Wintergreen is a cover crop — grown to build and protect the soil rather than for a harvest of its own. It's hardy across USDA zones 3 through 8, shrugs off deer, shrugs off dry spells, and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a moderate draw for native bees.
Wintergreen — the short answer
Wintergreen: grown in zones 3–8, shade, pH 4–6.5.
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 3a–7b
- Soil pH
- 4–6.5
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Shade
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Wintergreen on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether wintergreen actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score wintergreen against your land's real conditions.
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What Wintergreen is
Wintergreen grows as a perennial and reaches around 6 inches at maturity. It blooms white in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Wintergreen
Wintergreen grows in USDA zones 3 through 8. Wintergreen does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4 to 6.5, on well-drained ground.
USDA Zones
3-8
Not verified — NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists zones 3a–7b
Soil pH
4 - 6.5
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Shade
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
0.5 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant wintergreen in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun. It grows in the cool halves of the year, so sow it in spring or late summer rather than waiting for midsummer heat.
Match the soil
Wintergreen prefers pH 4 to 6.5 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water while it roots in
Water deeply while wintergreen establishes, letting the soil dry between soakings; once its roots are in, it rides out dry spells on its own.
Turn it in before it seeds
Cut wintergreen down or turn it into the soil before it sets seed, while the growth is still green — that's when it returns the most to the ground.
Where Wintergreen thrives
Wintergreen is hardy across USDA zones 3 through 8. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 3–8 spans average winter lows from -40°F to 20°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 34 outright and splits 17 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 3–8·Where Wintergreen growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Wintergreen stands, state by state
Wintergreen is rated for zones 3–8 — a cold floor USDA puts at -40 to -30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 34 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 17 more, and 0 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 3–8
34 states
3 of 34 shown
The line runs through
17 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
3 of 17 shown
Wintergreen’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Wintergreen
Growing guides for wintergreen
Related plants in grass/groundcover
Good to know
Wintergreen offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Your land is one point inside Wintergreen's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Wintergreen will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether wintergreen actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Wintergreen
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Wintergreen in my zone?
Wintergreen grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8. Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Wintergreen?
Wintergreen is a cool-season crop, so it goes in during the cool halves of the year — early spring, and again in late summer for a fall planting — rather than at the height of summer heat. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Wintergreen need?
Wintergreen is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.
What soil does Wintergreen need?
Wintergreen prefers soil pH 4 to 6.5, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Wintergreen attract pollinators?
Yes — wintergreen's flowers are a solid nectar source for native bees. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Keep exploring Wintergreen
Wintergreen state by state
Every state wintergreen's zone reaches — 28 link straight to that state's wintergreen growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.