I’ve seen a lot of newer strawberry cultivars that can be seed grown. Delizz, Elan, Tarpan, to name a few.
I enjoy growing from seed, are these worth a try?
I have had bad luck with strawberries, but many here have done OK, so i think it’s worth trying.
I have had good luck growing alpines from seed. I just put seeds on top of medium and set in tray of water to keep continued saturation of soil and they have sprouted every time.
I didn’t have problems sprouting them, they just failed to thrive and soon died. It was in my early growing years. I have learned a lot since I last tried.
I grew several varieties from seeds, I do not remember exactly which ones, including the one with pink flowers, the one with red flowers, and the one with white flowers. It is generally not easy to grow strawberries from seeds, so you need to know what you are doing. As for varieties, they were the right to the name, but the berries were small and the production was poor. However I have to say that my area is bad for strawberries. They get the Botrylis and I can’t do much to fight it. The hot summers make they die as well as winters without snow. So for me they eventually died after the couple of years. Maybe they will be better in moderate climates.
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I found that Captan works very well. It has a super short half-life. PHI is up to harvest. I spray two times before fruit forms, and that is enough to eliminate it. You must use acidic water or it won’t work at all. Basic water pretty much ruins it for use as a pesticide. With the extra I spray my trees., although you have to dilute it as the dose for strawberries is super high. It’s not organic so many won’t use it. My area is pretty bad, not worth growing if I don’t use it. And no fruit is ever sprayed.
You don’t really need snow, you need straw, works well. Although you do get a lot colder than i do. Mine right now have both! I cover them with straw after they are well frozen, or try to.
Mara Des Bois
I grow these in those rectangular pots. I use pine bark to cover in winter as the straw tends to blow off. Having them for 4 years this spring I re-did the pots with fresh runners I saved… All covered in snow at the moment.
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Thank you @Drew51!
I guess I used the plain alkaline water with Captain. I decided to stop growing strawberries, because I have the other berries which grow fine without spraying. Spraying, protecting them from birds and covering from cold, and I receive a few small sour berries, which are far worse than I can buy in the store. This is the one plant that I failed to grow. We grew very fine strawberries back in Russia, so I know it is not so hard in the other climates.
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I did at first too, and it was like I did nothing. Opea pointed out to me that it didn’t work without acidic water. I mostly use rainwater, but have added vinegar to tap. Actually almost all pesticides you should use acidic water as it extends the half life of the pesticide. Captan is the most extreme example. Again for all my sprays I use rainwater, mine tested different many times, not sure why? Between 7.0 to 5.0. I use reliable professional grade hard plastic pH strips.
I was born here but all my grandparents came here via Ellis island. My grandfather was from the Ukraine. He married a nice Polish girl. My other grandfather (and grandmother) was from Slovakia, part of Czechoslovakia at the time he left in the early 20th century about 1910. My last name is a Slovak name. Funny my wife is similar except all western Euro countries instead of eastern like me. She is Italian, German, English, Austrian, and one Grandfather came from Alsace, Lorraine. So my kids are mutts! Oh one of her relatives married an American Indian too. Her family has been here a very long time. And my favorite food is Mexican go figure?
For those who don’t know Alsace and Lorraine were located in the region inhabited by the ancient Gauls that today comprises modern day France, western Germany (including the Saarland), parts of Belgium and northern Italy.
I think people with the mixed parentage are often the strongest. Like the hybrid tomatoes 
I hope so, one needs all one has to make it these days.
OK, back to strawberries. I would grow from seed for fun, but plants are dirt cheap too. I only need one of any kind. I destroy over 200 plants a year easily.
I like to grow unusual strawberries. I grow mostly heirlooms. Like some think the pineberry is some new fancy hybrid, nope over 300 years old. I found White D to be the biggest one, and only grow that one now. Although a few others might be in the garden here and there.
Here is some…
I throw ton’s of runners out a year, anybody ever needs some I’ll root them next spring!
What’s nice once the strawberries wind down, the raspberries are ready!
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I am starting Delizz in rockwool cubes that will on my hydroponic grow towers. Damn these things are slow! Very erratic germination rate and the ones that are sprouted are moving along at a snails pace. I use a grow rack with full spectrum LED’s in a heated greenhouse so I feel like the conditions should be good. Are strawberries always slow?
Drew
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Drew51 I know this is a late reply but I just joined. Where did you get your seed for the white berries? I have some Alpine seed called Attila that I am going to try growing this year (from Baker Creek seeds). Can you or someone give me a few tips in starting them?
I didn’t, I bought plants, these are not alpines or wild, they are old heirloom hybrids. Pineberries are more closely related to regular strawberries. The vendor I got them from is no longer in business. Burpee was selling White D but just calls it white Pineberry. I can supply plants in the fall. Maybe mid-summer, no earlier. I grow a lot from seed, but never had any good luck at strawberries. I gave up on growing from seed. Plants are so cheap anyway.
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You do not grow them from seed but do u have seeds? I’m very interested in getting some, seeds or plants.
I have some old seed of alpine strawberries. If you want them, you can have them, if i can find them? They are frozen you can freeze strawberry seeds. The pineberries are probably propagated by tissue culture, not seed. I can supply plants. Most regular strawberries are hybrids, which means they do not come true to seed. I have extra pineberry plants growing in my raspberry patch, come on over in the spring and we will dig them up, they will fruit for you too this year. I use them to make runners, but I have them all over the place, so no big deal.
I have archer and heirlooms too like Gariguette a french hybrid. No Mara Des Bois this year as I removed the old plants and put in fresh runners, so I only have a few right now.
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Thanks, what varieties of alpines? I will come by in the spring for sure.
Thanks for the reply. I’m just interested in the Alpine berries because they taste like the wild ones I used to pick as a child. I am going to grow the Attila berries this year. They are an Alpine berry that has runners, something other Alpine berries don’t.
I’ll dig them out tomorrow and PM you.
You asked about possible plants to grow and strawberries are worth it. Even damaged ones can be cleaned up and frozen. The best smoothies ever! The pineberries have a pineapple like citrus taste not exactly, pineapple, but a citrus taste, which then finishes with a traditional strawberry taste. They are very soft, so they have to be used or frozen day of harvest for best texture. Pineberries freeze well. We can dig a few out in the spring. I destroyed over 100 of them last spring. The plants were 4 and 5 years old and needed to be replaced with new ones.
You know Raintree sells alpine plants.
Yes I like them too. I have a few around the yard. I’m hesitant to give you tips as I failed at it. I used individual cell trays, pro-mix, bottom heat to germinate, and as much light as possible when they do germinate.
All my alpines are from purchased plants. They spread like wildfire. Some are very aggressive, I’m leaning towards the clumping alpines that form no runners. Impressed so far with Reine des Vallees. I already divided it the first year. It produced about 100 strawberries, about 1-3 daily for months, till frost. Nothing bothers them except birds, I usually just eat them as I work on my garden. I have yellow alpines all over, that ran till they invaded all my raised beds. Aggressive plants!
I grew some from seed last spring. They need warmth and longer day light hours for accelerated growth. I grew them using natural light in a greenhouse window. They, Delizz, later become vigorous growers sending out lots of runners and some fruit later in the Summer. I never grew strawberries from seed before that experience. The flavor is fairly intense, it complements my other varieties, Seascape and Albion.
Based on one attempt only, grin, strawberries are easy to grow from seeds. These seedlings are from a commercial strawberry that I shaved and planted the seeds from
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They are now wintering in a styrofoam fish flat in the porch…picture in a minute.
I don’t know what the fruit will be like, but the germination and growing were easy.
wintering seedlings in bigger container
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