![]() ![]() Since wax myrtles grow quickly, I believe they would be a good chop-and-drop plant for a food forest as well as a ready source of material for making biochar.Īnd, of course, you can make candles. I visited her this last week and was happy to see all the green growth. The wax myrtles that Elizabeth planted are thriving. Propagation is by seeds, which germinate easily and rapidly, tip cuttings, division of the stolons or transplanting wild plants. The cultivar ‘Pumila’ is a dwarf form, less than three feet high. Myrica pensylvanica, northern bayberry, is a more cold-hardy species and the source of wax for bayberry candles. Only female trees produce fruit provided there is a male nearby, but seeds do not appear to become a weed problem in the landscape. However, in a naturalized garden this thick growth could be an advantage, since it would provide good nesting cover for wildlife. This can be a nuisance as they need to be removed several times each year to keep the tree looking sharp. The only drawback to the plant is its tendency to sprout from the roots. Plants should be watered well until established and will then require no further care. Plants spaced 10 feet apart, maintained in this manner, can create a nice canopy of shade for pedestrian traffic. Some landscape managers hedge the crown into a multi-stemmed dome-shaped topiary. Removing excess shoot growth two times each year eliminates the tall, lanky branches and reduces the tendency for branches to droop. Set them back from the road if used as a street tree so drooping branches will not hinder traffic. It is adapted to parking lot and street tree planting, especially beneath powerlines, but branches tend to droop toward the ground, possibly hindering flow of vehicular traffic if not properly trained and pruned. It is also very salt-tolerant (soil and aerosol), making it suitable for seaside applications. Very tough and easily-grown, southern waxmyrtle can tolerate a variety of landscape settings from full sun to partial shade, wet swamplands or high, dry and alkaline areas. Then, of course, some day she might want to make candles. Secondarily, she is growing them for their nitrogen-fixing abilities, as they’ll thrive in her very poor pineland soil. She told me her primary goal was to give their land some privacy, and that wax myrtles didn’t really stand out as anything worth paying attention to. While on the road, I asked her why she wanted to plant a non-edible hedge across the front of her property. I actually went to the nursery with she and her husband on the day they bought their hedge plants. She put in a long hedge of wax myrtle in front of her property. Though I haven’t grown it, my friend Elizabeth here in Alabama does. It’s a nondescript shrub, rather common in some scrubby areas of the South. I first heard about wax myrtle some years ago when I was researching natural sources of wax. I’m thinking of planting a hedge of them and trying my hand at dipping candles from the berries. Michelle asks about the benefits of planting wax myrtle/bayberry:ĭavid, what are your thoughts on bayberry shrubs? I’ve read they grow well in poor soil and are nitrogen fixers. ![]()
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