wild strawberry taking over

[Linda Grigsby]

I have large areas of the wild strawberry ground cover under several trees. I have two questions......is this "weed" an annual or perennial and what can I use to get rid of it without damaging the trees. Hand digging is not an acceptable option because it has spread to such large proportions. In the "old days" (before organic) I would spray it with a broadleaf weed killer which I don't want to do any longer. Can anyone help? Thanks.

[saccharum]

It's perennial. Probably pretty tough to remove, since it spreads by runners, and any bit left can sprout and spread.

I wouldn't know, because I can't imagine wanting to get rid of it! Such a lovely native groundcover.