Requires a light well-drained soil in semi-shade and shelter from cold winds. Plants are intolerant of excessive winter wet. A prostrate mat-forming plant that forms roots at the nodes of stems, it grows well in a rock garden in areas where frosts are light and short-lived. It is almost hardy in Britain, merely covering it with a pane of glass in the winter is usually ample protection. A very ornamental plant.

Fruit - raw. The fruit is a berry about 5mm in diameter with a single seed.

Seed - sow spring in a shaded part of a cool greenhouse or cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors. Division in spring.

Coastal to sub-alpine damp forest, shrubland, grassland, boggy ground and herbfield, North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands.