Strawberry Toscana for Abundant Fruit and Flowers

If you have a love-hate relationship with growing small fruits, then you’re like me. Small fruits including strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are packed with nutrients and are natural space-savers when it comes to growing. And yet, I haven’t had the best luck growing them. My plantings have generally been enjoyed only by bunnies. But Strawberry Toscana, an ornamental and edible strawberry, is changing my mind about nurturing small fruiting plants. It’s easy to grow, can be planted in spots that garden creatures can’t reach, and offers flowers and fruits simultaneously and continuously in spring and summer… no end to the attractiveness of this plant.

The Backstory

Not many years ago, I purchased well-developed strawberry plants with immature fruits already showing. These were traditional strawberries, offering flowers followed by one large crop of fruit… what most people think of when they think of strawberries. These plants were to be my foolproof way of ensuring that a small bowl of sweet berries could hit the table each day, at least for a time. And the berries would be grown with my help. I pictured each of the tiny white berries—and there were many of them—soaking up the sun, taking on color, and plumping up. 

There was no way anything could go wrong. I dug my plants into fresh and well-draining soil. I set the plants where the sun would warm them for long stretches. And I was ready to nurture them, especially because I love to eat berries and wanted a very full crop. Then, one day when I got ready to water my maturing strawberries… all gone! ALL gone. Not a single berry remained on the plants. Rabbits had removed each and every fruit, not harming the green foliage of the plants but leaving nothing sweet and ready for my breakfast table. I knew that the season was over for these plants, save for an occasional new berry that might pop up as the weeks went on. But no new “crop” was expected. And this was the turning point in my relationship with small fruiting plants. I lost my crop. I lost my confidence. And I lost my desire to grow strawberries and other small fruits.

The Strawberry Toscana Story

Fast-forward a few years, and I am happy to say that these hard feelings changed with the help of Strawberry Toscana. From a distance, this plant looks like an ornamental beauty, all flowers. The flowers are a bold lipstick pink. They show nicely against a green backdrop of rounded and toothed foliage. But when you look closely, you’ll realize that many of the flowers are pure red and… well, they’re not flowers at all. No, instead, red strawberries, edible and as full of flavor as they are colorful, dot the plant. Both the blooms and the berries are so numerous, the plant is as colorful as many of the bright annuals you’d choose for a patio pot, and it stays that way from spring through summer. With two offerings—good looks by way of flowers, plus sweet berries—there’s a lot to love.

Like wild strawberry plants, Strawberry Toscana offers sweet, flavor-packed berries. While some similar plants may produce very petite berries, Strawberry Toscana has medium-sized, dark red fruit that is naturally sweet and intensely flavored.

Strawberry Toscana has me back in love with growing small edible fruits for the table. Because this plant is decorative enough to set on pedestals and plant up high, garden visitors such as rabbits will be unlikely to disturb it. (Put it in elevated patio pots, use it in raised beds, and even consider placing a few plants in a hanging basket.) If you’re still worried about losing fruit to animals and birds, rest assured that the multitudes of pink flowers serve as good camouflage for the fruits, throwing off those who might find the fruit within reach.

Care Requirements

Strawberry Toscana grows best in well-draining loamy soil. Its soil should be kept consistently moist, but be mindful of the fact that this plant will not want “wet feet”. And while it will do fine if overwintered indoors in a light-filled window, outdoors, it loves the sunniest, warmest spots possible—full sun for six hours a day, and more if it is available. It is everbearing, meaning from spring through summer, it will provide flowers and fruit. And the fruit is tasty as can be.

Yes, I’m back in love with growing berries. Having one or several sad garden experiences seems to help gardeners know when they come across something very special… something like Strawberry Toscana.