Grows best in sun to shade and dry to moist soils. Wild strawberry is adaptable to most soil and light conditions. Grows up to 4" tall. Small white flowers with yellow centers bloom in spring with small, bright red fruits developing by early summer. Fruits are delightfully edible! Spreads easily by runners making it an excellent living mulch or lawn alternative. Deer generally aren’t interested in eating the plant.

“For many American Indian communities strawberries represent annual spring renewal. Some Algonquian-speaking tribes feel that strawberries are symbols of thanksgiving.” - Enrique Salmón, Iwígara: The Kinship of People and Plants

Pollinators enjoy nectar from the flowers while other wildlife enjoy eating the berries. It is a larval host to the Gray hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus).

I love wild strawberry because it makes the most amazing living mulch. Instead of spreading bark mulch around your garden to keep weeds down, just put in wild strawberry (mixing in other ground covers, like wild ginger, is even better) and let it spread. It provides shade to the surround plant roots, feeds pollinators and other wildlife, and keeps the weeds down. Plus, the berries make a lovely snack while working in the garden!