Maintaining coastal strawberry groundcover - Ask Extension
My coastal strawberry has pretty much every foliar disease out there. Leaf spots, blight, and scorch, you name it. I tried removing sick leaves in the...
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Maintaining coastal strawberry groundcover #923381
Asked January 06, 2026, 3:42 PM EST
My coastal strawberry has pretty much every foliar disease out there. Leaf spots, blight, and scorch, you name it. I tried removing sick leaves in the summer but the infections have come back with a vengeance this winter. We have a drip system for irrigation but I didn't use it. Perhaps the drought stress weakened the plants. I applied a layer of wood chips in the fall hoping to protect the leaves from re-infection from soil splashes but it seems to have been ineffective. I am reluctant to use fungicides because the space is frequented by a variety of wildlife. Are there other cultural practices I can try? Is this a case of 'wrong plant; wrong place'? Is the situation hopeless and only remedied with replacement with another (resistant) groundcover?
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
Thank you for your question. There is little information about this plant in the PNW, and it is most common along the coastline to California. https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/fragaria-chiloensis
Without photos to identify the exact problems your plant has, we can't recommend measures to control or eliminate them, although removal of diseased, dead or dangerous plants is always appropriate. And we can't recommend another ground cover that is "resistant" without first determining what it needs to be resistant of. Perhaps you can send photos of the entire plant, as well as clear, close up photos of the leaves, so we can help determine what problem(s) it has. Thanks!
Without photos to identify the exact problems your plant has, we can't recommend measures to control or eliminate them, although removal of diseased, dead or dangerous plants is always appropriate. And we can't recommend another ground cover that is "resistant" without first determining what it needs to be resistant of. Perhaps you can send photos of the entire plant, as well as clear, close up photos of the leaves, so we can help determine what problem(s) it has. Thanks!
Oh! I appreciate your reply. Thank you. I attached some photos that I hope might be helpful.
Thank you for the photos. Here is a list of the 19 known diseases of strawberry varieties in our region: https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-and-disease-descriptions?title=strawberry
Without being able to view the spots under a microscope, I suspect that (as you referenced) the plant has the fungus leaf scorch (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/strawberry-fragaria-spp-leaf-scorch) and/or the fungus common leaf spot (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/strawberry-fragaria-spp-common-leaf-spot).
Assuming the issue is a fungus, removing leaves over the winter can reduce the fungal growth in the spring, but this must be supplemented with a fungicide. The fungicides available to homeowners are marked "H". Then you'd just need to see if these combinations will eliminate or reduce the spots in the spring. If those don't work, you might consider a replacement ground cover such as Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).
You also might want to consider sending plant samples to the OSU Plant Clinic (https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/plant-clinic/submit-sample/how-submit-plant-materials) for their diagnosis and recommendations. Good luck!
Without being able to view the spots under a microscope, I suspect that (as you referenced) the plant has the fungus leaf scorch (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/strawberry-fragaria-spp-leaf-scorch) and/or the fungus common leaf spot (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/strawberry-fragaria-spp-common-leaf-spot).
Assuming the issue is a fungus, removing leaves over the winter can reduce the fungal growth in the spring, but this must be supplemented with a fungicide. The fungicides available to homeowners are marked "H". Then you'd just need to see if these combinations will eliminate or reduce the spots in the spring. If those don't work, you might consider a replacement ground cover such as Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).
You also might want to consider sending plant samples to the OSU Plant Clinic (https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/plant-clinic/submit-sample/how-submit-plant-materials) for their diagnosis and recommendations. Good luck!
