![]() 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. Avoid planting them right against your home or around a fire pit, and be very careful about activities such as smoking, using fireworks, or lighting tiki torches near them.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. One thing to consider is that because waxmyrtles are literally full of oils and waxes, they are highly flammable. This means that the common waxmyrtle does not need fertilizer (at least, it doesn’t need nitrogen), because it can take nitrogen from the atmosphere and put it into the soil for itself or other plants to use. These evenly-burning, smokeless candles were exported and became very popular with Europeans, especially among royalty.Īs if we need another reason to like this plant, it has nitrogen-fixing roots, which work at a faster rate than legumes (the plant group most famous for nitrogen fixation). Both Native Americans and early settlers made scented candles by boiling the stems and berries to melt out the wax. The leaves and stems contain oil glands that produce a strong, aromatic fragrance (the bayberry scent), and the same fragrance is contained in the waxy coating of the berries. ![]() About forty different bird species eat the berries and use the shrubs for shelter or nesting, so it’s an excellent choice for wildlife. Waxmyrtles are similar to hollies, in that male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, so only female plants will produce the iconic waxy berries. There are some beautiful specimens on the NC State main campus where you can see the result of careful pruning. However, it can also be limbed up to form an attractive small tree in the landscape. ![]() If you vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you will see it everywhere. Its fast growth rate and tolerance of deer, drought, wind, salt, sandy soils, and full sun make it a very popular hedge shrub for beach properties. This fast-growing evergreen shrub is native to South Carolina and surrounding southern states. This week, we are focusing on the southern waxmyrtle, also known as southern bayberry (scientific name Morella cerifera, formerly Myrica cerifera). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |