Southern wax myrtle is an evergreen large shrub to small tree native to moist location in the United States, New Jersey to southern Florida and west to Texas. It has an upright, open form, multiple trunks and twisting branches. The leaves are aromatic when crushed, dark, olive green and linear to lance-shaped, occasionally toothed above the middle. Wax myrtle is dioecious, the male and female flowers on different plants. The flowers are small, yellow-green and inconspicuous. The small, but abundant fruit on female plants is a drupe or stone fruit, dark purple-blue to black in color with a white, waxy bloom. The fruit is attractive to birds and persist throughout the winter. Wax myrtle is a popular landscape plant used for hedges, screens and borders. It prefers moist, well-drained soil and full sun to part shade and is adaptable to drier locations and is moderately drought tolerant one established. This plant is somewhat short-lived and suckers from the roots form thickets. Selective pruning of older trunks will increase life-span. Wax myrtle may also be pruned into hedges or small trees. Best uses for include containers, parking lots, natural areas, and specimen trees for urban areas or seaside gardens. Over-fertilization and trunk or root damage encourage infestation by leaf spot and rot diseases. (info source: Learn2Grow.com)
Trustpilot
2 weeks ago
1 month ago
