Virginia Wild Strawberry
Fragaria virginiana
The ancestor of every commercial strawberry. April flowers feed early bees, June fruits are intensely sweet, and the low mat suppresses weeds.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Sweetest fruit in the garden, early bee forage, bird food, fall color, and a spreading groundcover -- one plant, five functions.
Virginia wild strawberry is the original, the ancestor of every commercial strawberry on the market. The small white spring flowers appear in April and May, visited by every early native bee coming out of winter. By June, tiny red fruits ripen, sweeter and more intensely flavored than anything you can buy. They disappear quickly: birds, chipmunks, and passing children rarely leave them on the plant for long. It spreads by runners in a controlled, graceful way, forming a dense low mat that suppresses weeds and covers ground efficiently. The trifoliate leaves turn red and orange in fall, giving it a second season of color. A practical groundcover, an early pollinator resource, and a wildlife food source in one very small, very easy plant.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown virginia wild strawberry propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 3–6 in · 12–18 in wide
- Bloom time
- April–May
- Bloom color
- White
- USDA zones
- 3–10
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native range
- Throughout North America from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida and California
Care notes for virginia wild strawberry.
Full to part sun in average to dry, well-drained soil. Spreads by runners. allow it to colonize naturally or trim runners to contain it. Minimal care needed beyond an occasional thinning of old crowns in early spring. Self-sufficient once established.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside virginia wild strawberry.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.