For foliage effect it is one of the most desirable of the native shrubs. In his 1941 catalog Theodore Payne noted that "Found in Canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains and from there northward near the coast. The leaves have a spicy aroma that can be used like bay leaves to season food and for this reason this plant is often referred to as California Bayberry. High wind and salt tolerance make it perfect for seaside use. This plant is suitable for use as large hedges, screens or as a specimen small tree. Drought stressed plants are sometimes attacked by greenhouse thrips in coastal plantings and mites in inland gardens but both can be mitigated by increased irrigation and/or the use of horticultural soaps or oils. Cold hardy, tolerating temperatures below 15° F. It is drought tolerant in coastal plantings but looks better when given occasional to regular irrigation.
#Pacific wax myrtle growth rate full
Performs best in full sun to partial shade with a quick-draining soil. The foliage or nectar of this plant also attracts several butterfly species. The female flowers can be followed by brownish-purple berries that ripen in fall and are highly attractive to myrtle warblers and many other birds.
Both male and female flowers are inconspicuous and in tiny reddish yellow catkins late spring and summer.
Myrica species are either dioecious, with male and female flowers borne on separate plants or as in the case of the Pacific Wax Myrtle monoecious, with unisexual flowers on the same plant. It has smooth gray bark and upright stems that are densely clothed with lustrous 4-inch long, toothed-edge leaves which emerge a bright apple green is spring and darken as they mature. Native to California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia.Myrica californica (Pacific Wax Myrtle) - This California native is a vigorous multi-branched evergreen shrub reaching up to about 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide - easily kept smaller.Propagate by seeds, cuttings, or by layering.
Responds well to pruning and will tolerate shearing.Keep an eye out for thrips, spider mites, and whiteflies. Tolerates only occasional irrigation, however, its appearance is enhanced with regular waterings. The more sun it receives the denser the growth. Performs best in full sun or part shade, in average, dry to moist, slightly acid, well-drained soils.An excellent small garden tree, especially for coastal plantings due to its tolerance to salt spray. It makes an attractive specimen plant and provides background interest to a perennial garden.
It can be sheared to produce manicured hedges or mixed with other evergreens to create an informal screen. Very versatile, it is an ideal choice for formal or naturalistic gardens. Easy to grow and easy to care for, Pacific Wax Myrtle is quite an ornamental shrub with its showy berries and dense, shiny evergreen foliage. Inconspicuous spring catkins give way to clusters of dark purple, bumpy berries in late summer, persisting into midwinter and providing food for birds, including kingbirds, mockingbirds, flickers, woodpeckers, and many other birds. Moderately fast-growing and long-lived, Morella californica (Pacific Wax Myrtle) is a densely bushy, evergreen shrub with slender, ascending branches clothed with small, narrow, glossy, dark-green leaves, serrated on their margins.
0 kommentar(er)
