Fragaria vesca Attila seeds - Alpine strawberry

The Attila alpine strawberry, known by its Latin name Fragaria vesca, is a variety with long runners, which can reach 1.5 m in length and elongated fruits slightly larger than the species. It forms a vigorous ground cover or a hanging plant covered with flowers and then fruits. In spring, it is adorned with small white flowers that turn into delicious wild strawberries, with an intense taste, from June to October. In rich and humus-bearing soil, in partial shade or under moderate sunlight, it forms a dense carpet and offers a bountiful harvest.

Very common in Europe, the woodland strawberry belongs to the Rosaceae family, just like many fruit trees (apple tree, pear tree, plum tree, loquat...) but also many ornamental plants, starting with roses, but also avens, ninebarks... The wild strawberry is found at the edge of woodland and hedges, where the leaf litter provides a suitable carpet for its establishment. The recognisable leaves are composed of three dark green, toothed leaflets. They are semi-evergreen if the climate is not too cold. Between April and June, and sometimes sporadically until September or October, the plants produce a profusion of delicate white flowers with 5 petals, and a yellow central cone. Under good conditions, these flowers develop into wild strawberries a few weeks later, a small red fruit that most people remember from childhood, with an incomparable, intense and fragrant flavour. Botanically speaking, strawberries are a pseudocarp: the seeds on the strawberry are the true fruits, with the red fleshy envelope being a means for the plant to facilitate their dispersion by animals!

Attila® is a cultivar distinguished by its very long runners, rapid and abundant growth, and rich harvest.

Fragaria vesca is a particularly robust plant. Very hardy (down to -25°C), it can thrive under shrubs and trees, although its production will be better in humus-bearing, rich and not too dry soil, in clear shade or non-scorching sunlight. It spreads by its thread-like runners, as well as by self seeding and makes an excellent ground cover for slightly neglected areas at the edge of undergrowth. The alpine strawberry remains easy to control, as the plants and runners have shallow roots and do not hinder neighbouring plants unless they are very small. After a few years, the clump forms a semi-evergreen, impenetrable carpet to weeds, which will also provide you with a delightful harvest.

It is an ideal plant for somewhat wild beds, where it will complement taller plants such as 'Florence' Masterwort Astrantia, 'Valentine' Bleeding Heart Dicentra, large ferns like Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina), or the grass Tufted Hair Grass Deschampsia, which tolerate shade well. The Attila variety is also ideal in planters and hanging baskets, where its stems hang down extensively.