Barren Strawberry, A Low-Maintenance Native Groundcover

Unfortunately, not all perennials make it through the winter. Walking around your yard in the spring, you are likely to find a few bare spots.

After taking inventory, the next step is to search for suitable replacement plants for the empty spots. Most home gardeners will want the bare spot to fill quickly, but on the other hand, no one wants a plant that spreads aggressively—especially one that turns out to be invasive and chokes out other plants, which some fast-growing groundcovers may do.

Native groundcovers are an excellent choice for these situations. Among them, barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) is a little-known native groundcover that fits the bill. Unlike real strawberries, the plant does not bear an edible sweet fruit, hence the common name of "barren." Barren strawberry only grows three to six inches tall and is a good choice for both sunny and partially shady locations such as woodland gardens. It grows relatively fast into a dense mat, and despite its delicate appearance, it can tolerate a wide variety of soil conditions as long as they're well drained.

With bright yellow flowers that cover the plants in mid-spring and its strawberry-like, dark green foliage that turns bronze in the winter, barren strawberry is attractive year-round. While seeds for barren strawberry are available, it is usually grown by vegetative propagation. You can typically find it at local nurseries, especially those specializing in native plants.

If barren strawberry likes its location, it will grow quickly and spread its rhizomes in all directions. Unlike regular strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), the rhizomes are just below the soil surface and not above ground. In a year or two, you should be able to propagate barren strawberry yourself by carefully dividing the rhizomes and replanting them in other locations in your yard that need a low-growing groundcover.