The Easy-To-Grow Ground Cover That Will Fill Your Shady Yard With Bright Flowers

Unless you're an expert gardener, you're not likely to use the words "strawberries" and "ground cover" in the same sentence. But indeed, barren strawberries (Waldsteinia fragarioides) are a surprisingly beautiful and easy-to-grow ground cover that's native to North America. They're a different species from the strawberries you'll find in the grocery store, but their glossy leaves and bright yellow flowers make them a delightful way to fill a shady area in your garden.

Hunker spoke exclusively with Scott Cohen, award-winning garden artisan and president of The Green Scene Landscaping & Swimming Pools. As the author of eight books on outdoor design and construction, Cohen often gets asked about low-maintenance ground covers. "One of my favorite answers," he says, "is barren strawberry, also known as ornamental strawberry. It's not a true strawberry you can harvest for fruit, but it does offer beautiful, strawberry-like leaves and bright yellow flowers — and it does so with very little fuss."

Barren strawberries are one of a number of ground covers that make a beautiful alternative to grass around trees. If you tried and failed to grow grass in a shady area, you're not alone. While there are a few grasses that thrive in less than a full day of sun, the most popular ones, like Kentucky bluegrass, require full sun, lots of water, regular mowing, and regular fertilizing. Unless you have those ideal conditions, think barren strawberries. Says Cohen: "If you have spots under trees or alongside shady paths where grass struggles to grow, barren strawberry is a smart solution."

In his exclusive interview with Hunker, Cohen gave excellent advice on converting your unsuccessful lawn into a barren strawberry patch. "If you're ready to ditch your lawn mower, start by removing existing turf." There are a number of methods of removing sod. "Manual hoe work is the quickest," says Cohen, "but on larger yards you may want to rent a sod cutter. Once the grass and thatch has been removed, roto-till or hand till the soil with amended urban forest mulch or garden compost." 

Barren strawberries do best in USDA hardiness zone 3 through 7, but the plants are not picky. Cohen says they will grow in partial shade to full shade, though they can handle filtered sunlight or morning sun too. They also will thrive in most kinds of soil, as long as it remains moist and well-draining during its first year. If you have clay soil, Cohen recommends adding perlite or vermiculite to help break up the soil and allow for deeper watering. Regular fertilization will help the plants fill in and fight off pests. Use slow-release fertilizers rather than quick-release ones. If you know how to compost, you already know it's one of the best ways to slowly release nutrients into your garden.

Among the many virtues of barren strawberries are their low maintenance requirements. Barren strawberries grow to 3 to 6 inches in height and naturally spread slowly but steadily through underground rhizomes, just below the surface, so fill-in is fairly quick. "One to two seasons will do the trick," says Cohen.

Until then, rather than resorting to commercial weed control products that will actually damage your strawberry plants, the best way to get rid of weeds is to get down on your hands and knees and do a bit of hand weeding. After that, however, you're done. "Once it's established," Cohen exclusively told Hunker, "barren strawberry forms a dense mat that naturally suppresses weeds." Barren strawberries also deter many pests and diseases that can plague other ground covers. Cohen recommends the old-fashioned method of pie tins with stale beer to attract and drown snails — a safer alternative to snail baits that contain poisons that are dangerous for pets. Cohen also told Hunker that after the first year, you can pare back the watering to a couple times a week if they don't receive regular rainfall.