Transplanting Wintergreen

[lance.d.bresee]

I have a big patch of wintergreen I discovered when I smelled lifesavers when mowing my lawn. It used to grow in a shady spot near lots of white pine. Once the EPA came in and cut down the trees, the wintergreen has been fading and being taken over by some form of wild, fruitless strawberry. I have another place under some white pines where low-growth blueberries are growing wild. I've seen wintergreen growing with low growth blueberries in the wild, so I'd like to transplant my wintergreen to this more hospitable area.

When should I transplant? Is there a fertilizer I can employ to hasten growth? Does wintergreen like sompost and mulch?

I am in Massachusetts, near the border with New Hampshire and Vermont.

Thanks for your help!

[Ann]

[e-mail] expounded:

Now. Lift the sod and replant it under those pines you said you had.

Not necessary. Just make sure to water until the ground freezes. They like a moist, humusey root-run.

Absolutely. They grow in the forest duff (what's always composting on the forest floor). Give them the same and they'll be very happy.

[Jim Kingdon]

Fruitless or small fruits? Yellow or white flowers? (Not that it really matters, I'm just curious whether it is the same one we have).

Yes, give this a try. They both like acid soil. The pine needles probably make a better mulch than anything you would add (you *are* leaving the pine needles there, I hope). If you want to add compost or mulch, make sure it is acidic - such as pine bark or coffee grounds

- but if there seems to be a reasonably rich layer of organic matter I might leave well enough alone.

I'm jealous. We've tried to grow wintergreen, but we're much more in the situation of trying to manufacture a suitable place for them, rather than having pine trees or anything similar. I think we've killed 2 nursery plants so far, with one hanging on for dear life (and probably doomed unless we can get the soil pH down and who knows what else). At some point we may give up and pick plants to match our soil, rather than trying to amend soil to match the plants.

[lance.d.bresee]

[lance.d.bresee]

Now?! In October? Seems strange. Also, I don't want to transplane the sod, as it includes those nasty strawberries.

Thanks again!

[lance.d.bresee]

Fruitless with small white flowers in late spring to early summer. Nasty stickery runnery things.

[Ann]

[e-mail] expounded:

How is the weather near you? If you can still work the soil and can lift the sods you won't harm them moving them now.

Nasty strawberries - now there's a combo I don't often see. How can strawberries be nasty?

Good luck!

[enigma]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

stickery? as in small spines along/around the length of the stem, which is prostrate? those aren't strawberries. they are likely what we call 'dewberries', a prostrate & not very fruitful form of blackberry. when they *do* bear fruit, it's really good, but it doesn't happen very often. lee

[Jim Kingdon]

Ah, yes, seems likely:

first guess was some kind of raspberry/blackberry, but I didn't know that there are some which stay close to the ground. We have some weedy raspberries (or such such) in our yard, which don't seem to produce any fruit, but they are somewhat more upright.

[Jim Kingdon]

Oh, I don't know. The Indian Strawberry (Potentilla indica, also known as Duchesnea indica) has yellow flowers and small bad tasting fruit. (whether you'd call it a strawberry is an open question, though, as it is more closely related to cinquefoil than to a garden strawberry). Although some people cultivate it as a ground cover, it does spread quite readily and can be hard to contain (based on what I've read, and experience here in the Washington, DC area), thus putting it in the "weed" category for many.

In our yard, it is semi-tolerated. Certainly a step up from the bindweed, broadleaf plantain, dandelion, and some of the other weeds, but in the long term we'll probably replace it with something else.

[lance.d.bresee]

Yes, on closer examination, the prolific guys are a type of blackberry. The vines ran so low to the ground they were covered by grass and clover, so appeared like underground runners. Pulling them up reveals long vines with blackberry like thorns.

On a pleasant note, the sunny patch of wintergreen has berries now, so the plants are faring well enough in the sun, but are in danger of being overgrown. In looking for the most pleasant place to enjoy a new patch, I discovered more wintergreen growing in the woods. I found a lovely place to transplant to in order to fill out existing wintergreen growth, but there is a lot of brish piled up that I'll have to remove first, so it may be too late to transplant after I clear the brush away (mostly old dead white pine branches trimmed from the lower trunk). Can I transplant in spring?

Another question, I have some patches of moss growing in a sunny fiels. I had assumed it to be sphnagum, but that is a shade/bog moss. I'd like to encourage this as a ground-cover in the paths between my blackberry bushes, Anyone know anything about moss and making it comfey?