Wax Myrtle story

15 years ago

I had a few trees taken out of my back yard last year, and because I was interested in a smallish tree that was could be evergreen and provide food for the birds, I decided I would try planting a couple of wax myrtles. (myrica cerifera). Never grown them before.

I read on several websites from extension services and botanical gardens that this plant is diecious, meaning the plant is either male or female flowers, and if you really want berries, you had best get both a male and female plant.

So in early spring I visited several nurseries, many of which had wax myrtle

(advertising the berries on their tags.) When I asked if there was any way I could get a male and female plant, they looked at me like I was crazy. The wax myrtles they had were not in flower yet (and its not supposed so be easy to tell the male vs. female flowers), but the nursery people at three different places would tell me something, with attitude, like: "Ive been working here for 20 years, and I can assure you there are not separate male and female myrtles." They had heard of this for ginko trees, for example, but not wax myrtle. They were no help. Finally a nice guy who runs a native nursery around here (called mulberry woods nursery, which I had not heard of) suggested I ask Jason, the owner of petals from the past. Because sure enough, Jason buys from a native grower near Mobile that sells cultivars of wax myrtle, including a male he calls "Salty Dog" and a female he calls "Wolf Bay."

So the moral of this (long and perhaps boring) story is: you are better off buying from your nursery friends who really KNOW the plants, not just sell them, and be nice to them because they are few and far between.

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Comments (5)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
15 years ago
Good for you, for doing your homework! I'm one of those people that feel that the consumer should share the responsibility in obtaining the right product (no matter what it is)! It's too darned bad that so many venders don't seem to be able to take on their fair share! I see it soooo much in the nursery/garden center biz. You're right, we should give our business to knowledgeable, caring professionals.

You did GOOD!

If you wanted to carry this further, you could print out copies of a simple fact sheet, much like the one I've attached, and take it or send it to the OTHER nurseries who were owned or operated by such uninformed people. It's never too late to learn! People who say things like, " I've been gardening all my life ....", or " I've been doing this for 80 years and..." make me sad. That's like saying that years of experience slams the door on new information!

Just in case you're interested, the Latin name for wax myrtle has been changed from Myrica cerifera to Morella cerifera. (In case you wanted to do more research.) I adore Wax myrtle. About the only problem I see with it is that it is very prone to breaking under an ice or snow load. (I'm thinking about this past winter.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for a simple fact sheet
tedevore
Original Author
15 years ago
You could make a big list of problems with the nursery biz, but it is
frustrating that the tags included on some plants are misleading or leave info. out. Monrovia & some of these other big growers will for example, tag these wax myrtles or certain types of hollies or viburnums as "having wonderful berries for the birds" but do not mention that the particular plant is dioecious, and of course the gender of the plant will not be indicated. They are tagged to be pushed thru the box stores as fast as possible.

And of course, the big box stores are driving many of the good growers & nurseries out of business, so its harder to find good people who know what's up.
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catbird
15 years ago
Several years ago I found two unlabeled wax myrtles at a big box store. They were nice little trees, 3-4' tall and were comparable to some I had seen for $25 at another store. I knew what they were, but the employee in charge had no idea and charged me just $5 each for them. They thrived and have grown to 15-20' trees and have produced many offspring, one of which I grown into another small tree. Interestingly enough, the two originals have slightly different flowers and one has berries but the other doesn't, though I have never been able to tell any difference in the appearance of the trees. A couple of years ago I realized that the tree that had no berries had started producing some on one side and I finally figured out that a female seedling had apparently grown right beside the male tree and looked like part of the same tree! The birds, particularly myrtle warblers, love the berries. The seedlings are nice to share or can be pulled up easily, so they're not a problem. The wax myrtles can be grown as big bushes for evergreen privacy or trimmed up into wonderful small trees. I love them.
jcalhoun
15 years ago
The nursery that has the Wolfs Bay and Salty Dog is Dodd & Dodd located in Semmes, AL. Very friendly and knowledgible folks there. I try to use them when possible.

http://www.doddnatives.com
jeff_al
15 years ago
i find them extremely easy to root from cuttings, too.
there are some naturalized ones growing behind the building where i work. i noticed one shrub in particular was a heavy berry producer. i broke off several limbs from that one (and a nearby male for pollination) in early winter and simply stuck them into the soil at my place. each one of them rooted and grew the next spring. unfortunately, the county road crew demolished them a year later while clearing (too far into my maintained area if you ask me!) around a culvert but they are coming back.
you can have many female plants and a few males to enjoy the birds that are attracted to them.