Q.Are Wild Strawberries A Good Groundcover?
This year I am experimenting with native ground covers in my flower garden, giving free range to clover and violets. So far I am pleased; doing much less weeding. I’m on the fence about the wild strawberries that pop up. If I let them range, will I be sorry?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
That actually looks like what is known as the mock strawberry (Potentilla indica). The upright flowers and berries differ from those of the hanging wild strawberry. The blooms will be yellow instead of white, as well. They are edible, though don't have much of a taste at all. Wild strawberries already get invasive given the right conditions, but these will spread a little more rapidly. They aren't as nutritious as wild strawberries, and beneficial garden friends usually avoid pollinating them, in favor of the white flowers of a strawberry.
If this does have white flowers, and I'm misidentifying it, then feel free to keep it. Otherwise, I'd try to get rid of them in trade for actual wild strawberries.
