Waxmyrtle-- A Shrub for a Natural Riparian Buffer By Susan Camp When you live on a tidal creek or river, as do many of us on the Middle Peninsula, you bear a special responsibility to maintain a healthy interface between land and water. The plants that grow along a shoreline help to protect the adjacent waterway from erosion and pollutants, and they provide valuable habitat for the wildlife that live and feed along the banks. Jim and I are fortunate to live on property that was left in a natural state by the previous owners, and we have maintained the banks for 25 years with a minimum amount of labor and no expense. The native trees, shrubs, and grasses along the water’s edge maintain themselves with minor pruning of dead wood, trimming of greenbriers, and eradication of poison ivy. One of my favorite native shrubs is waxmyrtle (Myrica cerifera or Morella cerifera), also called southern waxmyrtle or southern bayberry. Waxmyrtle is a small tree or large, multi-trunked, fast- growing shrub, depending on how it is pruned. Waxmyrtle produces numerous suckers that lend the shrub an irregular, leggy appearance, but it can be maintained with a single trunk. Waxmyrtle is found from New Jersey south to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and west to Texas and Oklahoma, surviving in a wide range of environments from wet swamps to elevated forestland, although it is most often found in marshes and along tidal creeks and stream banks. The shrub grows well in USDA Hardiness Zones 6b to 11. It is evergreen where winters are mild, but is classified as semi-evergreen in colder environments, which means it will lose its leaves when the temperature drops below 0 F. Waxmyrtle prefers full sun to partial shade in dry to wet sand, clay, or loam with a pH of 3.7 to 6.5. In other words, it isn’t fussy. Fruit production even increases when waxmyrtle is grown in poor soil. Waxmyrtle fixes nitrogen in the soil, which helps it survive under poor growing conditions. It is tolerant of salt spray and high winds and grows well near the seashore. Waxmyrtle is moderately deer resistant and has no serious insect pests. Iron chlorosis, which causes yellowing of the leaves around the veins, can occur when soil pH is too high (alkaline). A soil test performed by VA Tech can tell you if your soil is acidic or alkaline. You can pick up a soil test kit and form at the Gloucester Extension Office at 7400 Carriage Court. Few diseases infect waxmyrtle, although leaf anthracnose, a fungal disease, and leaf mosaic, caused by a virus, can occur. Waxmyrtle can reach a height of 15 to 20 feet with a spread of 10 to 15 feet. The glossy, oblong, olive-green leaves are 3 to 6 inches long. The leaves emit an aromatic, bayberry fragrance. Both male and female waxmyrtles must be planted for berry production. Male shrubs produce fragrant yellow catkins in spring. Female flowers are nondescript. When pollinated, female flowers develop into clusters of tiny, round, bluish-gray berries covered with a waxy coat. Birds consume the berries in fall and winter. The waxy coating is dissolved in the birds’ digestive systems, which allows the seeds to germinate when spread in droppings. Yellow- rumped warblers, Carolina wrens, mockingbirds, cardinals, and other birds eat waxmyrtle berries. Waxmyrtle is a larval host for the Red-Banded Hairstreak butterfly. Northern waxmyrtle or bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is a close cousin to southern waxmyrtle in Hardiness Zones 3 to 6. Both shrubs produce the waxy, aromatic berries, which have been used since colonial times to make candles, soap, and sealing wax. Both the southern and northern species of Myrica are considered fire hazards because of the aromatic resin compounds in the leaves and branches. Information on southern waxmyrtle is found in the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Publication 2901-1070 “Southern Waxmyrtle (Myrica cerifera)”; the North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox entry “Myrica cerifera”; and the Native Plants of North America Plant Database entry “Morella cerifera.” August 22, 2019 .