These shrubs are considered to be potential fire hazards in some areas because the leaves, stems and branches contain flammable aromatic compounds. Each fruit is surrounded by an aromatic waxy substance.īirds eat the fruits in fall and winter, thus helping the plants to naturalize by disbursing the seed. Pollinated female flowers are followed by small attractive clusters of tiny, globose, blue-gray fruits which mature in late summer to fall, with persistence through winter. The plant can tolerate strong winds but not maritime exposure.
#Wax myrtle full#
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or full sun. It is native to the moist swampy woods and damp coastal areas of the southeast U.S. Wax myrtles can grow to be 5 feet tall in the summer, but they can also be kept low and bushy, or pruned into a tree with a height of about 20 feet in the fall. Wax myrtle is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing, evergreen shrub growing to 9m (29ft).
Flowers bloom in late winter to early spring. The wax myrtle shrub or small tree is a fast-growing, shrub-like tree that is extremely hardy and resistant to drought, sandy soils, salt spray, and sand exposure. Flowers are fragrant but non-showy, with only the flowers on male plants (catkins to 1” long) displaying some color (a drab yellowish-green). Leaves, particularly the new growth, emit the distinctive bayberry candle fragrance when crushed. Glossy, aromatic, oblanceolate, olive green leaves (to 3-5” long) are dotted with tiny yellow resin glands. The fruits of this species have been used for many years to make bayberry candles, soaps and sealing wax. It is typically found in a variety of habitats including wetlands, river margins, sand dunes, pine barrens, hillsides, and upland forests. The bark on some of the shrubs develops into a grayish. Wax Myrtle Care Tips Wax myrtle care involves fertilization and pruning for shape or pruning when limbs are damaged or split off by heavy ice and snow. from New Jersey to Florida through the Gulf States to Oklahoma and Texas and further south into Mexico and Central America. The wax myrtle is a broadleaf, evergreen shrub with multiple trunks. The wax myrtle tree or shrub is often used for a fast-growing hedge or privacy screen and may be used singly as an attractive specimen plant in the yard. Create screens by growing your wax myrtles in rows. Place it near a patio for shade and fragrance. Morella cerifera, commonly known as southern wax myrtle or southern bayberry, is a large, irregularly-shaped, dense-branching, nitrogen-fixing, suckering, fast-growing, evergreen shrub (semi-evergreen in colder northern parts of the growing area) that typically grows to 10-15’ tall and 8-10’ wide, but occasionally reaches a tree-like height of 20’ tall or more. Plant wax myrtle on its own in your garden if you prefer to grow it as an ornamental tree.
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