Shrub · Ericaceae
Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
Give it acidic soil and cool shade, and wintergreen knits together a glossy evergreen mat loaded with red berries.
Partial shade
Every 4–7 days
USDA 3–8
3–8 in · 8–20 cm
Overview
Wintergreen packs a lot of charm into a plant that barely clears the ground. This low creeping evergreen hails from the eastern North American woods, belongs to the heath family, and travels the forest floor on underground stems. Crush a glossy leaf and that unmistakable teaberry scent jumps out, and red berries cling on from fall clear through winter into spring. Look at its pile of folk names and you can tell people have delighted in it forever.
It shines as a shade groundcover under acid-loving shrubs, holding low at 3 to 8 inches (8 to 20 cm) tall. It weaves a tidy evergreen carpet across the cool, damp, acidic ground that stumps most plants. It grows slowly, sure, but watching a patch knit together over the seasons is half the fun.
Dial in the setting and it rewards you. Acidic soil, steady moisture, and honest shade keep it glossy and creeping outward, while hot sun and dry ground scorch the leaf edges. Get the spot right and it practically runs itself, cranking out berries year after year.
Care
The short version: part to full shade, cool soil kept evenly moist and acidic at pH 4.5 to 6.0, and heaps of organic matter. Mulch to keep the roots cool, feed only now and then, and enjoy the slow build, since this one takes its time.
Light
Wintergreen is a woodland plant, so aim it toward part to full shade. It will take a splash of morning sun, but hot afternoon sun scorches the leaves and drags the whole mat down. Deep shade genuinely suits it better than any bright, open spot.
Water
Keep the soil cool and evenly moist, watering every 4 to 7 days and stepping it up whenever things dry out. An established mat brushes off a short dry spell, but it browns fast in hot, dry, sunny ground. Lay down mulch and it holds that moisture beautifully.
Soil
This plant lives for acidic ground. Load it up with rich, humus-rich, well-drained woodland soil at a pH of 4.5 to 6.0, the very stuff rhododendrons and blueberries crave. Sweet or alkaline soil locks up iron and yellows the leaves in a hurry.
Temperature
Cold barely registers here. Wintergreen powers through down to -40°F (-40°C) and stays happy up to about 84°F (29°C). It truly hits its stride where summers stay cool, since a long heat wave taxes it more than any freeze.
Humidity
Skip the humidity math outdoors, since ordinary air does the job. What really fires it up is cool, moist soil and shade, that damp woodland feel, not dry, exposed air.
Feeding
Feeding is almost an afterthought. One light spring dose of an acidifying fertilizer for acid-loving plants covers it, and only when growth looks sluggish. Pour on more and you set it back rather than boost it.
Pruning
Pruning barely enters the picture. A light spring trim or shear to tidy the mat or clip out winter-damaged growth wraps it up, and plenty of years you can skip it entirely.
Repotting
Potted, it rarely begs for a bigger home. Bump it up only when you spot roots circling the container, growth stalling, or soil drying out way too fast between waterings.
Size & spacing
Each plant stays low, just 3 to 8 inches (8 to 20 cm) tall, and creeps 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) wide on its rhizomes. Want a full carpet sooner? Tuck the plants closer together.
When to plant
Evergreen through and through, wintergreen keeps the show going all year with almost no timing to track. Plant in spring or early fall, watch flowers pop from June to August, and then cheer on the red berries from September, many hanging tough through winter into the following spring.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: late winter after cold stratification of seed
- Plant: spring or early fall
- Harvest: flowers June to August; bright red berries September into winter and following spring
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Almost every wintergreen hiccup circles back to soil that has gone too sweet or a spot that runs too hot and dry. Read the leaves and you will catch it fast. Match your symptom below, then chase down the cause instead of the surface sign.
Yellow leaves with green veins on a slipping plant
Yellow leaves with green veins spell chlorosis, a shout that the soil has turned too sweet for an acid lover. Once pH pushes past 6.0, the roots lose their grip on iron, so the leaves fade between the veins. Drive the pH back into the 4.5 to 6.0 range with elemental sulfur or peat, mulch with pine needles, and cut out the lime and alkaline tap water.
Fix:
- Amend soil with elemental sulfur, peat, or acidifying products to lower pH into the 4.5 to 6.0 range
- Mulch with pine needles or composted leaf litter
- Avoid lime and alkaline tap water
Browned edges and wilting under the sun
Leaf scorch flares when a woodland plant catches too much sun or dry soil. The edges brown, the leaves wilt, and the mat sags through a heat spell. Shift it into part to full shade, keep the soil evenly moist, and mulch to keep the roots cool, and it bounces right back.
Fix:
- Relocate or establish in part to full shade
- Keep soil evenly moist and mulch to keep roots cool
- Water during dry spells
The mat is filling in slowly
A patch that widens at a crawl is just slow spread, the plant's nature and nothing to fix. Wintergreen creeps by rhizome, so even a thriving stand gains only a little ground a year. Feed it acidic, moist, shaded soil, set plants closer to close the gap faster, and let the rhizomes power on over a few seasons.
