Strawberry tree
Arbutus unedo
MediumClimax
Production
A handsome evergreen that fruits and flowers at the same time in autumn, feeding you and late pollinators together. Tolerates shade, wind and poor soil; slow but rewarding.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- Medium
- Lifecycle
- Climax
- Soil preference
- Rocky, Loam
- Soil pH range
- 5.5 – 8
- Min. temperature
- -15°C
- Min. rainfall
- 550 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- High
- Frost tolerance
- Medium
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Irrigation needed
- Low
How to manage it
Evergreen understory tree for fruit and late-autumn pollinator forage; tolerates part shade and resprouts from a lignotuber, so it handles light structural pruning well.
Watch out for
Unusually for a Ericaceae member it tolerates alkaline, calcareous soil - don't assume it needs acid ground. Fruit is edible but bland raw and can ferment on the tree, mildly intoxicating if eaten in quantity by birds or livestock.
Design your line to see how your land fits Strawberry tree.
Start designing your line →Related species