I've always seen them listed as hardy to zone 7, so I'm surprised you've had yours for 11 years. Where did you get it?

Alex

Native to mild maritime climates Arbutus unedo is burned by hard winters even here in USDA 8. Probably this strawberry tree is something else.

Chinese dogwood(cornus kousa) is called the strawberry tree, so maybe that's what it is.

I'd agree with Bboy, it can't really be a Strawberry-tree. Lkz5ia's suggestion of Chinese Dogwood sounds a good possibility, as that has white latex (though so do other dogwoods).

Resin

I bought it from Tyty nurseries. It's the Arbutus unedo. It would get burned off to the roots every year. Then starting about seven years ago we had three very mild winters and once the tree got large it didn't die back anymore. It has born fruit before but it never would ripen. I haven't gotten a ladder out to pick any but I plan to tomorrow. It's definatly not the dogwood tree. I could take some photos if anybody is really interested. - Jim

Photos would certainly be helpful!

Tyty have a dreadful reputation - most of the junk they sell is dead (you were very lucky to get a live plant!), but I'd not hold out much hope for correct labelling.

Resin

If it is Arbutus unedo (and I agree that would be pretty remarkable surviving in your climate), I wouldn't go to any bother attempting to harvest the fruit. It is pretty unpalatable. The species epithet unedo comes from the Latin unum edo or "I eat one", implying that the taste would encourage you to stop after just one :-) It is fermented and used as a liquor in some cultures however, and does have a high pectin level so could be used to make preserves. I'd probably add some other fruit to provide more taste.

I once ate ten of them at a sitting . . . they're not as bad as "unedo" might suggest!

Resin

>I once ate ten of them at a sitting

Those must have been fruits from Arbutus decedo.

I took some photos today and picked some fruit. I'll try to get some help posting the photos.
I ate one of the fruits. There was absolutly no flavor. Not sweet not sour or bitter just mushy pulp.
I've read a lot of bad reviews about Tyty Nursery. I was just looking for something different and seeing if I could stretch the limits on some things from the south.

I'm having a lot of trouble posting the photos. I will try again soon.

I did some research. The strawberry tree in question is a Cudrania tricuspidata also called a Silkworm Thorn and native to China. Hardy to zone 7 and apparently to 5b with milder winters.
Mine must be a male tree because it only produces a few fruit with no seeds. That's what one researcher said they'll do.
The fruit did have a little taste after sitting in a window sill for a few days but still pretty tasteless.

ah ok, I guess I have seen tyty list that one as a strawberry fruit tree. I bought 4 of them, 3 females, 1 male.. so I shall see how they work out in my climate. They survived the first winter fine. Is yours grafted on an osage orange rootstock?

To post photos, I just use a simple site like tinypic.com and upload it there, and copy and paste the html code over to here.

Wow western Iowa. That will really be pressing the limit of its range.
I don't believe mine is grafted to an osage orange rootstock because for the first several years when we still had cold winters it died back to the ground. Are yours grafted to a hedge apple? I can see how the leaves and stems are similar.
I need to get a female tree for my male. Where did you get yours?

Mine were grafted onto osage orange. I have to cut back the osage orange sprouts as the summer progressed. I bought mine from hidden springs nursery. If they die to the ground though, I'll be screwed. :(

AFAIK, male plants do not bear fruit. I suppose this also applies to Cudrania.

The information I looked up stated that the male trees can produce a few seedless fruit. Which is what it appears I have.

Here's some pictures of a male strawberry tree's fruit.

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