Waldsteinia fragarioides

Waldsteinia fragarioides: All Strawberry Looks, Zero Berries

Barren strawberry looks exactly like a strawberry plant and then delivers zero strawberries. Glossy three-part leaves, bright yellow flowers and absolutely no fruit. THE ULTIMATE TEASE.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Waldsteinia fragarioides (syn. Geum fragarioides)
• Common Name: Barren Strawberry, Appalachian Barren Strawberry
• Height: 10–15 cm (4–6 in)
• Spread: 30–40 cm (12–16 in), slowly forming colonies
• Flowers: Bright yellow, five-petalled, in small clusters just above the leaves
• Bloom Time: Spring (May to June)
• Foliage: Glossy green, three-part leaves, usually evergreen, turning purplish red in winter
• Features: Semi-evergreen groundcover

Where to Plant: Use it as a groundcover in a woodland garden, under trees and shrubs, along a shady path or on a slope. It's a tidy choice for covering ground in a partly shady spot.

Companion Plants: Use barren strawberry as a native ground cover in a moist, shady woodland bed with spring and fall wildflowers. Mertensia virginica opens nodding blue bells at 30 to 60 cm in April and May. Stylophorum diphyllum adds yellow wood poppies at 30 to 45 cm in May and June. Eurybia divaricata brings small white wood asters at 30 to 75 cm from August to October. Carex grayi adds glossy blades at 60 to 90 cm with spiky seed heads.

Plant Care: Plant in part shade, ideally with protection from hot afternoon sun. It prefers moist, well-drained soil rich in organic matter, and handles clay or rocky ground. Water regularly in its first season and during hot, dry spells. It spreads slowly by shallow rhizomes, without runners, so it stays manageable. No cutting back is needed. Just tidy any winter-damaged leaves in spring. Divide clumps in spring or early fall to cover more ground.

History: Waldsteinia fragarioides is native from Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec and Maine south through the Appalachian Mountains, where it grows on rocky woodland slopes, ledges and stream banks. The genus honours Count Franz de Paula Adam von Waldstein, an Austrian naturalist, and "fragarioides" means "like a strawberry."

Final Thoughts: It covers shady ground in a low, mostly evergreen mat, and small native bees love the flowers. NO SQUIRRELS FIGHTING OVER THIS PATCH.