Alpine Mignonette Strawberries: Plant this spring to enjoy these succulent, sweet petite strawberries all season long!

Alpine Mignonette Strawberry plants are a French delicacy. The Alpine Mignonette Strawberry is an improved cultivar of the heirloom Renee de Valee. Alpine Strawberries steadily produce dainty red, sweet berries with an almond undertone all summer long.

The Alpine Strawberry plant is an attractive perennial addition to any garden. Mignonette grows into a soft, airy mound of light green foliage that works perfect as a front of border perennial, in a hanging container, planted in a strawberry pot, planted in a container garden or placed in a herb garden. The Alpine Strawberry will produce fruit the first summer it is planted.  Strawberry plants  also offer  knock-out fall foliage sporting leaves in shades of red, gold, orange and burnt umber.

You can grow Alpine Mignonette Strawberry from seed and sprout them yourself or you can purchase plants that are ready to plant when you receive them. We offer (6) non-GMO healthy Alpine Strawberry plants for only $14.95 at our online country store.

Where to Plant Alpine Strawberries:

Plant Fraises des bois Alpine Strawberries in full sun or partial shade. Strawberries thrive in well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter. Amending your soil with aged compost and a good organic fertilizer, such as Down to Earth All Purpose Fertilizer, will supply all the nutrients the young plants need to get started. Proper drainage is essential, so mound the soil to form raised beds, if necessary. Avoid planting Strawberries where Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplants, or Peppers have been grown before. Soils in which these plants have grown may harbor the wilt-causing Verticillium fungus, which can affect your plants.

Tip: Alpine Mignonette Strawberry plants are not deer resistant or rabbit proof. Plant your strawberry plants in an area where they are protected if you have deer or rabbit problems.

Spacing. Plant Alpine Mignonette Strawberries 8”-12” apart in the ground. Allow 1cu ft of soil per plant in containers, less in Strawberry jars.

Planting Alpine Strawberries in the Ground:
Dig a wide, shallow hole large enough to accommodate the roots comfortably. Then spread the roots evenly inside the hole and cover them with soil, setting the crown (the point where stem and roots meet) at soil level. Firm the soil with your hands and water thoroughly.

Planting Alpine Strawberry Plants in a Strawberry jar:
Place the soil mix in a plastic tub and slowly add water and stir with your hand until the mix is moist but not soggy. Then fill the pot with mix to the rims of the first three pockets using a small garden hand trowel or garden scoop. Push one plant through each pocket, pulling gently on the roots from the inside until the crown (the point where stem and roots meet) is level with the soil mix in the pocket. Firm the plants in place and add soil mix up to the rims of the second set of three pockets. Plant those pockets as you did the first set. Then add more soil mix, stopping 1–2in below the top of the container. Next either plant 2 strawberry plants in the top of the container or do as we do at the farm, plant an ornamental grass or low growing perennial such as Dianthus ‘Firewitch’ or Geranium ‘Rozanne'. Topping a strawberry pot with a low growing perennial is a great way to add color and texture to your container.

Finally, water thoroughly, starting from the top and proceeding to each of the pockets. Place the jar in the shade for a few days to allow the plants to settle in. Then gradually move the jar to its permanent location. Water when the soil mix is dry to the touch. Fertilize with a liquid kelp based organic fertilizer every 2–3 weeks until the end of August. In cold-winter climates, move the jar inside in fall and keep at 30–40°F. Check plants for moisture every week and water just enough to keep plants from drying out completely. Set the jar back outside the following spring.

Watering and Fertilizing Alpine Strawberry Plants:
Strawberries require 1–2in of water a week. To prevent disease, avoid watering in the evening. Heat and drought bring flowering and fruiting to a halt and may kill plants outright. Mulching with 2in of an organic material helps the soil retain moisture and stay cool, prevents weed seed germination, and keeps the fruits off the soil.

Don’t fertilize at planting time. Later, when Alpine Mignonette Strawberry plants begin to form berries, fertilize with a liquid organic kelp based fertilizer.  In subsequent years, fertilize in early spring with an organic fertilizer and once again in late June.

Harvesting Alpine Strawberry Plants:
Check Alpine Strawberry plants frequently for ripe berries and collect them in a bowl or basket as you pick them. Keeping ripe fruit picked will encourage production throughout the summer season. Clean the fragile berries by floating them in ice water and gently rolling them around. Dirt will sink to the bottom of the bowl. You can use Alpine Strawberries in any of your favorite dishes, add to bran muffins, use in desserts such as our tasty Almond Raspberry Torte or just enjoy  them freshly picked.

Winter Protection of Alpine Strawberries:
Alpine Strawberries overwinter well even where winters are cold and snowy. If the Alpine Strawberry plants are planted in the ground treat them as you would any other hardy perennial. If strawberry plants are planted in a pot, place the pot in a barn or shed where the plants can go dormant, but the pot is protected from cracking due to freeze and thaw winter conditions.