Habitat

• native to New Jersey and down the east coast
• hardy to zone 5

Habit and Form

• small, evergreen shrub
• up to 3' tall
• widespreading, up to 5'
• fine texture
• slow growth rate

Summer Foliage

• generally alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, evergreen leaves
• marrow, leaves up to 0.5" long
• orbicular leaf shape
• dark green leaf color
• entire leaf margins

Autumn Foliage

• bronzy winter foliage

Flowers

• flowers are white with pink edges
• flowers buds are rosy
• 0.25" in diameter
• flowers composed of 5 narrow petals
• blooms in May
• borne in terminal corymbs

Fruit

• glabrous capsule

Bark

• slender stems
• crescent shaped leaf scar
• 4-ranked
• brown bark

Culture

• transplant form containers or B&B
• prefers moist, sandy, acidic soil
• full sun to partial shade

Landscape Use

• rock garden
• for evergreen foliage
• for flowers

Liabilities

• hard to establish
• no serious pest problems

ID Features

• sessile, ovoid buds with 2 exposed scales
• small evergreen shrub
• white flowers with pink edges
• glabrous capsule fruit
• crescent shaped leaf scars
• variable leaf arrangement

Propagation

• by cuttings
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

Very rarely are forms of this native plant available, but several dwarf, creeping forms have been named. They include: 'Pinecake', which reaches only 5" tall and much wider; 'Prostratum' (also var. prostratum), with a trailing habit and lustrous leaves; and 'Eco Red Stem', a form with reddish stems.