Wild strawberries

I've seen some wild strawberry plants growing in some local woods. They are a very pretty little plant, and obviously well adapted to shade. Seeing them got me thinking, I have some shady parts in my garden so I could put wild strawberries in there. I like the plants just for their appearance, but then it would be a bonus if they produced fruit.

I don't know much about wild strawberries. I know they are much smaller than the cultivated varieties, but are they worth bothering with?

Also I'm growing some 'conventional' strawberries. If I put wild strawbs in too, would there be any adverse cross-polination or other issues to think about?

 

Hi Dave,

I grow alpines, wild & cultivated strawbs side by side. Not had them cross but thats probably because they spread from runners more than seedlings.

Love the wild ones, yes they are tiny but fantastic flavour. They will spread but thats a bonus.

 

Haha, flippin' weed, you can have some of mine - don't actually pay good money for them! They don't mind shade, they spread a lot by runners and seed but are not too hard to pull out. In Geoff Hamilton's (RIP) garden near Rutland Water I saw a big trough thickly planted with wild strawberries only, and they looked really good. I've been meaning to do something like that when I can get them pinned down.

They'd only cross with proper strawberries by seed, and if you remove all random seedlings on your patch that haven't spread by runners you'd be OK, wouldn't you?

 

I'm with Ziggy on the taste. Also they're better suited to damp summers.

 

Had some wild ones with Amaretto once in Sorrento,Italy. NEVER forgotten the taste. Awesome. But they are a bit of a pest in the border where they are unwelcome -sorry,
Jenny namaste

 

Ok. Sounds like I need to come up with a cunning plan.

Can they do with permanent shade, such as they'd get if they were in a container at the foot of a north facing wall?

 

They are a woodland plant so shade wont phase them too much but i'm not sure about permanent though.

 

Well, they are easy to come by so you can afford to take a few chances with them. I think I've got some growing near a N facing fence with overhanging shrubs but I can't swear that they don't get some dappled light.