Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
Also called Checkerberry, Partridge berry and Gaultheria
Garden plant · ShrubsSold everywhere at Christmas in a tiny pot and thrown away in January, which is a waste — it is a hardy evergreen ground cover that will spread quietly under rhododendrons for years. It must have acid soil.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 4 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Part shade
- Feed
- Every 60 days
- Humidity
- Average to high
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a very cold winter RHS H6, to -20°C
- Size
- 0.2 m tall · 0.5 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- Eastern North America
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither the ASPCA catalogue nor the RHS harmful A–Z names Gaultheria, and both were checked on the genus as well as the species. That is an absence and not a clean bill — and this plant is sold at Christmas covered in berries, in households with children and animals in them.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Nothing is wrong with it. The berries drop, the pot looks dull, and out it goes — it is a hardy perennial ground cover, and planted out in acid soil under a shrub it will still be there in ten years.Thrown away in January · disorder
- Yellow new leaves with green veins, on a plant put into ordinary garden soil or watered from a hard tap.Lime-induced chlorosis · disorder