Himalayan strawberry

Photo: Woudloper — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

A high-altitude Himalayan wild strawberry ranging from Afghanistan to Tibet at elevations up to roughly 4,300 m, with a pleasantly flavored yellowish-white fruit blushed red at the tip; used in recent hybridization studies as a genetic resource for strawberry breeding.

Hardiness

Zone 6–9

Habit

Groundcover

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Summer–autumn

Mature size

Low rosette 5–15 cm, spreading by runners

Light

Partial shade

Soil pH

6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)

Environment

Montane

Native range

The Himalayan region — Afghanistan and Pakistan east through northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet to northern Myanmar, from subtropical to alpine elevations up to about 4,300 m.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–4 yrs

Growth speed

Slow-growing at first after transplanting, then grows rapidly.

Spacing

30 cm (12 in) apart — about 11 per m² (10 per 10 sq ft)

Leaf shape

Obovate to elliptic leaflets 1.5–5 cm, sharply serrate with 7–14 teeth per side, with appressed silky whitish hairs beneath, especially along the veins.

Root system

A stout rootstock supporting a prostrate growth habit.

Fruit description

Globose to obovoid fruit on a succulent red receptacle 10–15 mm across, usually yellowish-white with a reddish apex; described as having a very pleasant strawberry flavor.

Propagation

By seed, sown in spring under glass (four or more weeks to germinate), or by dividing and transplanting rooted runners, best done in July–August.

Pollination

Self-fertile

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.