Gauthieria

Gaultieria (Latin: Gaultheria) is a shade-tolerant, woody, evergreen plant from the Ericaceae family. It is also known as wintergreen.

Description

Gaultieria is a low-growing shrub boasting an abundance of small, decorative foliage. This plant rarely exceeds sixty centimeters in height. Like all other members of the Ericaceae family, the roots of Gauthieria contain mycorrhiza—this name refers to the mutually beneficial symbiosis of various fungal organisms with the roots.

Gaultieria blooms with incredibly attractive, bell-shaped flowers of a relatively small size. Typically, its flowers are white or pink. This amazing plant also boasts a truly enchanting, incomparable fragrance!

Gauthieria fruits are exceptionally decorative and come in a variety of colors—white, purple, bluish, pink, and red! Ripening around September-October, they can persist on the bushes until the following spring.

The genus Gauthieria comprises over 100 species, and its name is honoring Jean-François Gauthier, the renowned French botanist and physician.

Where it grows

In the wild, Gauthieria grows primarily in South and East Asia, South and North America, as well as New Zealand and Australia. In Russia, only one species of Gauthieria is found in the wild, while about seven varieties are cultivated.

Uses

The most commonly found Gauthieria recumbenscens is the ornamental plant ideal for gardens or rooms. Gauthieria is also widely used as a groundcover. This extremely undemanding representative of the rich and diverse world of flora is perfect for planting in heather gardens! This beauty has been cultivated since 1762!

Gauthieria procumbens is also widely used in folk medicine. Particularly valuable is the essential oil of this plant, which consists almost entirely of methyl salicylate—it is widely used externally as an ointment for spontaneous tumors and acute articular rheumatism. Gauthieria procumbens leaves are very rich in various tannins, as well as arbutin, which is used as an antiseptic.

Cultivation and care

Gauthieria is best planted in partial shade, in areas with acidic, light and well-drained garden soils. Waterlogged soils are absolutely not suitable for growing Gaultieria, since its root system in this case quickly begins to rot, and after some time the beautiful plant simply dies. Gauthieria is also a calcephobe, that is, on lime-rich soils it will grow extremely poorly and is unlikely to be able to please with its impressive decorative effect.

It is recommended to water your Gotheria about a couple of times a month, spending about five liters of water on each plant. And when dry weather sets in for too long, it is not only watered every week in the evenings, but also periodically sprayed. It is enough to loosen the soil under the Gautier only superficially, while simultaneously eliminating the weeds growing next to it.

Gautheria can withstand short-term drought very well, and in general it is very unpretentious in care. However, despite its fairly good winter hardiness, it will be much better if the beautiful Gautheria overwinters under cover.

As for the propagation of Gottieria, it can be carried out either by offspring or layering, or by cuttings or seeds.