Strawberry plants are simple to grow and perform well in a location in which their naturally spreading habit is acceptable. Although strawberry plants typically produce small white flowers with yellow centres, some varieties have pink blooms, giving them decorative value along with their ability to supply sweet, home-grown strawberries.

Strawberry Plants

All strawberry cultivars derived from the wild plant (Fragaria virginiana), also referred to as Virginia strawberry. The native plant is small and contains small flowers borne in clusters, with each blossom with five white petals surrounding a central group of yellow stamens. Flowers are followed by small, red grapes with a natural sweetness. Hybridizers have crossed the wild plant with South American varieties along with other plants to generate many different strawberries which are grown both commercially and in home gardens. These magnets have bigger, more plentiful berries and a number of them have flowers with a blush pink to deep pink color.

Cinquefoil Crosses

Several strawberry cultivars with pink flowers would be the result of crosses with another plant known as a cinquefoil (Comarum sp.) . One of these varieties, known as “Pink Panda” (F. “Frel” Pink Panda), rises as a bushy, compact plant and also contains bright pink, yellow-centered blooms about 1 1/2 inches in diameter beginning in April. Another number, “Lipstick” (F. “Lipstick”), has flowers which are a deep rose-red color, also borne on compact plants. Both varieties produce edible berries, but those are fewer in number compared to conventional strawberry plants. “Lipstick” and “Pink Panda” are ideal to U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 3 through 9.

Day-Neutral Varieties

Two strawberry cultivars, known as “Roseberry” and “Rosalyne” (F. x ananassa), were created by Canadian hybridizers for their hardiness, fruit production and crimson to pink blooms. These plants are known as day-neutral since their flower production doesn’t depend on the period of daylight, as is true for many traditional kinds of strawberries. When the plants have been established, they blossom in mid-May and continue flowering through summer into autumn, making them particularly ornamental. In addition they have a spreading habit, producing offshoots called stolons which could root and produce new plants if not removed. Even though both varieties were created for cold-hardiness, they also do well in warmer places and are suitable for USDA zones 3 through 9.

Culture

Pink-flowered strawberry varieties are very similar to most strawberry plants in having fertile, well-drained soil and a website that gets full sun for at least most of the day. They blossom openly and removing berries promptly encourages continuing flowering in all varieties. The plants are somewhat vulnerable to a number of respiratory diseases, such as leaf spot, wilt, powdery mildew and blight, and they could attract insect pests such as aphids and mites. However, the number “Lipstick” is very resistant to these issues, which could also be controlled using anti-fungal or insecticidal sprays on plants grown for ornamental value and not fruit production.

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