The small, crowded clusters are borne in the axils of the leaves and at the tips of the stems, and often are hidden from view by the leaves, especially early in the season. The tubular corolla is up to a half-inch or so long and nearly as wide at the mouth, where it expands into five spreading lobes. The inside of the tube is very hairy. The species is dioecious, having the sexes segregated on different plants. The flower produces nectar and is commonly visited by bees.
Ants then disperse the seeds.
Many authorities caution that trailing arbutus is almost impossible to cultivate by any means, and native plant gardeners should not try to grow it. Attempts to transplant it will almost certainly fail and, in the process, result in the further destruction of the species in the wild. Trailing arbutus typically grows in sandy or rocky, acid soils in woods and clearings, often on hillsides and banks, including road banks, especially under oaks and pines or hemlocks with such other ericads as mountain laurel. It is native throughout eastern North America, from Labrador to Manitoba and south to Florida and Mississippi. Despite its wide range, however, it is uncommon, localized by its specialized ecology.