Cinquefoil in a Strawberry Bedd - Ask Extension
Hello! I have a variety of what I believe to be 5-leaf Cinquefoil which has completely taken over a strawberry patch. In previous seasons the two have...
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Cinquefoil in a Strawberry Bedd #864714
Asked April 16, 2024, 10:20 AM EDT
Hello! I have a variety of what I believe to be 5-leaf Cinquefoil which has completely taken over a strawberry patch. In previous seasons the two have competed with one another and I did my best to weed, and the strawberries were so prolific that I assumed they would out-compete the cinquefoil. The strawberries have grown in size and quantity each season without concern. This season though, the cinquefoil has COMPLETELY taken over the patch and I see maybe 2-3 strawberry plants poking through.
I'm wondering what suggestions you have to help clean out the bed? The cinquefoil is so dense that I'm hesitant to have to get to the roots, because I'm going to end up hurting and killing strawberries in the process, although I am concerned that that is how they are spreading. Might there be herbicide options that won't harm the strawberries? I figure this is doubtful.
The bed is roughly 5ft by 5ft and would be a fair amount of labor to completely dig out roots for. Is this a losing battle? Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!
Mark
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Hi Mark,
Would you like to send us a photo so we can try to ID the weed? It could be Cinquefoil (native perennial in MD) or Indian Mock Strawberry. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do for either of them in terms of an herbicide. You will have to hand pull or do a bed renovation ( under the training and renovation tab). Many commercial and pick your own strawberry farmers use black plastic or landscape fabric in strawberry rows and punch holes to plant in to help with weeds. You can also use straw or another organic mulch in between the plants in a 3-4inch layer to keep weeds at bay.
Emily
Hi Emily,
Thanks for the info! Here are three pictures of the bed, with closeups. The leaves when fully grown get reaaaally tall. I recall them having yellow flowers, but they haven’t bloomed this year. I never recall seeing fruit on them, so I know it’s not wild strawberry.
Your thoughts are appreciated!
Mark
On Apr 16, 2024, at 1:32 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Hello Mark,
Thank you for the photos. We do not see any Cinquefoil or Mock Strawberry, but we do see what looks like Bishop's-weed (Aegopodium podagraria, also called Goutweed), which appears to be the vast majority of the weedy growth in that bed. That plant produces white flowers, not yellow, so any yellow blooms you may have seen previously are from a different weed (potentially Mock Strawberry, or maybe Woodsorrel because it's so common).
Aegopodium is invasive and hard to eradicate; it might take several attempts to get rid of it all. You will likely have to carefully extricate any strawberry plants (plus the lowbush blueberries?) you want to save, and then spray the bed with a systemic herbicide like glyphosate, or dig all weeds out by hand (though leftover root pieces will resprout, though you can spot-spray them when they reappear).
In our experience, Aegopodium prefers to grow in semi-shade and damp soil, whereas strawberries require full sun and excellent drainage to thrive, so it would be unusual to see them growing together in the same location unless the strawberries weren't in ideal conditions. Perhaps the strawberries are not able to establish more fully if they are not receiving enough light. (Full sun is 6-8 or more hours of direct sun daily in summer.)
Miri
Thank you for the photos. We do not see any Cinquefoil or Mock Strawberry, but we do see what looks like Bishop's-weed (Aegopodium podagraria, also called Goutweed), which appears to be the vast majority of the weedy growth in that bed. That plant produces white flowers, not yellow, so any yellow blooms you may have seen previously are from a different weed (potentially Mock Strawberry, or maybe Woodsorrel because it's so common).
Aegopodium is invasive and hard to eradicate; it might take several attempts to get rid of it all. You will likely have to carefully extricate any strawberry plants (plus the lowbush blueberries?) you want to save, and then spray the bed with a systemic herbicide like glyphosate, or dig all weeds out by hand (though leftover root pieces will resprout, though you can spot-spray them when they reappear).
In our experience, Aegopodium prefers to grow in semi-shade and damp soil, whereas strawberries require full sun and excellent drainage to thrive, so it would be unusual to see them growing together in the same location unless the strawberries weren't in ideal conditions. Perhaps the strawberries are not able to establish more fully if they are not receiving enough light. (Full sun is 6-8 or more hours of direct sun daily in summer.)
Miri
