Double the Delight! Why choose between growing flowers or fruit? This wonderful plant is both highly ornamental and it produces tasty fruit on ever-bearing plants. The semi-double flowers are gorgeous in their own right and lip-smacking sweet strawberry together all summer. It's a little like having your cake and eating it too. Planting in a container will show off the fruit to best effect, but it can also be grown in gardens. Short runners can develop over time, which may add a trailing element to the plant. These runners can be trimmed back, if you prefer to do so or can be left as is. The 12-16" tall, mounding plants are just the right size for your patio pots or hanging baskets. They will flower and produce fruit the season they are planted if you buy plants or start seeds indoors, which means the plant can be grown as an annual. However, they are also quite hardy and will be perennial in zones 4-9.
Award Winner
Edible
Continuous Bloom or Rebloomer
Long Blooming
Produces Berries
Heat Tolerant
Deadheading Not Necessary
Attracts:
Bees
CHARACTERISTICS
Plant Type: Annual
Height Category: Short
Garden Height: 12 - 16 Inches
Spacing: 8 - 12 Inches
Spread: 18 - 24 Inches
Flower Colors: Pink
Flower Shade: Pink with Occasional White Flowers
Foliage Colors: Green
Foliage Shade: Green
Habit: Mounded
Container Role: Filler
PLANT NEEDS
Light Requirement: Sun
Maintenance Category: Moderate
Bloom Time: Planting To Frost
Hardiness Zones: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Water Category: Average
Soil Fertility Requirement: Average Soil Fertile Soil
Uses: Container Edging Plant Groundcover Landscape Mass Planting
Users Notes:
Best used in containers, where the fruit can be shown off and easily picked. However, they also work well.
Maintenance Notes:
To keep your Berried Treasure plant looking its best, the soil should be kept evenly moist and using a regular fertilization program will produce the most prolific berry crop.
Even if the plants are started by seed, they should set fruit in the first year and those purchased as plants in spring will certainly produce fruit in the first season.
Growing Berried Treasure from Seed:
If you are growing Berried Treasure from seed, starting the seeds indoors will give the plants a head start, which will result in ripe fruit earlier in the season.
Seed Prep - Strawberry seeds will germinate better if they are chilled in your freezer or refrigerator for 3-4 weeks prior to planting.
Planting - Once seeds have received their chill period, start them indoors 8 weeks before the last frost in your area. The seeds should germinate in about 2-3 weeks, but could take a little longer. Strawberry seeds are tiny and should be sown on the soil surface.
Thinning - If the seedlings are crowded, you may want to thin them to allow more robust growth of the remaining seedlings.
Transplant - Plant the seedlings outdoors about 3 weeks after the threat of frost is past. If you live where frost isn't a concern, that will be about 11 weeks after planting the seeds. Plant 3 or more seedlings per container, depending on container size. In the landscape, plants should be spaced 18-24" apart. Rows should be about 36" apart.
Grow your strawberries in at least 6 hours of direct sun a day. More sun is desirable and will help produce a bumper crop of fruit.
The plants should be kept evenly moist and fed regularly for the best results.