Winter Fiesta™ Wintergreen

Gaultheria procumbens 'White Fiesta'

Unlike most Gaultheria cultivars, the berries of Winter Fiesta™ ripen while still white, turning pink as they mature. Berries can be made into tea, eaten raw, used to flavor simple syrup or make a refreshing ice cream. Leaves can be used for soothing teas. Both leaves and fruit taste like wintergreen lifesavers.

Self-fertile wintergreen ripens berries in waves, starting in late summer until late winter. They are a creeping native of the eastern United States and will spread outward 12 inches or more. Plant 12 inches apart, in partial or full shade. Needs a loose, acidic soil with high organic matter content. It grows to about 6 inches tall and makes a great edible evergreen groundcover. Hardy in USDA Zones 3-9.