This perennial evergreen makes a colorful groundcover around shade-loving shrubs for a low-maintenance garden.
Wintergreen overflows with interest year-round.
The attractive leaves are paired with white flowers in summer and bright red berries and reddish-bronze foliage in fall.
Wintergreen spreads slowly and moderately by underground rhizomes to form a dense mat.
Wintergreen is also popular as a potted holiday gift plant.
In its native environment, wintergreen thrives in cool, damp woodland parameters, especially under evergreen trees.
Plant wintergreen in groups or drifts rather than as a specimen so it forms dense mats.
How and When to Plant Wintergreen
Plant wintergreen in the spring or fall.
Dig a hole about twice the diameter of the nursery pot and about the same depth.
Place the plant in the hole and fill in original soil to the top of the root ball.
Gently tamp down the soil and water it well.
Keep it well-watered for the first growing season to allow the plant to establish a strong root system.
Space plants 10 to 14 inches apart, or more depending on the spreading habit of the variety.
Wintergreen Care Tips
As is the case with many native plants, wintergreen is low-maintenance and care-free.
Light
Plant wintergreen in partial or dappled shade.
It will grow in full shade but flowering will be reduced.
Wintergreen thrives in sandy, loose soil.
The plant only needs regular watering during the first growing season until it is established.
After that, only water it in prolonged periods of drought.
Blanketing the ground around the plants with a 2-inch-thick layer ofshredded bark mulchslows down soil moisture loss.
It is not suitable to be grown in hot, arid climates.
Fertilizer
Wintergreen does not require the program of a commercial fertilizer.
Instead, scatter a layer of decaying leaves around the base of the plants.
Just like in its native habitat, the organic matter supplies wintergreen with nutrients over time.
This pop in of cleanup is best done in the early spring before the new growth starts.
Potting and Repotting Wintergreen
Especially during the holiday season, youll find potted wintergreen for sale.
During the winter, the plant should be kept outdoors, not indoors.
In the spring, dig it out and transplant it to the landscape.
Remember that potted plants need more frequent watering than plants in the landscape, especially during the summer.
Pests and Problems
Wintergreen Is not susceptible to serious pests or diseases.
Potential diseases of wintergreen are powdery mildew and leaf spot.
Overwatering or poor drainage can cause root rot.
Dig it up with all its roots.
When new growth appears, the stem has rooted.
Delay transplanting it in the landscape and give the plant a few more weeks to grow stronger.
The plant grows 10 inches tall and spreads up to 3 feet, much wider than the species.
The plant grows 12 inches high.
The plant only grows 4 to 6 inches tall and spreads up to 3 feet.
The plant creates a backdrop for other plants and spreads to quickly fill a garden space.
Grape hollies provide many different colors throughout the growing season.
It grows 10 feet tall and wide.
The berries of wintergreen as best left for wildlife.
The chemical compounds that are responsible for the mint flavor are also different.
In mint, those are menthol and eucalyptol and in wintergreen, it’s methyl salicylate.
