Salal is an evergreen shrub with leathery, dark green leaves and an informal growth habit that fits perfectly into Northwest gardens. From mid-March to late May, salal -- an Oregon native -- produces nectar-laden, white to pink bell-like blossoms favored by bumblebees and a variety of fruit-eating birds.
CULTURE: Salal prefers moist shade and a soil pH of 5.5 to 7. It grows from 4 to 10 feet tall and wide and produces abundant black berries. Salal grown in the sun and poor soil will slowly grow to just 1 or 2 feet tall.
Mulch salal with a 3-inch layer of compost topped with 3 inches of wood chips, to discourage weeds, keep soil cooler and help to retain soil moisture. Irrigate salal as needed to keep the soil just moist.
LANDSCAPE USE: Salal is a beautiful shrub, but, once established in moist shade, it is likely to spread quickly unless corralled by a concrete barrier or very dry soil. Salal is an excellent addition to evergreen ferns, rhododendrons and other natives and is useful for stabilizing hillsides. Few pests bother with salal.
PROPAGATION: By seed, cuttings or division.
HARVEST: Berries start ripening in late July. However, harvest in September after all the berries are ready. Salal berries taste better after a frost or two, but you risk heavy predation by critters if you wait. Cut entire stems of berries. The juice stains, so wear gloves while harvesting and processing.
KITCHEN USE: Snip each berry off the cluster with scissors. Freeze berries to preserve for jams and sauces in winter, when a warm kitchen is a better idea. Raw salal berries are sweet, meaty, chewy and a bit bland. After cooking, the berries remind me of a mix of apple, fig and blueberry. Use them to make jam, jelly or leather, or add to other berries or apples in pie. For jam, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salal berries to every 2 cups of strawberries, marionberries, blueberries, huckleberries, red currants or Oregon grapes.
-- Vern Nelson