PlantFiles: Ornamental Strawberry
Fragaria x ananassa 'Lipstick'

I bought 3 of these in fall of 2010 while living in zip 77388 (Spring TX suburb of Houston TX). Planted in my semi shaded raised flower bed where they produced beautiful flowers/foliage but few fruit. Was retiring to zip 75494 8 miles southeast of Winnsboro TX (northeast TX) late 2011 and was not going to leave these beauties behind (have not seen them again in the nurseries) so I prepared a planter with soil from my compost, transplanted to it and brought them with me in Feb 2012. They are still in the planter in my front yard flower bed, facing South with our afternoons topping mid 80's and are not only beautiful with foliage and flowers but are prolifically producing fruit. The fruit were odd shaped but now are long plump juicy sweet fruit! You would think someone sprinkled sugar on them! I will add as far as intense sun we haven't arrived at summer yet - extreme temps will make a difference I am sure but it is yet to be seen. The entire flower bed is planted where trees and shrubs begin shading in the late afternoon early evening (5 PM or so). We live half way up a hill that is facing true East with the flower bed running with the hill and then as I said before the front of the long up hill flower bed faces the true South. The plants did great in the semi shade in deep southeast TX and now even better in full sun in northeast TX. By the way, Winnsboro is a little better than halfway between Dallas and Texarkana TX between I 20 and I 30, being closer to I 20. Another reference would be 40 miles due north of Tyler Texas. I have a prolific bearing Wild Strawberry that has large delicious fruit but I prefer the sweet taste of the Lipstick.

In Zone 9-10, this plant blossoms all year long. It will produce more fruit if it is in a sunnier location and kept watered and fertilized. The fruit is red on the outside, whitish on the inside, and has a sweet perfumy flavor - I wish it produced more! Spreads eagerly.

This plant has been very hardy in a zone 4 rock garden. It is totally unprotected. I'm happy that I put it within rock crevices, as it could become uncontrollable if given free rein. The runners will extend 3 feet or more over the rocks, but fortunately it is easy to cut them off if you don't like where they are going. I have found it to bloom profusely for quite a long time. Haven't seen fruits yet, but it's early in the year. I also planted Pink Panda, and I think this one is more vigorous and better flowering.

love it! great for filling up & spilling over the strangest deck planters that are level with my deck. I am zone 6 even though we are a seattle suburb due to my altitude. it is hard to find something pretty much everblooming & evergreen that fills the funky planters & spreads to fill width. looks nice next to your "edible" strawberry pots. highly recommend for difficult filler areas where you need something low growing. pinching off the fruit is a great tip for keeping them blooming longer. thanks daves garden site & gardeners for the idea!

Can be invasive in frostfree area's, still it's easy to control and is very sensitive to herbicides.

i had not any encounters with diseases or pests, snails like it less then normal fragaria's and the foiliage is nice evergreen.
Grow it in a sheltered space if you live in zones lower then USDA 6.

Can grow in shade or partial shade but won't get any fruits; it needs alot of sun for fruit production, it is not a reliable fruit producer and the fruits are often small.
Hybridize it back to other fragaria's for better fruit production , and it can be crossed with alot of potentilla because it it one of it's parents.

Experiment with it !

Pros

Evergreen
Blooms from late april to early winter, blooms all year in frostfree area's
Spreading habit but it is controllable.
can grow little larger then the normal ''Lipstick''.
Can be crossed with other fragaria's
Can be crossed with alot of potentilla's
can be grown in light shade or shade
Not fussy about soil unlike other fragaria's, but grow best in fertile soil for fruit production.

Cons

Not reliable evergreen in colder zones - 6A 5A thus require a sheltered spot, Mulch heavily if sudden cold snaps appear the year after they are hardened enough.
Tiny fruits and often no fruits at all - this only happens when there are too many cold snaps especially in zones colder then 6 protect them in spring with mulch and in zone 8 or higher they can produce fruit every year.
Can be invasive in tropical or sub-tropical Enviroments.
Not very compact , more spreading like.
Often damaged and scraggy plants in garden centers , they often grow through eachother.

There are no cons for this species actually it's ornamental.

For fruit production :

if you live in zone 6 be sure to mulch them generously in winter and early spring, treat them like normal strawberry species and give them full sun.
cut leaders after the plant has propagated especially the plant that are in shade or half sun they produce less fruit if you keep the leader intact.
if they are grown in tight spaces they also wil carry more fruits.
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For quick spreading.

cut of the flowers and fruits , use the layering propagation method with at least one leader. do it with one plant if you have at least 2 specimen.
this is more for colder zones.
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for tight packs

lay the leaders in a U shape and cover them with a thin layer of sand or grit.
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other methods

they can actually climb certain objects if you divert the leader to that certain object.
if you got a wall with holes filled with sand or hanging baskets you can plant them as climbing plants.

it costs time
reasons why:

it's nice to see a evergreen wall of strawberry's especially when they carry fruits.
because they have a more open spreading habit you can still plant other climbing plants nearby.
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some will not come true from seeds, cross them with other fragaria or potentilla.

EDIT 29 AUGUST 2009

Some reverted back to another form and some look different, they are much more vigorious and seems to spread quickly. However they also have more flowers and carry more fruits.

Personally i don't believe they will do much damage in the native ecosystem of zone 7, 8 . they probably are a good addition for insects and other wildlife.

i rate this species invasive in Zone : 7ab, 8ab

I planted one clump in a northwest facing border of my zone 4 garden last year. This year, it has grown by runners to cover the ground over an area of 5'X5'. For me, the flowers are beautiful, and copious, with a hot pink color that is very tropical looking. It's true that there are not many berries, but I am growing it as an ornamental, and it has done excellently for me in that respect. I would recommend it to any gardener on a budget who would like to cover a good size area without spending alot of money. It's also something different to use as a ground cover.

'Lipstick' spreads fast, but only blooms for a short span of time, and the blooms aren't that obvious. I moved them from a prime spot and put them in a poorer spot that I didn't care if they took over. I've read that they may produce strawberries, but mine never have. For me a better ornamental strawberry would be one with big red berries on it! My information says that it is hardy in zones 5-9. Blooms mid May to early June in my garden.

This Fragaria was developed in 1966 by crossing the garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) with marsh cinquefoil (Potentilla palustris) which has red-purple flowers. What resulted is an excellent ground cover that produces less fruit, but large pinkish red blossoms throughout most of the summer until frost. To encourage blooms, remove fruit. It is also well adapted to containers, rock gardens, and patio baskets.