Wax Myrtle is one of Florida’s most adaptable
plants. It grows well from coastal areas to inland wet areas and thrives in high, dry
regions in semi-shade or full sun. It has a shrub-like form, but can grow to become an
excellent patio-type tree.
Description
This aromatic, small tree or shrub has a slender trunk and branches that
form a round crown. It can grow to 40 feet tall with a trunk of up to eight inches in
diameter.
Leaves
The leaves are alternate, simple and usually measure two to four-inches
long and 1/4-inch wide with coarse teeth above the middle. The leaves are smooth on top and
hairy underneath with small, orange glands on both sides.
Flowers
This plant is dioecious with the tiny male flowers found in short,
auxiliary catkins and the females growing in close bunches.
Fruit
Ripening throughout the winter, the fruit can be found on the female
plants in dense clusters. Each fruit is approximately 1/8-inch in diameter and coated with
a bluish-white wax.
Bark
The bark is gray and silver with younger branches being waxy and hairy.
Landscape usage
This plant can be planted as a
specimen tree or in small groups as a screen or a shrub border. It does well in full sun
or partial shade. Southern Wax Myrtle is drought and salt tolerant.
Interesting fact
The Wax Myrtle provides wildlife
cover and is a favorite to many migrating birds when it fruits in the fall.
