The Crafty Cultivator

One afternoon in March, I had to run to Home Depot to quickly grab something, and they “convinced” me that I needed more strawberries in my life… The brand new untouched crate of strawberries and asparagus crowns was right there at the front door. While it may seem like it was expert merchandizing, I think it had just been unloaded and that was the only cool (temperature-wise) space they had easily available. I was going to get some regular red variety, however, I let all of my strawberries produce TONS of runners last year, so I would have a bunch of new plants this year.

Right in the doorway of the Home Depot, I quickly googled the zone of these White Carolina Strawberries, and it said Zone 4, so I’m taking the risk. Right here we are on the cusp of Zone 4,our lot is pretty warm and I have some zone 5 things that do just fine. However, if we end up moving, these may or may not survive the new garden situation. I have discovered with strawberries, that they are usually hardier than they are “zoned” at, and have had them survive in 4 inch pots left on a patio over our winter. Not that I would put any money on that happening, but I’m just saying that they are typically a lot tougher than we give them credit for on paper.

A little history (from my google research) on the ‘White Carolina’ strawberry before I round out this post. These white strawberries are typically referred to as “Pineberries” (along with some other varieties) because they are said to smell and taste like pineapple. Others have said they taste like regular strawberries but have a hint of citrus to them. This is a hybrid berry, commercially released about 10 years ago. It is the result of a cross-breeding between Fragaria virginiana (Grows all over North America -these are the “wild strawberries” we have all over the place and I have fond memories of snacking on with my friends while riding our horses along the side of back roads) and a beach strawberry from Chile called Fragaria chiloensis. Since it is a hybrid, growing from seed saved from pineberries you have purchased or grown yourself will not necessarily produce the same fruit you ate (much like apples). Quick note: Not all White strawberries are “Pineberries”, there are some white alpine strawberries as well.

Second quick note as I’ve done a bit more Google research: “regular” garden strawberries were also a cross between Fragaria chiloensis and Fragaria virginiana, first bred in Brittany France in the 1750’s.

Now, since I bought these in early March and it was around -30C when I did so, I just kept them dormant in a drawer in my fridge. I pulled them out around the end of April to some leggy leaf sprouts, but they will recover. Even if only 3 plants survive, in the long run, this will be more than enough as they are said to produce MANY runners, and I’ll be able to save those baby plants to build my “inventory” up. I planted them in groups of 3 into three different 1 gallon pots, just to keep them somewhere I can keep an eye on (and easily move if we end up moving somewhere new). I left a decent lip in the pots, so the edge of the pots can protect the sad baby plants while they establish some roots and start growing. They are looking healthier every day, so I’m happy with their progress.

TLDR – Quick Facts about ‘White Carolina’

• Everbearing
• Produces more in the 2nd year, and a few years after that (longer than typical strawberries)
• Zone 4
• cross between Fragaria chiloensis and Fragaria virginiana
• White flesh and red seeds when ripe

For a much more indepth look into Pineberries, check out this article. There will also be pictures of the berries here. Since my plants are sad babies right now, I don’t have my own photos to use and I don’t want to steal anyone’s to add to my blog post. Hopefully in the future I can come back and edit with beautiful photos of my own plants and fruit.

Lovely Greens is also a great source for some info on these plants

If you’ve grown these, or plan to, share in the comments below so we can all learn more together.