Eastern Teaberry

Size, growth and what to expect

It grows slowly, a few inches a year in our growth estimator. Its stems stand 3 to 8 inches tall, and a plant spreads 6 inches to a foot across. The glossy, leathery leaves are 1 to 2 inches long, and they turn purplish or reddish in cold weather.

Small, waxy white bells, sometimes tinged pink, nod beneath the leaves from June to August. The bright red berries, about a third of an inch across, ripen from September and often hang on through the winter. Grouse, pheasants, wild turkeys, chipmunks, foxes and black bears all eat teaberry, and the eastern chipmunk favors it.

It grows wild from Newfoundland and Manitoba south to Minnesota, Tennessee and Virginia, and in the mountains to Georgia and Alabama. Its home is acid woods of oak or pine, clearings, heath balds and the edges of bogs, usually on sandy or peaty soil.

How to grow Eastern Teaberry

Eastern teaberry grows in part shade or shade, and it flowers and fruits best in light shade or a small opening. It needs an acid soil rich in organic matter that stays evenly moist but drains, and it does not take lime. Established plants stand some dryness, and it does best where summers are cool. Set plants 2 feet apart, or a foot apart for a quicker carpet, and keep them 2 feet from a wall. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them in spring or fall, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch ring clear of the stems. Sow the fine seed on the surface of a damp, acid mix in fall or early winter, and do not cover it. For spring, hold the damp seed in the refrigerator for 30 to 75 days first. Seed left unchilled is slow to come up, and even chilled seed comes up sparsely.

Water it every day for the first two weeks after planting, then every two to three days until week 12. After that, water weekly through the first two summers, since its roots lie within an inch of the surface. Once it is settled, thin the branches that shade it heavily, since more light brings more flowers and berries.

Bumblebees work the flowers, and a single plant can set fruit with its own pollen. No serious pests or diseases trouble it, though aphids, thrips, mildew and leaf spot turn up at times. The berries are edible raw or cooked, but tea from the leaves is no longer recommended. Oil of wintergreen, once made from the leaves, is methyl salicylate, and as little as 4 milliliters of it may be fatal to a child.