u/BadLighting

I've grown strawberries fir years with good success but I've never grown from seeds, only barefoot (plus a few potted plants). I start most of my flowers, herbs and veggies from seeds though. There are some (Japanese, Ukranian) varieties I'd like to try that aren't available as plants, so I'm considering trying seeds.

For those who've raised strawberries from seeds, do they come true to their variety? Are the seed sellers legit? If started in spring and coddled, can they produce berries the next year?

C. Japonica grows really well where I am. I recently added some sinensis plants with varieties selected for cold tolerance since I'm in Zone 8b. They seem slow to take off, or maybe I just need them to wake up for spring still. I'm basically treating them like I treat my japonica but maybe that's a mistake. I'd love some tips on helping Tea plants thrive especially what I need to do different from my flowering camelias.