There are several plants with that common name. Is this one that you are referring to?

Here is a link that might be useful: Gaultheria procumbens

True wintergreen (the plant they get the flavoring from) is Gaultheria procumbens. It is an excellent groundcover for a woodland or shaded area. It does not produce stickers or thorns and grows slowly to form colonies. I would certainly not classify it as invasive. In my climate, it is fully evergreen and gets great winter color of bronzy-reddish foliage. Needs acidic, evenly moist soil.

I tried this a few times but I had trouble getting it established. I gave up because the only place I could find it was rather expensive. I wonder if now that I've found the GW forums and discovered many great nurseries, if I can find it at a more reasonable price. It really is a lovely little plant, and gardengal's right - the winter foliage is beautiful!

:)
Dee

Yes,the Gaultherua probcumbens is the variety I am interested in. My soil is rather acid here and I am anxious to give is a try. I have found several places to order plants. Thanks for your responces.

Dee, I planted some last year and was also unable to find it priced reasonably. The nurseries must look at more as a shrub than a perennial. Depending on how well it does, I plan to add more-evergreen, fall color and berries in the shade-it seems almost too good to be true :).

Sue

Hi, everyone, if some of you are still interested in to get Wintergreen, I will be happy to trading with you. Now little too late for transplanting them though. Send me e-mail and have a nice holiday!

Hi, after I posted a message I found out that mine is actually Partridge berry( Mitchella repens) and not true Winter green. But they look very similar and I believe Partridge berry is also good ground cover for the shade too.

I have also found wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) difficult to establish. It has not died but does not spread nor look happy. An evergreen ground cover for shade that does really well for me is barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides). It has shiny green leaves all year, pretty yellow flowers in spring, spreads nicely and is easy to transplant. Gnomlet

I have Gaultheria but I don't find that it colonizes. The plants remain small even though they seem happy. I think Gardengal's PNW environment might be better with their more consistent moisture. Here in the Midwest we have periods of dry weather that probably hold it back from spreading.

I have a Wintergreen patch near my lawn. For some strange reason it produced a bumper crop of berries, which are still attached. They are tasty but not nutritious.

Seems to like to grow next to boulders.

Do birds like to eat the berries?

This is a lovely little "ground cover". The truth is that even where it thrives, one would be hard pressed to call it a "ground cover". When is it happy, it forms nice lose colonies that can span a room sized area or more, but not continously. I've seen incredible mixed colonies of it with Cornus canadensis
and other ericaceous shrubs in the mountains of Maine and New Hampshire. Here it can form impressive colonies.

The other beauty part of this plant is its ability to withstand hot temperatures. I live in a climate that approximates Atlanta, GA temperatures, that is bloody hot in summer. Yet my little patch grows nicely and expands a bit each year. Still, if I wanted to see it cover the ground one day, I may have to look up since I'll probably be six feet under!

Still worth growing, and animals should like the fruits, though mealy in texture, they have the classic wintergreen taste. PF

Just to show you IÂm not kidding, I actually grow this species here in hot, humid Kyushu.

{{gwi:1252975}}

Too bad it didnÂt flower much this year! PF

Gosh, I wish I could find a spot in my yard where this would grow. It's supposed to be a native, but I've tried it three times in different locations and the last plant languished and now only has one little stalk. Same with partridge berry. I'm in Pgh., so have woodlands, acid soil, have lots of other natives that do well.

The densest carpets of wintergreen I've ever seen are in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Acres and acres of huckleberry, blueberry, trailing arbutus and wintergreen.
they tend to be thickest between young pines in thin fast draining soil.

Is this wintergreen? I live in northern Ct and it is mid June and there are small white flowers. This patch was here when I bought the house 25 years ago and although I have tried spreading it by transplanting, it really has not grown much. I’ve never tasted it. I should try,but it doesn’t have a strong scent that I have noticed.

This is a better close up.

I might revise my guess of white star creeper based on the better photo :-) But certainly not wintergreen.

Gaultheria procumbens:

I think I figured it out . Partridge berry.

Thanks for your help!

Glad you found an ID. This is not a plant I am very familiar with so it didn't come to mind :-)

Wintergreen gaultheria procumbens just showed up in the nursery...late November Central Texas! Anybody know how this little beauty covered with berries will do in an outdoor pot here?

Also I have heard they are evergreen...a little confused about ultimate height as well.

Holding my breath so hope to hear back soon!!..

Not sure how well this plant would fair in TX. It needs an acidic soil that stays evenly moist and with considerable shade. Slow to establish and spread even under ideal conditions and only gets about 6-8" tall.

Here, it is fully evergreen and makes a great winter container plant or a restrained groundcover in a shady, wooded area. But there is a big difference between central Texas and the PNW!!

So even where you live it needs shade? Not putting in the ground, and can acidify potting medium/rainwater for the duration. What temperature do you figure it will piffle out? Can it take the high 80's?

"So even where you live it needs shade? "

Yes. It is a shade plant wherever it is grown :-) And it can get into the 80's here in summer but never for an extended period and it also cools down significantly at night. We also have quite low summer humidity so have no firsthand knowledge as to how it reacts to high summer humidity locations.

You are describing our weather pattern in the fall..so sounds like it might work here now. No, not even considering summer use. I wanted to put it in now and will replant in the Springtime here. BTW...I'm officially looking for a summer home where you live!!!