Alpine Strawbs from seed

[buzzingtalk]

From my research, it sounds like a right mission trying to get alpine strawberries from seed. I haven't planted any yet, and I also read that they won't fruit in the first year...so I was thinking, could you spread seed outdoors (mine would be in a seed tray) when the weather is much warmer (late spring/summer) and would they germinate and grow OK then? As it would save space on my windowsills

[scarletrunner]

Tried several on line growing techniques last year,have got 6 small plants in pots from last year but only one with any green on,think i will give up on these.Sorry to have been of no help.

[elsie-scot]

Have grown from seed twice - once at old house a couple years ago, and again last year. Last year was much more successful, not sure why, weather was worse. Got quite a bit of fruit - they are small strawberries.

The seedlings are slow to get going and you think they will never get bigger but they do. I started in small modules and then transplanted into bigger modules.

[smc999]

I grew Alpine strawberries from seed last year (Mignonette). They fruited the first year but they were foamy in texture and didn't particularly taste nice, safe to say I won't be growing them this year.

[chris]

I grew about 12 plants from seed last year... they all fruited, wasn't that impressed with the flavour (even in a salad). I think I have a pack of seed if anyone wants to give them a go from seed (for SAE).

[Alison]

They're a doddle from seed, sow at the start of the year and they'll fruit fine. The only problem with them is the seeds are so teeny so I sow a small pinch in each module and then prick out to one per module when they're big enough. The ones I sowed this year are now starting to look like little teeny weeney strawberry plants and in a few months time there'll be lovely fruits to pick every day, I particularly like to sprinkle on my breakfast cereal.

[crazii_c]

i found them easy to grow from seed ( or maybe it was luck). i grew two types - 'mignonette' ( a red type) and 'white soul' (a white type). i sowed them last year in Feb into modules on the windowsill. thinned them out. they take forever to get to a decent size, but they do get there. then i planted out into pots in May. i got a lot of little fruits, they arent juicy like normal strawbs, but the flavour is much more intense. they are deff worth a try and mine have been trouble free.

[Rabidbun]

I grew Alpine strawberries from seed last year (Mignonette). They fruited the first year but they were foamy in texture and didn't particularly taste nice, safe to say I won't be growing them this year.

Glad it wasn't just me thinking this about them - began to think I'd grew them wrong tasting the first few a year or two ago. Very spongy, though mine were on the sweet side. Birds didn't even go for them so got rid of the plants last year. Glad I tried them though.

I had around 50% germination OP - so much more successful than the others I tried from seed that year (even with a toddler knocking the pots over now and again ) - did them indoors though. They were very tiny plants for a fair while, as folks have already said, so might get slugged outdoors imo.

[buzzingtalk]

Hmm, maybe I will try some indoors then. Although slugs not a problem where I live - there is no grass in my 'garden' (concrete with pots!) only ever seen 3 slugs in 2 years of living here, which is lovely

Will give them a go, to those of you that grew them OK, did you have them in a propagator?? My house isn't hugely warm all the time and the packet says they need 20c or so for germination!! Can't afford to leave the heating on that long waiting

[Piggle]

I've just planted some in seed tray on the kitchen windowsill - they've already started coming up.

My house isn't that warm either as I'm far too tight to pay excess gas bills - I tell my husband to put a jumper on and the cat is ok as he's furry