Woodland strawberry
Fragaria vesca · Rosaceae
Small white flowers and tiny, intensely flavoured red fruits appear together all summer over neat, three-part leaves.
- Size
- 8 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early May to late August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around woodland strawberry
The planner designed this bed around woodland strawberry when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why woodland strawberry stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Woodland strawberry × 15, white
- 2 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 8, red
- 3 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Chives × 8, purple
- 7 Surprise lily × 7, pink
- 8 Spring starflower × 10, blue
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are airy sprays, daisies, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for chives. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 15 plants in 4 groups (5, 4, 3 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
- Beside chives. A recognised partner: the planner puts such plants together where it can.
Why now
- In flower for 16 weeks. From early May to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With coral bells 'Firefly' and chives in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 8 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 53 to 47, left to right. Woodland strawberry repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 woodland strawberry goes in a border
At 8 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
An edible edging and groundcover that takes part shade. The alpine forms make tidy clumps without runners; the wild form runs and knits into a carpet under shrubs.
- Edible groundcover and edging
- Under shrubs and fruit trees
- Kitchen gardens
What to plant with woodland strawberry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Chives: in flower together for five weeks, from mid May; tall enough (14 in) to stand behind it.
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for six weeks, from late May; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it.
- Sweet violet: flowers first, late March to early May, so the spot is never empty.
Questions about woodland strawberry
Does woodland strawberry need sun or shade?
Woodland strawberry grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does woodland strawberry grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does woodland strawberry flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late August. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid May to late August |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late August |
| Zone 6 | Early May to late August |
| Zone 7 | Late April to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Mid April to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Mid April to early August |
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 woodland strawberry be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 in (20 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many woodland strawberry plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 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 15 in four groups.
Is woodland strawberry poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Will woodland strawberry spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. The wild form spreads by runners that root as they go. Pull them where they are not wanted.
What flowers after woodland strawberry?
Woodland strawberry is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall.
What does woodland strawberry look like in winter?
Woodland 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.
More Fragaria
- Strawberry 'Lipstick' Fragaria 'Lipstick'
- Wild strawberry Fragaria virginiana
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 8 in (20 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to late August; open bowls; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Rosaceae
Checked against 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.