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Oregon · Washington · Idaho

When to plant salal

Plant in the garden: Portland and Seattle Mar 1 – Apr 26; Spokane Apr 1 – May 27; Boise Mar 20 – May 15; Bend Apr 28 – Jun 23.

Salal is a native evergreen shrub in the heath family that stays knee-high in sun and grows head-high in shade. Its dark purple berries were a major food for coastal tribes, eaten fresh or dried into cakes, and today they go into jam. The leathery leaves are gathered in the Northwest and shipped around the world as florist greenery.

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Puts salal on your free plan, with dates for your town and a spot in your beds.

Difficulty
Moderate
Sun
Part shade; full sun on the coast
Spacing
2 to 3 feet apart
Planting depth
Same depth as in the pot or nursery
Frost
Hardy perennial; comes back every year
First harvest
Berries after two to three years

The glossy evergreen shrub of west-side forests, with pink bell-shaped flowers and dark edible berries in late summer. Slow to settle in but very tough once it does. It wants acidic soil and part shade.

Salal planting dates

TownsPlant in the garden
Portland, OR, Seattle and Tacoma, WAMar 1 – Apr 26
Spokane, WAApr 1 – May 27
Boise and Meridian, IDMar 20 – May 15
Bend and Redmond, ORApr 28 – Jun 23
Astoria, ORMar 25 – May 20

Dates for six main cities. For any of the other 80 towns, type it in the box at the top of the page or browse all towns.

Salal year at a glance

TaskJFMAMJJASOND
PlantMarApr
HarvestAugSep
In bloomMayJun

Around Portland. Colder towns, especially east of the Cascades, run a few weeks later; the table above has your town's planting dates. Harvest months are for an established plant.

How to grow salal

  1. Pick a spot in part shade, such as under tall trees, with acidic soil, and mix in leaf mold or bark compost.
  2. Plant potted salal on your city's dates, 2 to 3 feet apart. Same depth as in the pot or nursery.
  3. Water through the first two summers and mulch with leaves or bark. No fertilizer needed.
  4. Harvest: Pick the dark purple berries in late summer when they're soft. They're mild and seedy; mix them with other berries for jam.

Growing salal in your part of the Northwest

The same plant behaves differently on the wet west side, the foggy coast and the dry, colder east side.

West-side valleys

Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, southern Oregon

Salal is native to west-side forests and slowly forms a dense evergreen groundcover in shade.

Coast

Oregon and Washington coast

Salal grows tall and dense on the coast, in sun or shade.

East of the Cascades

Columbia Basin, Yakima, Boise, Spokane, north Idaho

Salal needs acidic, moist soil and shelter, which makes it hard in dry, alkaline east-side gardens.

More salal varieties

More widely sold picks that do well somewhere in the Northwest. The tag says which part of the Northwest suits each one best.

Salal

Native evergreen shrub (Gaultheria shallon) · Ripens August to September

Sold as the wild species by native plant nurseries. Glossy evergreen leaves, pink bell flowers and edible dark berries.

Coast and west side

How much to grow

How many to plant

Plant 3 or more, 2 to 3 feet apart, as an evergreen groundcover or low hedge.

What to expect

A small patch gives a few cups of berries.

Storing the harvest

Keep a few days in the fridge. Mix into jam with tarter berries.

Key numbers

Top care tip: Mulch with leaves or bark and water through the first two summers while it slowly settles in.

Growing notes

What makes the difference in Northwest gardens, in plain language.

The forest-floor evergreen

Salal is the glossy, leathery evergreen shrub that covers the forest floor in western Oregon, western Washington and along the coast. It has pink, bell-shaped flowers in late spring and dark purple berries in late summer.

Its height depends on the spot: knee-high in dry shade, head-high in rich, moist woods. Florists use the cut foliage, which lasts a long time in arrangements.

Planting

Plant in part shade in acidic soil rich in organic matter, such as under conifers. Mix in leaf mold or bark compost. On the coast it handles full sun; inland, full sun and dry soil stress it.

Salal is famously slow to settle in. Expect a year or two with little top growth while roots establish. After that, it spreads by underground stems into a dense groundcover.

Berries and care

The berries are edible, mild and seedy. People eat them fresh, dried or in jam, often mixed with other fruit. Birds and other wildlife eat them too.

Water through the first two summers and mulch with leaves or bark. Once established, it needs no fertilizer or irrigation in shade.

Good neighbors

Grows well with

  • Sword fern and huckleberries. The same shady, acidic woodland soil.
  • Oregon grape. Takes the same dry shade under trees.

Pests and problems

What most often goes wrong with salal in Northwest gardens, how to spot it and what to do.

Slow start

Signs: Plants sit still for a year or two.

What to do: Mulch and water deeply through the first summers.

Yellow leaves

Signs: Pale leaves in heavy or alkaline soil.

What to do: Add bark mulch and avoid lime.

Common questions about growing salal

When should I plant salal in Oregon, Washington and Idaho?

Plant in the garden: Mar 1 – Apr 26 in Portland and Seattle, Apr 1 – May 27 in Spokane, Mar 20 – May 15 in Boise and Apr 28 – Jun 23 in Bend. Pick your town at the top of the page for your own dates.

Are salal berries edible?

Yes. They're mild and seedy, good in jam or mixed with other berries.

Why isn't my salal growing?

It's slow to establish and can sit still for a year or two. Make sure the soil is acidic and the plant isn't in hot, dry sun inland.

Does salal grow east of the Cascades?

Rarely. It's a plant of the wet west side and coast and struggles in hot, dry inland summers and alkaline soil.

Also on these lists:

See what else to plant in March or April.

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