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Moonshine Designs Nursery Located in Milan, Illinois 309-756-1967 Fax: 309-756-1058
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Northern Bayberry
Myrica pensylvanica
Northern Bayberry
Besides being an excellent and very adaptable landscape plant, the fruit of this shrub is also very useful. The mature berries are covered with a pale blue, lavender or grayish-white aromatic wax used in making candles which burn with a pleasing fragrance.
Berries pictured above. Click for larger view.
Habitat/Culture: This tough plant grows in coastal
sand flats and
tidal marshes from Maine to North Carolina. It is adaptable to a range of
difficult landscape conditions including poor, sterile, sandy soils and heavy
clay soils. Plant in full sun or part shade. Hardy to zone 2. Best
in slightly acid soil. Can withstand coastal salt sprays.
Bayberry is a deciduous to semi-evergreen plant. Its growth habit is upright,
with a rounded top and forms a fairly dense shrub. Its size varies. An average
height is about 8 feet without pruning. Plants will develop a spread equal to
their height. Minimal pruning will control it well.
The leaves can be up to 4 inches long and possibly an inch wide. The leaf color
is a lustrous dark green. A unique quality of the leaf is that it is aromatic
when brushed or crushed. Even the slightest contact with the plant produces the
aroma which is rather pleasant. The leaves are retained well into the fall
before dropping.
The flowers on the plant are small and white or green in color.
Flowering is in late March or early April before the new crop of leaves emerge.
The fruit has considerable ornamental value. Bayberry fruit is actually a
"drupe" which is botanically equal to a cherry, peach or plum. Each fruit is
about 1/8 inch in diameter and quite hard. The important part of the fruit is
the grayish white waxy coating over the inner seed. It is the coating that
creates the interest in the fruit. Like the
foliage, the coating is also aromatic and can be removed from the fruit to add
aroma to candles or other wax items. The wax is removed from the berries by
gently boiling in water. Allow to cool and the wax will harden at the top.
The wax can then be added to candles, etc. The fruit ripens in September
and may remain on the stems of the plants until the following spring.
As a landscape plant, Bayberry is excellent for massing, borders or combining
with broadleaf evergreens. It responds well to a periodic pruning to keep
it's form. An added advantage is that Bayberry has no serious insect or disease
problems!
The berries are a preferred food of tree swallows, eastern
meadowlarks, red bellied woodpeckers and gray catbirds to name a few. Bayberry
shrubs also make good nest sites for songbirds.
Landscape use: Specimen, Border shrub, foundation planting, erosion control/bank
cover. Two or more required for berry set. Since these are seed
grown, we cannot tell the sex 100% as they have not bloomed.
Container grown in gallon size pots. 10"-24" tall. Shipped semi-bare root.
NOTE: Plants are unsexed. We suggest planting at least three within 30 feet to assure berries.
Item Name: Northern Bayberry GAL SBR Item Number: 690032 Gallon: 16-36"
Item Name: Northern Bayberry 2 Gallon SBR Item Number: 69004Seed also available. Pak of 25+
Item Name: Northern Bayberry SEED Item Number: 69005
Please
email us
with any questions!
Milan, IL 61264
309-756-1967
Fax: 309-756-1058
