Alpine strawberry

Alpine strawberry: plant 25 cm (10 in) apart in the row and 35 cm (14 in) between rows, 1 per square. Good neighbours: Chives, Garlic, Marigold.

Key facts

Spacing in the row	25 cm (10 in)
Between rows	35 cm (14 in)
In a 30 cm (1 ft) square	1 per square
Sun	Full sun, 6–8 hours a day
Root depth	40 cm (16 in)
Height when grown	18 cm (7 in)
Crop rotation group	Herbs, flowers and perennials
Support	None needed

How it is started	From a bought plant, sown straight into the bed, by dividing a clump
Seeds per hole	1
Plants kept after thinning	1
Seeds per metre of row	4
Sowing depth	0.1 cm (0 in)
Soil temperature	from 10 °C, best 18–22 °C
Days to emerge	14–30 days
Light while germinating	Needs light, barely cover
Before sowing	Chill moist for a few weeks
When to sow	Outdoors before the last frost; soil at least 10 °C

Pricking out	sown where it grows
Takes transplanting	Only with care, keep the root ball
Hardening off	10–14 days
Life cycle	Perennial
Cold tolerance	Takes a light frost → hardy, takes hard frost
Soil	Rich, with compost, free draining, pH 5.5–6.8
In a pot	4 L, 18 cm (7.1 in)
Watering	Water when the soil is dry two fingers down; at flowering, while fruit sets
Feeding	Moderate; in spring, after harvest
Support and training	None needed; prune

Days to first harvest	0.3–1 years, from planting
Ready when	The fruit has its full colour
Harvest window	Picked again and again, 12–20 weeks
Typical yield	0.1–0.3 kg per plant
Botanical family	Rosaceae
Watch out for	Slugs and snails, birds, grey mould
First crop after	1 years
Pollination	Fruits on its own

◐ good with a condition · Why, with the sources →

Open the free planner, drop Alpine strawberry onto a bed and see how many plants fit.

Sow outdoors	Aug–Sep
Harvest	Jun–Sep

My country Last spring frost where I live

Give the date once and this page, the sowing calendar and the planner all follow it.

Months for a temperate climate: about a month later in the north and a month earlier in the south. Give your own last frost date for exact dates.

Plants of the Rosaceae family share diseases and pests, so they follow each other in the rotation only after a break.

Crops that need about the same room and care, from another family.