Topic: advice on sowing/growing strawberry-trees?

[triffid]

I've just been handed a pinch of strawberry-tree seeds. Now they're a new one on me and from what I gather, they're not easy to germinate. Has anyone had success growing them? Any advice on what to do with the little blighters will be gratefully received. :)

[ACE]

Are you talking about arbutus, or a new mutant from the seed catalogue. If it is the first you need the whole fruit to feed the birds with, after it has passed through you might stand a chance.

A very pretty tree, it will flower, fruit, and shed its evergreen leaves all at the same time, providing you have 15 to 20 years to wait. The fruit is not palatable but makes great wine.

It can grow as a very large bush if you trim it but you will not get fruit. Or you can grow it as a medium size tree.

Your best bet if you want one is to find a mature tree and look around nearby for a seedling to transplant.

[Ceratonia]

The fruit is not palatable but makes great wine.

The latin name for the most common species is Arbutus unedo. Unedo is latin for 'I eat only one'  ;)

I don't think they taste too bad, actually. They ferment very quickly though, so take care.

In Portugal, they make a kind of liqueur (and jam I think) from the fruits and I think they are used in other mediterranean countries too.

I've grown them from seed - soaked the seed in water for a few days and then sowed on top of the compost, which needs not be allowed to kept moist. I had them indoors, in spring. The seedlings grew very slowly and I eventually put them on the compost heap, as the cuttings I had taken were doing much better.

You can get some quite dwarf cultivars which don't go much more than a few feet high and still flower and fruit.

[triffid]

 :-\
Thank you both!

Part of the trouble is that I don't think I do want a strawberry-tree (let alone six or seven, if they all grow!) Particularly since it's the full-sized shrub, not a domesticated mini-version. The seeds were given by a well-meaning friend. They were tipped into my rather unwilling hand from a packet bought from the Eden Project, so I don't know if they've been ready-processed by birds or other means. ;)

Since they're living seeds, I feel kind of duty-bound to give them a chance of life... but perhaps in a pot in a far corner of the garden so I don't think about them too often.  If they grow, I can offer them to my borough lottie association for one of their plant sales.

BTW, Ceratonia, I love the translation of "unedo"!

[Gail-M]

Hi,

I've got one that I keep to about 5 feet by pruning - gets some fruit & flowers.

I've heard they are difficult to grow by seed and cutting...

Good luck

Gail