Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Salal
Gaultheria shallon
  
About Salal (Gaultheria shallon) 30 Nurseries Carry This Plant Gaultheria shallon is a leathery-leaved shrub in the heather family (Ericaceae), related to Manzanitas and Madrone. It is native to western North America as far north as Alaska. In California it is found primarily along the coast from Pt. Conception northwards. The foliage is dark green and attractive, sometimes used in commercial flower arrangements. The flowers are pink to white and urn-shaped, much like Manzanitas. The dark blue fruit is edible. Gaultheria shallon is very tolerant of both open sun and shady conditions. It occurs as a sprawling ground cover or a medium height shrub, depending on local growing conditions. It is a common coniferous forest understory species and may dominate large areas. In coastal areas it can form deep, nearly impenetrable thickets. It would be a nice addition to a woodland garden on the central or northern coast.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
1 - 7 ft tall
7 - 12 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate, Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Slight

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Pink

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Hummingbirds and various insects are attracted to the flowers. Various birds and mammals are attracted to the fruits

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed , 2 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Shade, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers sandy soil with organic material. Soil PH: 4.0 - 6.5

Common uses
Common uses
Hedges, Groundcovers, Deer Resistant

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment. Best sown on milled sphagnum moss.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
4*, 5*, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Moist open places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 15.3" - 122.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.20" - 3.95", Coldest Month: 37.3" - 50.6", Hottest Month: 55.6" - 74.9", Humidity: 0.01" - 22.94", Elevation: 7" - 4749"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In