Lean soil is the key. Mine lasted only 2-3 years likely due to too high of fertility.

tj

I would rate the soil as low-moderate fertility, so I should be good there. TJ, how much direct sun did yours get? I'd like to maximize flowering, but I'm not sure how much direct sun it should get. I can give it anywhere from full shade to 4-hours of direct sun.

Mine got about 4 hours and fruited. I’ve seen them in the north woods getting getting anywhere from full sun to full shade.

tj

I planted this many years ago - probably close to 20 years - and just couldn't seem to keep it going more than a year or two. I had mine in part shade, (maybe 3-4 hours of sun) moderately good soil, probably leaning towards acidic. It just didn't seem to thrive in the spot I wanted it to. I gave up only because it was so expensive. I haven't checked into it lately, but IMO it was much more expensive than many other groundcovers, and despite really loving it, never bothered after three tries.

I hope you have success with it. It's a lovely groundcover.

:)
Dee

I tried this and it didn't do well for me either. I used Arctostaphylos uva ursi instead and that did very well for me. It also has berries, they're just not as prominent. But it is an evergreen ground cover that I find carefree.

Dang, with each reply I'm feeling less confident. I think I'll plant one or two to see if it will grow for me. Based on everyone's experience, I should know early on if it's going to work. I appreciate the replies.

I think it might be due to the soil. I have clay and it's around neutral. I think they like acid soil. So, maybe you will have better luck. :-)

So I bought a little pot of this about 4 years ago to see what would happen and, to my surprise, it turned into a nice little patch after being slow to establish. So I bought another pot of it last year and so far so good. I have pretty poor sandy soil, but I don't know what the pH is.