Shallon, Salal
Gaultheria shallon
Family: Ericaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Pink, White. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late spring, Mid summer. Form: Spreading or horizontal.
Gaultheria shallon is an evergreen Shrub growing to 1.2 m (4ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Height (m): 1.2
Where it is found
Grows on sandy or peaty soils in shady positions from the coast up to elevations of 800 metres.
Western N. America - British Columbia to California. Occasionally naturalized in Britain.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
Alaska, Australia, Britain, Canada, Europe, North America*, Tasmania, USA,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 5
Fruit - raw, cooked or dried for later use. Sweet and juicy with a pleasant flavour, it makes good raw eating. The fruit can also be made into preserves, pies, drinks etc or be dried and used like raisins. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter and is produced over a period of several weeks in late summer. A pleasant tea is made from the leaves.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 2
A poultice of the toasted, pulverized leaves has been applied to cuts. A poultice of the chewed leaves has been applied to burns and sores. The leaves have been chewed to dry the mouth. An infusion of the leaves have been used as a stomach tonic and a treatment for diarrhoea, coughs, TB etc.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
Other
Rating: 3
A purple dye is obtained from the fruit. It is dark green. A greenish-yellow dye is obtained from the infused leaves. A ground cover plant for a shady position under trees, spreading slowly by means of suckers. It should be spaced about 90cm apart each way.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Ground cover: Ground Cover
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Erosion control, Ground cover, Hedge, Massing. Prefers a moist but not boggy humus rich soil in shade or semi-shade, but it can also succeed in full sun. A peat and moisture loving species, it requires a lime-free soil. One report says that it can succeed in dry shade and another that it can withstand considerable drought once it is established. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. A vigorous suckering plant, it can be invasive when growing in good conditions, but responds to cutting back. It also succeeds when planted under trees. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Special Features: North American native. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 8 through 6. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. An evergreen. The plant growth habit is a running thicket former forming a colony from shoots away from the crown spreading indefinitely. The root pattern is flat with shallow roots forming a plate near the soil surface. The root pattern is stoloniferous rooting from creeping stems above the ground.
Propagating it: The seed requires a period of cold stratification. Pre-chill for 4 - 10 weeks and then surface sow in a lime-free compost in a shady part of the greenhouse and keep the compost moist. The seed usually germinates well, usually within 1 - 2 months at 20°c, but the seedlings are liable to damp off. It is important to water them with care and to ensure that they get plenty of ventilation. Watering them with a garlic infusion can also help to prevent damping of. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are about 25mm tall and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer. The seedlings are susceptible to spring frosts so might need some protection for their first few years outdoors. The leaves remain very small for the first few years. Cuttings of half-ripe wood 3 - 6cm long, July/August in a frame in a shady position. They form roots in late summer or spring. A good percentage usually take. Division in spring when new growth is about 7cm tall. Divided plants can be rather slow to get established. We have found that it is best to pot up the clumps and grow them on in a shady position in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; not Deep Shade; Ground Cover;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 6-9
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist