Accidentally Hybridizing Strawberries and Pineberries

General Fruit Growing
1

IMG_3499
IMG_34991920Ă—1440 190 KB

IMG_3501
IMG_35011920Ă—1440 175 KB

IMG_3502
IMG_35021920Ă—2560 305 KB

IMG_3500
IMG_35001920Ă—2560 335 KB

Years ago I planted some strawberries in the ground. It included a bubblegum strawberry, a pineberry, a Pink Panda flowering strawberry with few fruits, and several varieties of common red strawberries. I had some wild kinds too, but dug them out.

About 6 or so years later the pineberries just took over, like a carpet. But the original dark pink flowers of the Pink Panda still remain near where the peony was. However, I noticed some of the assumed Pineberries now have a distinct clear pastel pink flower petal on them. Those must have been from seed dropped by fruits not eaten but cross pollinated with Pink Panda, and who knows which others that got crowded out.

5 Likes
2

Are pine berry more prone to grow and spread than strawberry? I know my strawberry and basically refused to spread. I have the same amount of less than when I started. If pine berry spread by rhizome that would make them much more advantageous than strawberry in my opinion. to edit they seem to spread by runners which seems much harder for them to get out of control.

1 Like
3

Do you happen to have any divisions or runners?

4

My pineberries seem so cartoonishly susceptible to whatever that red leaf fungal disease is I’d just assume that’s why the flowers were different. :grin:

5

IMG_3312
IMG_33121920Ă—1440 458 KB

That is around the apartment now, a month ago. It went nuts when they shredded a tree and used it as mulch. More than half of that happened in one summer.

2 Likes
6

Likely! I ran across one in the large mass of pineberries last year! LOL! I have no idea where that plant is because the flower color is same, height same, leave shape same, and the musk/bubblegum strawberry which is sweet like sugar is slightly more round with a bit of pink, but not so outstanding a color or size and shape for me to find. It is like finding Waldo.

1 Like
7

Pineberry is a strawberry.
This is why botanical (latin) names are so useful.

The pineberry is the same Fragaria × ananassa as all other “garden strawberry’s”
It originated from a cross between Fragaria virginiana and Fragaria chiloensis (the chiloensis giving both light red and white fruits)

This means it can easily be pollinated by other garden strawberry’s, because it is one itself.
Both parent species and Fragaria Ă— ananassa are octoploid. (8 x 7)

Judging from your pictures, you have the Fragaria Ă— ananassa pineberry. And not a wild with strawberry like Fragaria nilgerrensis (diploid 2 x 7)
I have both. And nilgerrensis has quite a different leaf. And is much smaller.

The “pinebeery” cultivar of strawberry for me, makes a lot of runners and huge leaves. (if had 70+ runners of a 2y old plant)

Similar but more than the Fragaria Ă— ananassa frau mieze schindler
Although that one, unlike most Fragaria Ă— ananassa cannot self pollinate.

With bubblegum strawberry i assume you mean. A Fragaria moschata (6 x 7) Sometimes marketed as bubblegum strawberry. But it’s a musk strawberry. (also called large forest strawberry where i live)

It does not readily cros with Fragaria Ă— ananassa. And most cultivars of Fragaria moschata need a pollinator. (most Fragaria moschata are either male or female. Although some self pollinating cultivars exist)

I have a Fragaria moschata. And again it’s leaves are quite different from Fragaria × ananassa
The flowers and berries are also on quite a high stalk. Above the leaves. Where Fragaria × ananassa usually “hides” the flowers and fruits below the leaves.

I don’t have a pink panda. But i think that one is also octoploid. So that’s the most likely one to cross with the “pineberry”

Most strawberry’s (if any) don’t spread by rhizome. They spread by runners. (Some alpine strawberry = Fragaria vesca don’t make runners. And i have split large plants of these. But mostly these are propagated by seed)

“pineberry’s” do make more runners than most other Fragaria × ananassa cultivars. This i think in part is, because they make less fruit. And thus have more energy to put into runners. You see quite the opposite in some everbearing Fragaria × ananassa cultivars. Those tend to overproduce on fruit and make almost no runners. (although if you remove flowers/fruit suddenly they make runners)

4 Likes