Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

Wild strawberries have sweet fruits that are said to be one of the tastiest wild berries,* and profuse spring flowers! Easy to grow and an excellent fast-growing groundcover/green mulch, but does not fruit as reliably as cultivated varieties, and may not fruit at all in dry weather or in nutrient-poor soil. Two individuals are required for fruiting! Value to wildlife is high. Spreads with stolons that root to form new plants. Often goes dormant through the hot summer months, and puts on growth in the spring and fall.

Not to be mistaken with mock-strawberry, which is a common lawn weed and is neither native nor a true strawberry! Mock strawberry has yellow flowers, bland tasting fruits with no visible seeds, and smaller leaves. Wild strawberry has white flowers, sweet fruits with seeds visible on their surface, and larger leaves. If you didnt intentionally plant wild strawberry, then you probably have mock-strawberry!

Light: Full Sun, Part Sun/Shade

Soil Moisture: Wet Mesic, Mesic, Dry Mesic

Soil Type: Loam, Clay Loam

Height: 4-7

Bloom Color: White

Bloom Time: Apr-May

Root Type: Fibrous

Notable Wildlife Interactions: Flowers attract bees, flies, small butterflies, and skippers. Hosts the grizzled skipper, moths such as the strawberry crown borer and strawberry leafroller moth, and some smaller insects. Fruits feed a wide variety of animals including songbirds, gamebirds, large and small mammals, and turtles. Grouse and rabbit are known to feed on the foliage.

*One of the parent species of the cultivated strawberry, which is a hybrid of wild strawberry and costal strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis).