The Strawberry Tree is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe north to western France and Ireland. The Strawberry Tree grows to 8-18' tall, with a spread of 8-20 feet. The leaves are dark green and glossy with a serrated margin. The hermaphrodite flowers are white (rarely pale pink), bell-shaped, produced in panicles of 10-30 together in autumn. They are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a red aggregate drupe sometimes called arbutus-berry, with a rough surface. The fruit is edible, though many people find it bland and mealy. They mainly serve as food for birds but in some countries they are used to make jam and liqueurs. It is best planted in a sheltered position due to its late flowering habit. When grown as a tree rather than a multi-stemmed shrub, it is important to select one stem that becomes the main trunk, keeping any other basal sprouts pruned off. It prefers well-drained soil and only moderate amounts of water. The Strawberry Tree is naturally adapted to dry summers, though also growing well in the cool, wet summers of western Ireland. It is therefore useful for planting in areas with a dry-summer climate, and has become a very popular garden specimen in California and the rest of the west coast of North America.
Zones 7-11Light requirement: full sun, partial sun or partial shade
Soil tolerances: clay; sand; loam; acidic; alkaline; well-drained
Drought tolerance: moderate
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