Fragaria vesca ‘Multiplex'

Double-flowered Wild Strawberry Rosaceae

A strawberry that has clearly decided that fruit production is not everything. Fragaria vesca ‘Multiplex’ is the double-flowered form of the Woodland Strawberry, producing charming rosettes of bright green, trifoliate foliage and masses of unusually full, white flowers in spring. The flowers are packed with petaloid stamens, giving them the appearance of miniature white roses rather than conventional strawberry blooms. Naturally, all this floral extravagance comes at a price: fruit production is reduced and the berries tend to be smaller.

This is an exceptionally old form. Antoine Nicolas Duchesne described Fragaria sylvestris var. multiplex in 1766, making ‘Multiplex’ a genuine piece of eighteenth-century strawberry history. The modern combination Fragaria vesca f. vesca ‘Multiplex’ was published by Staudt in 1962. Kew, however, currently places the historical var. multiplex within F. vesca subsp. vesca, while the RHS accepts ‘Multiplex’ as a cultivar name. 

The plant makes an excellent edible ornamental groundcover, spreading by runners and forming a low carpet in sun or partial shade. The occasional small strawberry is a bonus rather than the main event.

Height: 10–15cm
Spread: 30–60cm
Flowering: April–June
Hardiness: H6 (-20 to -15°C)
Best conditions: Full sun to partial shade; fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil with reasonable moisture.

Synonyms include Fragaria vesca ‘Flore Pleno’ and ‘Bowles’s Double’. 

An eighteenth-century strawberry curiosity: less fruit, considerably more frills.