How to Grow Alpine Strawberries
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Tips for growing alpine strawberries. These fruit plants are wild strawberries or closely related and produce tiny red berries.
The first time I came across alpine strawberries was as a seed packet at a garden show. I’d always grown strawberries from runners or bare-root plants, so I was intrigued. I took the seeds home, grew them on, and became enchanted with these pretty garden plants.
They’re great for ground cover, produce handfuls of tiny red fruit, and the variety I grow doesn’t send out runners. Though they don’t produce the gigantic fruit that conventional garden strawberry plants do, I love walking past and picking a few for a small garden treat.
Types of Alpine Strawberry
The term alpine strawberry can refer to both the wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca, and to strains bred for our gardens. They’re similar, though, and have a low-growing habit, produce small berries, and have more delicate leaves than garden strawberries.
The main alpine strawberry I grow is called ‘Golden Alexandria’. It doesn’t produce runners but easily grows from seed. Its berries self-seed, too, and I’ve found many tiny strawberry plants growing in the cracks of my patio. I also grow ‘Mara des Bois’ and ‘Just Add Cream.’ Both are a lot sweeter than the Golden Alexandria, especially ‘Just add cream’.
Grow Alpine Strawberries From Seed
Strawberry seeds are tiny, and when they develop shoots, roots, and leaves, they’re tiny too. If you’re planning on growing your plants from seed, it helps to get started in early spring. You can sow them during the summer or early autumn too, but those plants will need to be overwintered under cover to protect them from the cold.
When sowing seed, use a good free-draining compost like John Innes No. 1 or a peat-free multi-purpose compost. If you’re using the latter, it helps to work in some perlite/grit/vermiculite. Sow the seeds lightly on the surface, then barely cover them with compost or horticultural grit. Keep moist, warm, and in a well-lit position. Seedlings can take up to a month to emerge, so don’t get disheartened if you don’t see any signs immediately.
When they do, let them grow on in the pot or tray until they have two true leaves. You’ll see their distinctive leaf veins and vessels. At this point, gently tease them out and pot them on into small individual modules. I harden them off and plant them outside when they get to about 2″ in height.
Grow Alpine Strawberries from Berries
One interesting thing that I’ve discovered in growing alpine strawberries is that they readily grow from fresh seed. You remember the self-seeded plants I mentioned? They must have dropped as fresh berries on the patio, and the seeds were eventually blown into the cracks.
Last year I conducted an experiment and squished some fresh berries onto compost. I lightly covered them with another layer of compost, watered the pots, and waited. Both times I tried this, I was rewarded with dozens of tiny strawberry seedlings.
The last time I tried this experiment was last September. The seedlings emerged, and I kept them in the house over winter. They did attract aphids though (where did they even come from) so I had quite the time squishing and washing them off from time to time. Probably best to do this project in spring and then move them outdoors as soon as possible.
As you can see from the image below, these late-sown plants are big and healthy now. They’re more than ready to go out in the garden, but we’re moving house soon, and I want them as a border at the new house. They’ll hang in there for just a little bit longer.
Growing Alpine Strawberries
Alpine strawberries are far more upright than garden strawberries. This means you don’t need to worry about mulching the base with straw, since the berries stay up high. They grow as neat little plants and look pretty as part of your edible landscaping.
Plant your alpine strawberry plants in rich, well-drained soil that doesn’t dry out easily. These are woodland plants, so they’ll tolerate a bit of shade but don’t like dry soil. If you can situate them in a sunny place, they’ll produce more berries. If you’d like them as ground cover only, then shade to semi-shade is perfectly fine.
Of all the strawberry varieties out there, I think alpines do best in pots and containers. I grow my ‘Just add cream’ strawberries in terracotta pots using this method. I like walking out the door and seeing those pretty pink petals. My ‘Golden Alexandria’ plants do incredibly well squished together into a stoneware pot. Though I don’t currently have them planted up in one, I think they’d also do great in this DIY strawberry pallet planter.
Harvesting the Berries
Alpine strawberries are ever-bearing, meaning that they produce fruit over a long period. On the mild Isle of Man, I’ve found ripe berries on my plants as late as November. The first to ripen for me are around early June, but in warmer climates they’ll fruit earlier.
A few berries ripen at a time usually, and off three plants I can get a handful a week. It’s not huge, but I love finding and picking the berries as I’m walking past. They’re generally less sweet than their gigantic cousins and have a lot more seeds. I’m saying that about the Golden Alexandria because, of the three types I grow, they’re as close to wild strawberries as you can get.
The berries on ‘Mara des Bois’ and ‘Just add Cream’ are considerably larger and sweeter. I recently made a strawberry jam with the ‘Mara des Bois,’ and it’s the best batch I’ve ever made. A little sugar and heat can work wonders.
How do the Mignonette compare to Mara Des Bois in size and sweetness?
I live in the US and was only able to get my hands on the Mignonette
Mara des Bois is about double the size and sweetness