoping that the next few days will yield more.

Both my red and yellow alpine strawberries germinated after being winter sown this year.

KimKa