Wild strawberry
Fragaria virginiana · Rosacea
A low, running carpet of toothed leaves that turn red in autumn, with white flowers in spring and small, sweet fruits in June.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around wild strawberry
The planner designed this bed around wild strawberry when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why wild strawberry stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wild strawberry × 11, white
- 2 Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' × 5, red
- 3 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 3, purple
- 4 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 5, purple
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Spring starflower × 12, blue
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- The only open bowls. The others are daisies, airy sprays and globes. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 6 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 70% of the edge.
- 11 plants in 3 runs (5, 4 and 2). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early May to early June.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 60% of the planted ground. Cool colours (purple and blue) with red as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. The longest in flower is blanket flower 'Arizona Sun': 17 weeks, from mid June to early October.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where wild strawberry goes in a border
At 6 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A native groundcover that fills the gaps between prairie plants and shrubs, as it does in the wild. More than seventy kinds of caterpillar feed on it.
- Native groundcover between taller plants
- Meadow and prairie planting
- Fruit for people and birds
What to plant with wild strawberry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Prairie smoke: in flower together for five weeks, from early May; tall enough (12 in) to stand behind it.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
- Golden Alexanders: in flower together for five weeks, from early May; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about wild strawberry
Does wild strawberry need sun or shade?
Wild strawberry grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does wild strawberry grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does wild strawberry flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to early June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 5 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Late April to early June |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to late May |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should wild strawberry be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 in (15 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many wild strawberry plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 11 in three groups.
Is wild strawberry poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat wild strawberry?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will wild strawberry spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads quickly by runners and will cover open ground. Easy to pull.
What flowers after wild strawberry?
Wild strawberry is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
What does wild strawberry look like in winter?
Wild strawberry holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is wild strawberry good for bees and butterflies?
Wild strawberry is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, beneficial insects and songbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Fragaria
- Strawberry 'Lipstick' Fragaria 'Lipstick'
- Woodland strawberry Fragaria vesca
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to early June; open bowls; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosacea
- Comes from
- East Canada to Northern and Eastern United States and Mexico
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, beneficial insects, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Drought, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.