During the last summer, a well-known supermarket was selling these delicious and unusual fruits for around 25-30p per berry - and they were still in big demand! Now that the plants are available (they have only recently been released onto the market) you can grow your own. The juicy and sweet fruits are a taste sensation - just like strawberries but with the flavour of pineapple. It is the result of a cross between two different strawberry plants, one from South America and the other from North America. It flowers in May, and provided there is a pollination partner nearby (any normal strawberry plant will do), the fruits will start to appear - green at first but then ripening to white with deep red seeds. Ready to harvest in June, the fruits are rarely eaten by the birds as they do not think they look ripe, so you usually will not need to net them. To increase the crop plant a regular strawberry plant closeby.
How to care for Fragaria ananassa pineberry White Dream:
It prefers a sunny spot. In winter protect the crowns with straw or glass.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
0.3m
Eventual spread:
0.3m
Rate of growth:
Fast-growing
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
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This plant is semi-evergreen, so it can lose some of its leaves in winter. In colder regions or more exposed gardens, it may lose them all, but then fresh new foliage appears again in spring.