Mountain pachysandra is a native plant in the Buxaceae family. It is native in SE North America. The evergreen to semi-evergreen leaves in zones 7-8 forms a dense mat that happily grows under trees and shrubs and other shady places. Its natural environment includes moist rich woods. It is not invasive. The new leaves take on a pale silver-green mottling. Fragrant blooms occur in spring in 2-4 inch spikes. Set plants 6-12 inches apart and do not overwater. Soak the planting every 8-15 days. It will provide you with a lovely evergreen ground cover for many years. Prune as needed to remove yellow or dead growth. NC Endangered species; present as a native plant in only 1 NC county. No common serious problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Moist
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Spreading
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen; Semi-evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate; Whorled
Leaf shape
Orbicular; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire; Serrate
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
2-4 in. bluish-green, simple, alternate, ovate to rounded evergreen leaves are held in the whorled cluster at the tip of shoots. They are toothed above the middle with silver mottling in fall.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower detail
Spikes of pink and white fragrant flowers in March to April
Bloom time
Spring
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
The fruit is small dry capsules, seldom produced in any quantity. Not ornamentally important.