Wild Strawberry is a cover crop — grown to build and protect the soil rather than for a harvest of its own. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 9 and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees.
Wild Strawberry — the short answer
Wild Strawberry: grown in zones 3–9, full sun, pH 4.5–6.5, ~1 yr to first harvest.
- USDA zones
- 3–9
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 4.5–6.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- To First Harvest
- ~1 yr
- USDA-NRCS
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Wild Strawberry on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether wild strawberry actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score wild strawberry against your land's real conditions.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your full report in seconds
See Wild Strawberry
What Wild Strawberry is
Wild Strawberry grows as a perennial and reaches around 6 inches at maturity. It blooms in summer. It's also well suited to containers.
How to grow Wild Strawberry
Wild Strawberry grows in USDA zones 3 through 9. Wild Strawberry does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.5 to 6.5, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 180 frost-free days and about 400 hours of winter chill, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
3-9
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.5 - 6.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Minimum Growing Temperature
41°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
To First Harvest
~1 year
Wild / alpine strawberry; perennial; smaller fruits than F. × ananassa. ~1 yr from runner/division.
USDA-NRCS
Mature Height
0.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Chill Hours
400+
Winter hours below ~45°F it needs to fruit — too-mild winters can leave it bloom-shy.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
180+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant wild strawberry in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Wild Strawberry prefers pH 4.5 to 6.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Turn it in before it seeds
Cut wild strawberry down or turn it into the soil before it sets seed, while the growth is still green — that's when it returns the most to the ground.
Where Wild Strawberry thrives
Wild Strawberry is hardy across USDA zones 3 through 9. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–9 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 42 outright and splits 9 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–9·Where Wild Strawberry growsOpen map →
Where Wild Strawberry stands, state by state
Wild Strawberry is rated for zones 3–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 42 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 9 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–9
42 states
3 of 42 shown
The line runs through
9 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
3 of 9 shown
Wild Strawberry’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Wild Strawberry
Growing guides for wild strawberry
In rotation planning, wild strawberry counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in grass/groundcover
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — wild strawberry isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Wild Strawberry offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators.
Your land is one point inside Wild Strawberry's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Wild Strawberry will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether wild strawberry actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Wild Strawberry
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Wild Strawberry in my zone?
Wild Strawberry grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 9 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Wild Strawberry?
Wild Strawberry is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Wild Strawberry need?
Wild Strawberry needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Wild Strawberry need?
Wild Strawberry prefers soil pH 4.5 to 6.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Wild Strawberry attract pollinators?
Yes — wild strawberry's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees.
Is Wild Strawberry safe for pets?
Wild Strawberry is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)