If you’ve noticed small, red, strawberry-like berries spreading in your yard or garden, you may have found yourself with a mock strawberry infestation. Mock strawberries, also known as Indian strawberries or false strawberries, are a common and persistent weed that can quickly take over. While edible, mock strawberries don’t have the sweet flavor of real strawberries – instead, they tend to be bland or tasteless. If you’re wondering how mock strawberries found their way into your yard and what to do about them, read on.
What are Mock Strawberries?
Mock strawberries, or Indian strawberries, are a flowering plant in the rose family (Rosaceae). The scientific name is Duchesnea indica. They are native to Asia but have naturalized in many other parts of the world. The plant forms a low, spreading mat of foliage and sends out runners that root at the nodes, allowing it to colonize areas quickly. Small yellow flowers bloom in early summer and produce red, strawberry-like fruits. These bright red pseudo-berries give the plant its common name, but true strawberries belong to the genus Fragaria.
While mock strawberry fruits resemble wild or alpine strawberries in appearance, they lack the same sweet, fruity flavor. The fruits are edible but taste bland or grassy. The plant spreads aggressively through runners and seeds and can form dense mats that invade lawns and gardens. While not noxious or toxic, mock strawberries don’t provide groundcover or erosion control like desirable lawn plants and aren’t productive like vegetable crops.
How Did They Get in My Yard?
Mock strawberries spread easily and show up in yards and gardens through a variety of methods:
- Seed dispersal – Mock strawberry seeds are spread by birds, small mammals, insects, mowers, foot traffic, and contaminated soil or mulch.
- Runners – New plants form from runners that root at the nodes, allowing mock strawberries to form colonies that expand outward in all directions from the parent plant.
- Lack of maintenance – Mock strawberries thrive in thin, patchy lawns or areas of bare soil. Lack of aeration, mowing, or proper lawn care can allow them to gain a foothold.
- Contaminated soil or compost – Bringing in landscape materials or compost containing mock strawberry seeds or plant parts can introduce the weed.
- Hitchhiking on transplants – Sharing tools, pots, or water sources with contaminated plants can allow mock strawberry to spread to new areas in a garden.
Identifying the most likely source of mock strawberries can help prevent future infestations. Careful inspection of new plant materials, avoiding seedy composts, and maintaining thick, healthy lawn areas are key prevention measures. But even a well-maintained landscape can experience an invasion through bird drop, wind dispersal, or other inadvertent causes.
How to Control and Remove Mock Strawberries
Several methods can help control and remove mock strawberries:
Manual Removal
Small patches can be effectively hand pulled, especially in early spring when the ground is moist and plants are easiest to uproot. However, removing an extensive infestation by hand weeding alone is challenging. The plants often break off, leaving the roots intact to resprout. And the mat of foliage hides creeping runners that spread the plants further.
To improve control, hoe or till areas first to expose runners and loosen the soil. Then thoroughly hand pull plants. Regular weeding and monitoring for new seedlings is needed to keep areas clear. All plant debris should be bagged and discarded to prevent re-sprouting.
Smothering
Covering mock strawberry with mulch or landscape fabric can smother the plants. But the material must completely block light for this method to work. Cutting plants back, moistening the soil, and overlaying 3-4 inches of mulch may provide control over time. For heavier infestations, overlapping layers of cardboard topped with mulch or a commercial landscape fabric can smother growth. Edging can help contain the spread of runners under the barriers. Hand removal may still be needed at edges of the covered areas.
Selective Herbicides
Post-emergent herbicides containing active ingredients like triclopyr, 2,4-D, MCPA, or dicamba provide selective control of broadleaf weeds like mock strawberries in lawns and certain landscape plants. Liquid concentrates or ready-to-use formulations can be applied as spot treatments or sprayed over larger areas. Always follow label directions carefully. While these herbicides won’t harm desired grasses, they can injure trees, shrubs, vegetables, flowers, and other broadleaf plants.
Non-Selective Herbicides
Non-selective, glyphosate-based herbicides kill all actively growing plants without distinction when applied to leaves and stems. They can be used to spot treat mock strawberry in areas free of desirable plants. Repeated applications are likely required for total control. Take care to avoid contact with wanted vegetation. Glyphosate products will also remain active in the soil for some period, so follow re-planting guidelines on the label.
Cultural Control
Improving the growing conditions for desirable lawn plants and gardens can help reduce mock strawberry infestations long-term:
- Aerate, de-thatch, and topdress lawns to encourage thick, vigorous grass growth.
- Follow proper mowing height, watering, and fertilization recommendations for the turf type.
- Promptly fill in bare or thinning areas in lawns, gardens, and landscaped areas.
- Use clean soil, mulch, and landscape materials to avoid contamination.
- Remove spent plants and fruits from vegetable and flower gardens to prevent spread.
A healthy landscape environment with fewer opportunities for weeds can help prevent future mock strawberry invasions.
Are Mock Strawberries Edible?
While mock strawberries aren’t poisonous, most people consider them not worth eating. The fruits lack much flavor when fully ripe, tasting grassy or slightly bitter. They don’t compare to the sweetness and flavors of garden strawberries. However, mock strawberry fruits can be used to add color, texture, mild flavor to recipes when fresh. They can also be dried or preserved.
Young leaves and ripe or under-ripe fruits can also be eaten fresh or cooked, adding some nutritional value. But the fruits may cause mild digestive upset in some individuals if eaten in quantity.
In general, while mock strawberry plant parts are edible, the fruits have limited palatability and culinary usefulness compared to true strawberries or other fruits. Most people consider them not worth the effort to harvest or utilize.
Key Takeaways on Mock Strawberries
- Mock strawberries are low-growing weeds that spread aggressively in lawns, gardens, and landscape beds.
- They reproduce by seeds, runners, and rhizomes to form dense colonies.
- Prevent spread by monitoring for new plants, cleaning tools and equipment, and avoiding contaminated soil or plant materials.
- Control methods include hand weeding, smothering with mulch or landscape fabric, selective herbicides, and improving lawn and garden care.
- While technically edible, mock strawberry fruits lack flavor and culinary value compared to true strawberries.
Understanding how mock strawberries invaded your yard and diligently implementing control and prevention measures can help rid your landscape of this persistent weed.
| Mock Strawberry Facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Other Common Names | Indian strawberry, false strawberry, sham strawberry |
| Scientific Name | Duchesnea indica |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose family) |
| Origins | Native to Asia, introduced and naturalized around the world |
| Growth Habit | Low, spreading by runners and rhizomes. Forms dense mats or patches. |
| Leaves | Alternate, compound with 3 leaflets. Resemble wild strawberry leaves. |
| Flowers | 5-petaled, yellow with 5 sepals. |
| Fruit | Red, looks like strawberry but lacks flavor and aroma. |
| Propagation | Seed, runners, rhizomes |
| Hardiness | Perennial, cold hardy and persistent |
| Light | Full sun to part shade |
| Soil | Adaptable, average to poor fertility |
| Habitat | Yards, gardens, bare soil, sparse lawns, landscape beds |
Conclusion
While mock strawberries may seem innocent at first glance, allowing them to spread unchecked can quickly lead to a stubborn weed problem. Their ability to colonize rapidly by seed and runner makes eradication difficult. Integrating several control methods – including improving lawn and garden care to prevent bare spots – provides the best chance of ridding your yard of mock strawberries long term. With persistence and diligence, you can reclaim your landscape and enjoy fruits and vegetables again free from the takeover of mock strawberries.