Alpine strawberries are making a guest appearance in this vegetable-focused Just Veggies blog. I believe this itty bitty fruits may win you over the staunchest vegetable gardener. That’s because these berries, botanically known as Fragaria vesca, are packed with concentrated strawberry flavor, and their aroma is equally power-packed, compared to their larger, more common strawberry cousins, Fragaria x. ananassa. These alpine strawberries are more closely related to the wild strawberries that were found growing along the edges of European forests hundreds of years ago.

How Are Alpine Strawberries Different?

If you were looking at a spread of different strawberry plants and their berries, how would you know which were the alpines?

Berry size. Alpine strawberries are quite small. If the more common strawberries are the size of a Gob Stopper, then alpine berries would be the size of a peanut M&M.

Flavor. The common garden strawberries have been bred to produce large, juicy fruits. The alpines, on the other hand, have concentrated flavor that is sweeter. And as we’ve mentioned that strawberry scent is also more concentrated, too.

Fruiting. Alpine strawberries are day neutral. That means they produce flowers—and hence fruit—throughout the growing season from spring to fall. The more common garden strawberries produce flowers and fruit in flushes. For example, June-bearing strawberries produce one large crop in early June, while ever-bearing strawberries produce fruit in spring, mid-summer and again in fall.

Runners. If you’ve grown strawberries previously, you’ll know that after the plant has produced fruit, it grows a long stem called a runner (because the stem “runs” along the ground). The end of the stem will eventually produce a new plant. This is how the strawberry plant asexually reproduces itself. Alpine strawberries do not send out runners. This allows them to put more energy into producing fruits. It’s also easier to manage their growth in small gardens since they aren’t sending out runners along the ground.

How to Grow

Because alpine strawberries do not have runners, they are grown from seeds. Start seeds indoors about 8 weeks before your region’s last spring frost. Just sprinkle the seeds on top of seed starting mix and lightly cover. It may take 2-4 weeks for germination, so be patient!

Speaking of seeds, the folks at Renee’s Garden sell alpine strawberry seeds. They offer two varieties—Mignonette, which is a dark red variety and Heirloom Pineapple, which produces pastel yellow berries that have a pineapple/rose fragrance. Amazing!

Once they get several sets of leaves, transfer to individual containers and grow on inside until they are about three inches tall. At this point you can acclimate them to the outdoor environment gradually. Plant in full sun, or in partial shade if your region is quite warm. Plants will grow to be about a foot wide during the growing season.

Because these strawberries grow along forest edges, they would look great in a similar application in your yard. Plant them as edging along your garden or vegetable beds. They’d also perform really well in window boxes and in patio containers. Just be sure to water them regularly. This’ll help encourage them to produce fun-sized and flavorful berries for you all season long.