California strawberry

Fragaria vesca

Description

California strawberry is a perennial herb that grows naturally in shaded and winter-moist habitats in coastal and forest environments across the state. It is an attractive ground cover with thin 3-lobed leaves. In the spring it produces small 5-petal white flowers, followed by numerous small edible strawberry-type fruit.

The California strawberry is well suited to understory conditions of the Western sycamore garden style palette. It grows best in loamy soils, with normal winter rainfall and periodic water during the summer. In warm Inland Empire gardens, it should be placed in shaded microclimate areas to keep the foliage from burning by the hot sun. Birds are attracted to its fruit.

Plant Type: Ground cover, Perennial
Foliage Character: Evergreen
Habit: Trailing, Spreading
Growth Rate: Moderate
Foliage Color: Bright green
Flower Color: White
Flower Season: Spring
Soil Adaptations: Clay, Loam
Exposure Adaptations: Moderate shade, Partial sun
Function: Small spaces, Wildlife value, Raised planters, Mass planting, Culinary use, Container plant, California native, Borders
Height: 2 in. – 8 in.
Width: 2 ft. – 6 ft.

The California strawberry is well adapted to partial shade garden areas throughout the Inland Empire where it can be sustained with normal winter rainfall and low amounts of summer water. The application of summer water will help it to maintain good foliage character. It should be noted there are several winter months marked by an asterisk (*) when rains can provide sufficient moisture and irrigation is not needed. The high and low range of moisture indicates it can grow with varying amounts of water depending upon exposure conditions and size.

Moderate Water Use Plants – Irrigation Schedule 3

	Jan*	Feb*	Mar*	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov*	Dec*
Runs per Month	0x to 3x	0x to 3x	0x to 3x	2x to 3x	1x to 2x	1x to 2x	1x to 2x	1x to 2x	1x to 2x	2x to 3x	0x to 3x	0x to 3x
Inches per Run	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″	1″

Inches per Month	0″ to 3″	0″ to 3″	0″ to 3″	2″ to 3″	1″ to 2″	1″ to 2″	1″ to 2″	1″ to 2″	1″ to 2″	2″ to 3″	0″ to 3″	0″ to 3″

Range of supplemental summer water: 9"-16"
Range of supplemental winter water: 0"-15"

0″-3″

2″-3″

1″-2″

2″-3″

0″-3″

Jan*

Feb*

Mar*

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov*

Dec*

For more information on how to use this Irrigation Schedule and Graph, follow this link.

For information how to calculate your irrigation system’s schedule and precipitation rate, please follow this link.

Naturally spreads by “runners” that move along the soil surface, then re-root at “nodes.” Once these nodes have rooted, they can be divided by being dug up and planted elsewhere in the garden, potted, or given away. November is usually a good time to do this (2). Strawberry runners are easy to dig out to prevent them from colonizing anywhere that is not desired, and are generally not considered “invasive” in the garden (S). References