Pineberry Strawberry

Have you tried a Pineberry yet? This "white strawberry" gets its name from the strong pineapple aroma and flavor overtones of the fruit. A modern variety that hearkens back to the wild strawberries of South America, it's a gourmet everbearer you'll just love munching straight from the garden! There has been a lot of hype about Pineberry since it was introduced a few years ago, so let's run through its story: this is not the heirloom wild strawberry of South America. It is also most definitely not a genetically modified plant (you won't find any of those here at Park, by the way!). It is a new variety developed by Dutch horticulturists in the early 21st century in response to the threat of extinction of the South American wild strawberry. This fine group of folks wanted to preserve the look and flavor of this fruit, so they found a strain of white strawberry in Europe and bred it back. The result is the deliciously different Pineberry! These fruits are small (about an inch in diameter) and very plump. They are ivory to creamy primrose with red seeds. You will smell them before you see them nestled under the dark green leaves; the aroma combines traditional strawberry tones with a pineapply scent. And teh flavor echoes this: the berries are more succulent and sweeter than red strawberries. Such a treat! Pineberry is everbearing, so it begins fruiting in late spring and continues intermittently all the way to frost. It is not the heaviest of producing strawberries; for that, rely on the modern red strawberries. Instead, it is a gourmet delight, with very dependable, steady yields over an extra-long season. This is the berry you will want to build a dessert around or feature in a salad: it's choice and very, very delicious. This spreading plant reaches 8 to 12 inches high and spreads by runners up to 18 inches wide. Grow it just as you would any everbearing strawberry, and if you can, plant a red strawberry variety near it. The cross-pollination won't hurt Pineberry's flavor one bit, and it will improve the yields of both plants! (But if you can't do this, don't worry. Pineberry is self-pollinating.) You will love this new take on a beloved heirloom! Zones 5 to 8.