Wintergreen, aka pipsissewa

[achinback47]

Zone 7a, coastal RI. We have an area of Bar Harbor junipers, now at the end of their natural life (40+ years) that we will replace this fall with something else. In recent years, wintergreen plants have arrived unbidden and multiplied under the junipers. Might be 15 or 20 of them at last count.

These are handsome little guys, evergreen, and apparently feel right at home in their current location. Elsewhere in the yard there is a shady area, now moss covered, that could be a suitable new home for some wintergreen. So, my question- has anyone successfully transplanted wintergreen in a situation like this?

 

[Marck]

Pipsissewa or Prince's Pine (Chimaphila menziesii) is a low evergreen subshrub in the Heath Family (Ericaceae). It is also sometimes called Wintergreen, thought that invites confusion with 'true' Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), another, very different plant in the Heath Family, that is the source of natural Wintergreen oil.

Even though Chimaphila menziesii is a green, photosynthetic plant, it is also a facultative or partial myco-heterotroph that receives some of its sugar and nutrients through a three-way symbioses with mycorrhizal fungi and nearby conifers, such as possibly the Bar Harbor Junipers (Juniperus horizontalis 'Bar Harbor') mentioned in the OP.

Due to its symbiotic living arrangement, Chimaphila menziesii may be difficult to successfully transplant. Instead, I recommend that the Pipsissewa be left in place, and that the aging Juniper be carefully replaced in stages over several years. That is if the Juniper even truly need to be replaced. Gnarled and aged juniper also sound like plants that might be treasured rather than discarded.

If the Chimaphila menziesii must be moved, they should be transplanted with as much of the surrounding soil and root mass as possible. The new location should be as similar as possible to the old one with regard to sunlight, soil, and moisture characteristics.
Also new plants of Juniperus horizontalis 'Bar Harbor' should be planted adjacent to the transplanted Pipissewa.