imafan26
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Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Growing strawberries from seed

I have seen some strawberry seeds on line. I have tried to grow the plants that walmart brought in but only one survived.
Basically, it is really hard to get live plants shipped in and few places will do it. I tried to grow alpine strawberries once, they sprouted but did not last long. I assumed that the heat did not help any.

Are there other seeds available and how hard is it to grow strawberries from seed. What would I have to do and does it require a certain temperature range.

The only plants at the stores now are seascape. I haven't seen the local Wahiawa strawberries in years and the albion was one of the strawberry roots from Walmart that died.
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JONA
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Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

Hi Imafam,
Growing them from seed can be fun and allows you to grow vars that are more difficult to obtain as live plants.
I've found the best way is this.
Place the seed in a sealable plastic bag and put in your freezer for 3 to 4 weeks.
When you take it out allow to thaw completely before opening . This is so no condensation forms on the seeds and makes them damp.
Lay the seeds on sterilised seed compost that has been sprinkled onto a water absorbing mat. Place one end of the mat in a bowl of water to keep the soil just damp.
Put under prop lights and then wait for anything up to a month or so.
Don't try to plant the seedlings until they have produced at least two true leaves.
It's a bit of a long haul...but can be rewarding.

As regards temp. I understand that it should be 65-75 F constant ...but must confess I never checked mine and under a murcury vapour lamp they did quite well, although this type of lamp is not the best for plants as it doesn't have the right light spectrum. Guess the heat was ok though!

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Thanks. It would be too hot now to do that. But I can probably look for the seeds and plant them later in the year. I did not know they needed cold stratification. Would this be true for everbearing varieties? I usually use a mini greenhouse in my patio for slow seeds. It will probably work better than a wicking mat as I have tried that before and the soil got moldy. My humidity is high so constant wetness can be a problem

JONA
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Posts: 812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: Sussex. England

It's recommended that you chill alpine seed the same as ' normal' strawberry. I've never tried alpine ones myself, although it's said that they are easier to germinate than the traditional vars. So...I'm assuming that a chill period would be benificial for everbearers as well.
As you say...humidity is a problem with such tiny seed that take so long to germinate.. I think this is where an overhead lamp can be useful as it does give that top heat that helps keep surface moisture at bay, also its recommended as it can give you a jump start with the seedlings so that they may well produce fruit in that first year.



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