I have prolific strawberry plants I invested 10 years of my life into trying to get berries. They would flower in spring, and then the flower would sh...
Knowledgebase
Fruitless Strawberry Plant- Invasive #939389
Asked July 15, 2026, 2:37 PM EDT
I have prolific strawberry plants I invested 10 years of my life into trying to get berries. They would flower in spring, and then the flower would shrivel into nothing as they sent out loads of runners. I have never grown an actual berry from this plant.
I do not remember where I got them from, but I have not been able to identify them and I believe them invasive and a nuisance and see it as a weed.
They can grow very tall and bushy, much like other producing strawberries, and their flower is white. They spread aggressively and are hard to manage once they do.
I have spoken to many people and expert master gardeners who have all given me the same advice confident I missed something- however I have moved them all over my property in various types of soils with various feeding standards, even along side other varieties of producing strawberries and have never produced a strawberry from them, although the others have.
I would really like to send in a few to be identified as I have not been able to find any information on this particular strawberry anywhere, and I view this plant as an imposter.
Washington CountyOregon
Expert Response
I have heard of a “sterile strawberry” and looking it up, your flowers match. The petals don’t overlap, and fruit never develops. Check out Potentilla sterilis, commonly called strawberryleaf cinquefoil or barren strawberry. If you’re not sure of the ID, I suggest pressing a leaf (all 3 leaflets) long enough to lay them flat and then taking a photo to submit. The identification traits include the length of the leaflets, which are hard to see in your photos. Also, when does it begin flowering? Most references say this Potentilla flowers much earlier than true strawberries.