Wintergreen Teaberry ‘Berry Cascade’
Teaberry Plants (Gaultheria procumbens) are a small groundcover shrub native to eastern North America. They’ve been found as far north as Newfoundland, Canada, and as far south as the state of Alabama. It’s a favorite plant for holiday decoration because it keeps its vibrant red berries and its green leaves all throughout the winter!
Its berries are edible, but we don’t recommend eating them in large quantities because of the wintergreen oil that is produced. The flavor of the teaberries and the scent of the wintergreen oil is very similar to peppermint or spearmint, even though it is not a part of the mint family.
The cultivar ‘Berry Cascade’ earns its name because of the way the berries grow all along the branches, creating a magical cascading effect that is perfect for holiday decor. Winterberry plants can withstand more shade than most – many people pot them and bring them inside for a festive pop of indoor color in a cool spot with partial, indirect light.
In the spring, teaberry plants produce tiny, white, bell-shaped flowers, which make way for the edible minty berries in late summer. They spread more often through duplication via the rhizomes in their root system, rather than through seed dispersal.
Wintergreen teaberries are a favorite of deer, chipmunks, squirrels, and other woodland creatures native to North America. If you plan to plant them as a low garden border, we recommend taking precautions to prevent deer from trampling into your garden to get to them.
Gaultheria procumbens goes by many, many names – Eastern teaberry, Wintergreen, boxberry, Canada tea, hillberry, grouseberry, deerberry, groundberry, gingerberry, creeping wintergreen, star berry, and the list goes on…
