Southern Bayberry; Candleberry (Myrica cerifera (syn. Morella cerifera)

Native, evergreen shrub
Description: Glossy, olive-green, foliage is aromatic when bruised; fragrant but non-showy flowers in late winter to early spring; small blue-gray, waxy-coated fruit persists through winter
Habit: Grows 10-15’ high and 8-10’ wide; suckers to form colonies
Culture: Prefers full sun to partial shade and average to wet soils; tolerant of salt and wind; male and female plants needed for fruit set
Hardiness: Cold hardy to USDA Zone 7

Native to a wide range of conditions including wetlands, moist forests, stream and river edges, and pine barrens from New Jersey south to Florida and the West Indies, and west to Oklahoma and Texas, the Southern Bayberry is a tough, low-maintenance shrub for hedges, screens, woodland gardens, rain gardens, slopes, and road and water edges. The fruits have a long history of use in candle-making, hence the common names Candleberry and Wax Myrtle. Jefferson included “Candleberry myrtle. Myrica cerifera.” as a native ornamental in Notes on the State of Virginia (1782), and his French friend Mme la Comtesse de Houdetot asked that Jefferson send her this plant, along with other American natives, in 1789.

Southern Bayberry; Candleberry (Myrica cerifera (syn. Morella cerifera) arrives in a 2 gallon pot.