You have probably come across the exotic strawberry tree on vacation in Portugal, Spain or other Mediterranean countries. Maybe you took some fruits home with you to grow the attractive plant yourself. If gardening enthusiasts own an Arbutus unedo, you can cut cuttings and propagate the tree in this way. The effort is definitely worth it, as pre-grown strawberry trees from the garden center are relatively expensive and difficult to obtain.
How is a strawberry tree grown?
Growing a strawberry tree can be done from seeds or cuttings. When it comes to seeds, it is important to treat them as cold germinators and to provide cold stimuli. Cuttings are cut from a strong mother plant in late summer or autumn and rooted in potting soil.
Growing from seeds
You should plant fresh seeds that you get from fruit as quickly as possible. If you have purchased dried seeds (€4.00 on Amazon), first soak them in room temperature water for a day.
The strawberry tree is a cold germinator whose seeds require cold stimuli to open. That doesn't make growing it that easy.
The following procedure has proven successful:
- Spread seeds on damp sand and press lightly.
- Place in a warm place (around 20 degrees) and sprinkle regularly so that the substrate does not dry out. Covering to create a greenhouse climate is not necessary.
- After four weeks, put the sand with the seeds in a plastic bag and close it tightly.
- Place the bag in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for another eight weeks. Check weekly whether the sand-seed mixture is still wet and mix it thoroughly.
The seeds are then placed in pots with soil. However, do not expose them to higher temperatures immediately. A temperature range between five and ten degrees is ideal, for example in a bright, cool basement room.
It can take some time for the leaves to appear, so don't lose patience. After about three to four months, the plants should have germinated and be large enough to be separated.
Growing from cuttings
Cut cuttings from a strong mother plant, preferably in late summer or autumn.
- Separate shoot tips with about eight pairs of leaves.
- Defoliate except for two leaves.
- Place the cuttings individually in pots with low-nutrient potting soil.
- Pour and cover with a cap or clear plastic bags.
- The cultivation quickly develops roots in a bright window seat with an average temperature of twenty degrees.
- As soon as they grow out of the bottom opening, move them to a larger container.
Tip
Sand is not always germ-free and often begins to mold. To prevent this, you can sterilize it in the oven at 100 degrees top/bottom heat for about thirty minutes. This also works in the microwave at the highest wattage. Here the process only takes five minutes.
