Alpine Strawberry, Sow-teat Strawberry, Wild Strawberry, Woodland Strawberry 'Italian Alpine'

The taste of these tiny "wild type" berries is outstanding! You'll probably never pick enough for a pie, but the intense flavor is like ...Read Morestrawberry candy. Nice border or groundcover plant and great in containers or windowboxes. They do not set runners, but I am hoping they will gradually spread by reseeding.

I grew these from seeds in 2002. Cold stratification simply involved placing the unopened seed packet in the freezer for 2 to 4 weeks. Their first year, they grew in pots on my very sunny deck, and the ones in 10" plastic pots (3 to a pot) did much better than the ones in decorative 3" clay pots, although most survived. The plastic pots were overwintered in a sheltered location, and the following spring the plants were moved to a new bed that receives some afternoon shade. There is no reason not to plant them in their permanant location the first year; I just didn't have the bed ready.

Edited (in fall of 2006) to add that these are still one of my favorite plants! Their tidy habit makes them outstanding as a border, and I think they're especially nice along a pathway (for easy picking).

I've successfully wintersowed these seeds (in vented containers) for two seasons now. I collect seeds from dried little berries that I find on the plants in fall, ones that both the birds and I somehow missed when they ripened!