I am growing Alpine strawberries for the first time this year. I'd never seen a plant nor tasted a berry but I wanted something fun to grow that might provide a taste or two while out in the garden. I think they would be perfect plants to grow for little grandchildren.
I purchased my seed from www.sampleseeds.com ... sprinkled abt 25 seeds onto a pot of dampened ProMix BX, spritzed the top to dampen the tiny seed, placed a clear plastic cover over the pot to help maintain moisture and set the pot under grow lights. I did this on Jan 1 and today I have approx 25 tiny plants growing in individual pots. This is my only experience with this type of seed so I don't know if this is unusual or lucky. Just checked my notes and the first 2 seed germinated on Jan 8 and by Jan 20, most seed had germinated. The seed are so tiny, I would not try to cover them with potting mix; just let them fall onto the surface and keep the moisture level up so the potting mix doesn't dry out.
The variety I'm growing is Alpine Strawberry ‘Rugen Improved‘. It is listed as a French variety. I think Remy carries another variety listed as a German Alpine Strawberry.
I do a lot of winter sowing and I think these plants would do well with this method of seed germination. However, Remy at Sample Seeds said if the seed is started early enough in the season, some of the little plants could produce berries the first year so I wanted to get an early start.
As soon as the little plants get a bit of growth on them, I'll move them out to the greenhouse to begin hardening off before planting out in late spring.
I am in central Arkansas and I see you are just one state over so our growing conditions are probably much the same.
Alpine Strawberry ‘Rugen Improved‘ seedling at abt 3 wks, growing in a 3 inch starter pot
Myles
