Common Name: waldsteinia
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Rosaceae
Native Range: Europe, Japan, China
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: April to June
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerates wide range of soils.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Waldsteinia ternata, commonly known as barren strawberry, is a compact plant grown primarily as a ground cover. Features strawberry-like, trifoliate leaves arranged in rosettes, 5-petaled, strawberry-like, yellow flowers and inedible fruit (berries). Typically grows 4-6" tall and spreads by stolons and rhizomes to form a thick carpet of foliage.
Genus name honors Count Franz Adam von Waldstein-Wartenberg (1759-1823), Austrian botanist and writer.
Specific epithet means in clusters of three for the trifoliate leaves.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Interesting ground cover. Also effective as an edger (spreads somewhat slowly and surface runners are short).