How to Grow Epigaea Plants in your Garden

Gardener's HQ Guide to Growing Ground Laurel, Mayflower, and Trailing Arbutus

Members of the Epigaea genus are evergreen hardy perennials.

They carry cup shaped flowers of white or pink that bloom in the spring.

Some of the common names for Epigaea include Mayflower, Ground Laurel, and Trailing Arbutus.

They grow low on the ground.

Epigaea repens
Epigaea repens by InAweofGod'sCreation's.

Epigaea gaultheroides
Epigaea gaultheroides by peganum.

Epigaea Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Ground Laurel, Mayflower, Trailing Arbutus.
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial.
Height: 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm). Prostate shrubs
Native: Northern America, Asia.
Growing Region: Zones 3 to 9.
Flowers: Early spring.
Flower Details: White, pink. Cup-shaped. Clusters.
Foliage: Evergreen. Oval. Large dark leaves.
Sow/Plant Outside: Seeds: 1/4 inch (6 mm). Midsummer using fresh seed. Germination time: at least a month. Spacing 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm). Seed grown plants will take around three years before they bloom. Transplant seedlings grown from cuttings, or nursery/ gardening centres either at the start of spring or early in autumn.
Sow Inside: No
Requirements and care: Full or partial shade. Sandy and gritty, moist, acidic soils. Soil pH 4.0 to 5.0. Oak leaf or pine needle mulch (permanently). Keep the soil that seedlings grow in moist at all times. Propagate: for best results softwood cuttings should be taken towards the end of summer.
Miscellaneous: A member of this genus Epigaea repens has the common name of Mayflower because of its abundance at Plymouth Rock when the ship of the same name landed there. The flower is also the state flower of Massachusetts.

How to Grow Mayflower, Ground Laurel, and other Epigaea Plants in the Garden

Ground Laural and Mayflower seeds (and other Epigaea members) should be sown outdoors using fresh seeds (mid summer) at a depth of about 6 mm into a sterile soil that is acidic in nature (pH 4 to 5) and gritty.

They prefer to be grown in a shady area as they are naturally from woodlands.

It usually takes about a month for Epigaea to germinate, but it is difficult to establish the plants. They should begin to flower after about three years. You may prefer to get plants from a garden centre, if so then plant them outdoors at a spacing of about 25 cm either at the beginning of spring or the start of autumn.