I have some strawberry seeds that I collected from some of last year's frozen strawberries. Do I need to do any special treatment for them to germinate?
what kind of strawberries are they? alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) seem to be the easiest. the trick with those is six weeks of cold treatment. pretty easy: just plant them in pots outside early enough that they'll be cold for six weeks before spring. if it's too late for that, some damp sphagnum moss or a damp paper towel in a container or bag in the refrigerator for six weeks should do it. then plant them.
I have no idea what variety they are. My parents grew the strawberry in their garden and I am almost certain they propagated them from a few plants they bought from a nursery.
hmmm. starting from seed works with some garden strawberries, but I haven't personally had any success. if they do germinate and grow, it's sort of a crapshoot anyhow.
garden strawberries are weird hybrids: the parent species have different ploidy numbers.
alpine strawberries are the easiest. they're really small berries, but so very delicious. most varieties don't produce runners, but the plants can live and be productive for much longer than garden strawberry plants.
I start them using seed starter. I haven't tried the cold treatment. They aren't difficult to grow at all. I have alpine mignonettes (heirloom) growing right now indoors.
The couple strawberries I had this fall were little bit bigger than that. Now those were the first so I was excited to even get those so soon. I know the mignonettes can get to 1 inch in length.
I am growing mine in containers. I may transplant them out back this spring. In my zone 5 I can't keep the pots outside through the winter unless I pack them up to protect them. I recommend that you research to see how to grow strawberries in your zone/region.
i have successfully started strawberries from seed, regular garden strawberry and alpine. i am starting "woodland" wild strawberries (a lot like alpine) in the fridge right now.
i start them in the fridge for two months- in a damp coffee filter inside a plastic baggie. when i take them out i put them on a plate with water, covered with saran wrap. a week or so later pour them onto ALREADY wet soil, so they dont fall too deep in the soil when you water.
i read somewhere they needed both cold stratification and light to germinate, and that has worked for me.
and the wild strawberry, a lot like alpine, are so yummy, the best flavor =)
Steve Flanagan
gardener
Posts: 324
Location: North Fork, CA. USDA Zone 9a, Heat Zone 8, 37 degrees North, Sunset 7/9, elevation 2600 feet
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posted 4 years ago
1
I Just planted Alexandria Alpine Strawberry seeds. I hope they do well.
tel jetson
steward
Posts: 3382
Location: woodland, washington
82
posted 4 years ago
1
Steve Flanagan wrote:I Just planted Alexandria Alpine Strawberry seeds. I hope they do well.
that's definitely the most common strawberry seed I've seen in commerce. pretty darn tasty little berry, too.
HOw long do strawberry seeds last? Do they need chill?
Medicinal herbs, kitchen herbs, perennial edibles and berries: https://mountainherbs.net/ grown in the Blue Mountains, Australia
Spencer Davis
Posts: 49
Location: New Castle, IN
1
posted 3 years ago
Tel: those I sprouted are Alpines. They were the first seeds I came across in the store.
tel jetson
steward
Posts: 3382
Location: woodland, washington
82
posted 3 years ago
there are write a few varieties of alpine strawberry. the most common seems to be Alexandria, so I would guss that's what you're got if they were just labeled 'alpine.'
Location: NW Pennsylvania Zone 5B bordering on Zone 6
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posted 3 years ago
Woop-woop! I have a few baby alpines starting to sprout (finally). I received them in a seed trade from someone and was wondering if the seeds were still viable as long as they have been taking to sprout.
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Alpine Strawberry Seed Sprouting
"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." ~Maori Proverb
Remember that modern grocery store strawberries are hybrids of two species. They gradually desintegrate in production. It might not be worth it. I would also try musk strawberries, although they grow so well from runners that it might not be worth it.
John S
PDX OR
Isabelle Gendron
Posts: 173
Location: Montmagny, Québec, Canada (zone 4b)
1
posted 3 years ago
Just to revive the post, I grew my strawberry plants last years from seed that I bought from a seedlers here in Quebec. I got 15 seeds of each variete and they all grew. They produced late last summer and gave a lot of runners that i replanted. I guess this years they will produce a lot. I taught it was going to be more difficult than this to sprout sice I had read that they could take long to sprouts. not a t all.
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