White Carolina is a pineberry, a strawberry hybrid with pale pink to white fruit that tastes like pineapple. The berries have a soft, aromatic sweetness and bright red seeds that stand out against the pale skin.
It is a conversation piece in the garden and in containers. For the best harvest, plant one everbearing strawberry for every five White Carolina plants to help with pollination.
What it looks like
Small to medium, rounded-conical berries have pale white to blush pink skin dotted with contrasting red seeds. White, five-petaled flowers with golden yellow centers appear in spring. Leaves are medium green and divided into three rounded, toothed leaflets. The plants form low clumps about 6 to 8 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide and spread by runners. At harvest, the pale, red-speckled berries nestle under the green foliage.
Growing it with lavender
Pineberries enjoy full sun like lavender but want richer, more evenly moist soil, so grow them in a raised bed or kitchen garden rather than among the lavender.
Care
Plant in full sun in fertile, well-drained soil with the crown at soil level, and water regularly while fruit develops. Hardy in zones 4 to 8. Interplant with an everbearing strawberry (about one for every five plants) for better pollination and fruit set.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Fragaria × ananassa
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Flower color: White with yellow centers
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Foliage: Medium green
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Growth habit: Low clump with runners
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Mature size: 6–8 in tall × 12–18 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Mid-May
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Peak bloom: Late-May
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Bloom pattern: Single Flush
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Deer resistance: Susceptible
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Pollinator value: Good
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.