Question
Vine
I have a trailing ground vine that has started to grow by the bushes in front of my house.It is three leaved with round kind of spiky berries. It looks very pretty, but I wonder if it is either dangerous or invasive. I am attaching photos. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
AnswerHi Pete -
You have what is commonly called "Wild Strawberry" (Fragaria virginiana) and it is, indeed, "vigorous." Okay, it's invasive. But it's not as bad as, say, porcelainberry vine or Mile-a-Minute weed. Wild Strawberry (which doesn't taste good, by the way) is a perennial that spreads by "stolons." Runners will literally crawl across the lawn or through a flower bed and put down their own roots and, voila, you have another clump of this stuff. The good news is that it's easy to pull out - just make darn sure you follow the runners and pull out the siblings, too. One good way to control the spread is to make sure that desired plantings are dense enough to prevent the Wild Strawberry from spreading or getting too much sunlight. Herbicides work fine on this stuff, but vigilant pulling over the course of a season or two should take care of the problem. Ignoring it for more than a few seasons will mean it really takes hold, so get as much of it pulled out as possible before it dies back during the cold. Good luck! - Oh, and thanks for the photo. I wish everyone would follow your lead and include them; it's really helpful.