Fix:
- Be patient; allow rhizomes to creep over several seasons
- Provide ideal acidic, moist, humus-rich shade to encourage spread
- Space plants closer for faster coverage
The odd aphid, thrip, or spotted leaf
Here and there aphids and thrips land on new growth, and powdery mildew or leaf spot creep in where the air goes stagnant. On a healthy plant it barely rates. Blast off or treat small insect flare-ups, open the planting up for airflow, and keep water off the leaves.
Fix:
- Hose off or treat minor aphid and thrip infestations
- Improve air circulation and avoid overhead watering to reduce fungal disease
Toxicity
Here is the reassuring part: the garden plant is low-risk, and a ripe red berry or two delivers that beloved teaberry flavor. Save your caution for the concentrated oil of wintergreen, almost pure methyl salicylate that hits like a heavy aspirin overdose. Stash any essential oil or liniment well away from pets and children, and remember cats cope with salicylates the worst.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Caution
A nibble of leaf or berry usually amounts to nothing worse than a mildly upset stomach, but cats are the fragile ones here. They cannot break down salicylates the way other animals do, so even a little of the concentrated oil of wintergreen can spark vomiting, tremors, and organ failure. Keep the essential oil and any liniments well out of reach.
Dogs Caution
Chewing the plant or its berries rarely lands worse than a queasy stomach. The concentrated oil is the real threat, hitting like a heavy dose of aspirin and driving vomiting, gut ulcers, and kidney or liver strain.
Horses Caution
A little grazing on the leaves or berries stays low-risk and seldom does more than upset the gut. A horse is big enough to shrug off the plant itself, but the concentrated oil of wintergreen is a potent salicylate and should never reach one.
Rabbits Caution
Small amounts of foliage may pass with only mild digestive upset, yet the methyl salicylate in the leaves keeps wintergreen off the browse list. Steer rabbits toward their usual greens and keep any of the oil far away.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep can grab a casual mouthful without much harm, though the same salicylate runs through the plant. Heavier grazing, or any brush with the concentrated oil, is where the trouble starts.
Birds Caution
Wild birds feast on the ripe berries through winter with no apparent harm, and that drives a lot of the seed spread. Keep the concentrated oil off-limits, since salicylates hit small bodies hard.
People Caution
A few ripe red berries dish out that famous teaberry flavor and are fine to nibble. The warning rides on the concentrated oil of wintergreen, almost pure methyl salicylate, where even a small amount equals a large aspirin dose and is genuinely dangerous to swallow.
Keep the harmless garden plant separate in your mind from the concentrated oil of wintergreen. Store any essential oil, liniments, or wintergreen products well away from pets and children. Cats are especially vulnerable because they lack the liver enzyme needed to metabolize salicylates.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Only a handful of named forms make it to market, most bred for a bigger berry haul, plus a couple of close cousins that are a treat to know.
Very Berry
A selection growers reach for when they want unusually heavy crops of large, bright red berries.
Berri Magic
A combination planting that teams male and female-type plants in one pot for a dependable, bumper berry display.
Gaultheria shallon (salal)
A taller Pacific Northwest cousin, a broadleaf evergreen shrub that carries edible dark berries.
Gaultheria hispidula (creeping snowberry)
A tiny creeping relative with white berries and that same wintergreen flavor, its leaves far smaller than G. procumbens.
Companions
Wintergreen pairs naturally with the other acid-loving plants of the woodland garden, tucking in beneath shrubs that share its taste for cool, low-pH soil.
Plant near
Rhododendron: Both are acid-loving Ericaceae; wintergreen makes a low groundcover beneath rhododendrons in woodland shade.
Azalea: Shares the same acidic, moist, shaded woodland conditions as an underplanting.
Blueberry: Fellow acid-loving heath-family plant that thrives in the same low-pH soil.
Mountain laurel (Kalmia): Acid-loving shrub companion for shaded woodland and rock garden plantings.
How to propagate
The quickest win is to snag what the creeping mat has already rooted for you, and cuttings or seed are there for anyone itching to try more.
DivisionEasy
Spring or early fall · One growing season
Division is the fast track: dig up and split rooted sections of the creeping mat in spring or early fall. Drop the pieces into acidic, moist, shaded soil and they lock in over a single growing season.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · One season
Wintergreen layers itself for free, its creeping stems rooting wherever they touch down. From spring through summer, hunt out the rooted runners, snip them loose, and move them, with each one established inside a season.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer · Several weeks to months
Cuttings take a bit more hustle. Root semi-ripe stems in an acidic, moist mix under high humidity through summer, and give them several weeks to a few months to fire out roots of their own.
SeedDemanding
Sow after cold stratification
Seed is the long game for the truly patient. Cold-stratify it to snap dormancy, then brace for uneven germination and a slow start once the seedlings appear.
Myths
Wintergreen and its red berries are dangerously poisonous because they contain oil of wintergreen.
Not so fast. The garden plant is low-risk, and its ripe red berries are safe for people to nibble in small amounts, holding just a trace of methyl salicylate. The true danger is the concentrated essential oil, almost 99 percent methyl salicylate, which lands like a strong aspirin overdose and comes down hardest on cats. Never lump the harmless plant in with the concentrated oil.