Salal
Gaultheria shallon · Ericaceae
Leathery, rounded, evergreen leaves, sold worldwide as florists' greenery, with strings of pinkish-white bells and edible, dark purple berries.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around salal
The planner designed this bed around salal when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why salal stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Salal × 1, white
- 2 Woodland phlox 'Blue Moon' × 8, blue
- 3 Dwarf lady's mantle × 10, green
- 4 Bugbane 'Brunette' × 4, white
- 5 Astilbe 'Purple Candles' × 3, purple
- 6 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' × 5, white
- 7 Japanese forest grass × 3, green leaves
- 8 Hardy cyclamen × 7, pink
- 9 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
- 10 Snowdrop × 8, white
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are medium and fine. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does Japanese forest grass.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to bugbane 'Brunette' (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With woodland phlox 'Blue Moon' and dwarf lady's mantle in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 8 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, in late May. Low plants run along 99% of the front edge: woodland phlox 'Blue Moon' and dwarf lady's mantle.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where salal goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The understorey of Pacific Northwest forests, and the best evergreen groundcover for acid shade there. It is slow to start and then spreads steadily.
- Evergreen groundcover in acid shade
- Pacific Northwest native gardens
- Cut foliage
What to plant with salal
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Western sword fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; medium leaves against its bold ones.
- Deer fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Oregon grape: flowers first, early April to early May, so the spot is never empty.
Questions about salal
Does salal need sun or shade?
Salal grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does salal grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 8. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does salal flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 6 | Mid May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Early May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should salal be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many salal plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is salal poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat salal?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will salal spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by underground stems into dense thickets once settled. Give it room.
What flowers after salal?
Salal is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does salal look like in winter?
Salal keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is salal good for bees and butterflies?
Salal is visited by pollinators and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of brown elfin feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Gaultheria
- Wintergreen Gaultheria procumbens
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Host plants for the brown elfin
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; hanging bells; white, pink
- Leaves
- Bold texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Comes from
- Alaska to western U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Brown elfin
- Stands up to
- Deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.