Arbutus unedo strawberry tree

The leaves of the strawberry tree are evergreen, narrowly oval to obovate, 6–10 cm long, leathery, stiff, and with serrated margins that are more pronounced toward the tip. They are bright green and glossy and very handsome. The twigs are slightly orange, reddish when young, and as the bark ages it turns a deep reddish-brown with dark garnet-red wrinkles. Over time it begins to crack and peel off in small, rather linear flakes.

The small flowers clearly reveal their membership in the heath family, like blueberries. They are grouped in short clusters and appear from autumn through spring. They are lily-of-the-valley–shaped, creamy white, and ripen into edible fruits – about 2 cm wide spheres that are initially light green, then yellowish, and finally strawberry red when ripe, which gave the tree its common name. They contain up to 20% sugar, but their raw flavour is not very pronounced, so they are mainly used for jams, liqueurs, and further processing. Because they ripen very slowly and are produced in abundance, it often happens that unharvested fruits overripe and spontaneously ferment in the sun without spoiling. As a result, southern drivers must be cautious when consuming them, as they already contain alcohol. In nature, some animals deliberately seek them out for this reason, much as birds in our region “get drunk” on fermented rowan berries. In the Mediterranean, strawberry trees ripen from autumn to late winter. If autumn flowers are damaged by frost in our climate, the plant produces a replacement set of flowers in spring, and if the summer is sufficiently hot and sunny, it may (or may not) bear fruit in autumn.

The strawberry tree grows densely into a spherical to dome-shaped habit with ascending branches. In spring, after frosts, pruning can encourage denser branching. It is often shaped and sheared in midsummer. Multi-stemmed forms look particularly beautiful, where several strong, upright branches are retained as the framework, the others removed, and a mushroom-shaped crown is formed by summer pruning. This highlights its beautiful reddish-brown branches. In the Mediterranean it can grow into a tree up to eight meters tall and wide; in our conditions, roughly half that size.

It requires good, fertile, and excellently drained soil, especially to prevent root rot in winter. However, it can cope with clay subsoil at greater depth. After planting, keep the soil evenly moist for a couple of months, but once established, reduce or completely stop watering – it is accustomed to surviving the entire summer on natural rainfall alone. Grow it in full sun or light partial shade, preferably in a sheltered location. When planting, use soil fungi, and here is one peculiarity: although it is a heathland shrub, it does not require ericoid mycorrhiza and functions very well with universal arbuscular mycorrhiza (Symbivit, Tric). It is recommended to plant stronger specimens with mature wood so that young twigs are not damaged during the first winter. So far, we have not been able to test it in the most severe frosts; to date it has withstood −17 °C here, but North American growers plant it in zone 6, with winter temperatures dropping to as low as −23 °C (USDA zone 6). It does not suffer from diseases, and among pests it may occasionally be sampled by vine weevils, but they do not find it particularly palatable.

Last update 22-02-2024; 26-01-2026