Great White Crown Marlberry. This is one of the best groundcovers for shade in the Deep South, spreading by underground rhizomes producing small pale pink flowers followed by a plethora of large red berries. This is the Confederacy’s answer to the Yankee’s Pachysandra. This plant may freeze to the ground when the thermometer reaches single digits but should quickly recover in the spring to its mature height of 6- 8 inches. The Japanese have been making clonal selections of this species for hundreds of years and in the fall they have Ardisia shows to display them in the “Koten Engei” style. In Japan, this cultivar is one of the most showy with pink new growth and broad white margins to its leaves. Truly stunning!! It makes an excellent pot plant as well for those who garden out of its natural range. The first slide shows the new growth, with the second picture showing the leaves after they harden off with a white variegation.
Zones 7b-10
