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Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Myrica cerifera

Wax Myrtle
Southern Wax Myrtle, Southern Bayberry, Candleberry
Myrica cerifera

Long a staple in southern landscapes, wax myrtle was historically planted as an insect repellant: it was thought to keep fleas out of the house. These days most of us have resorted to other, stronger methods of pest control, but wax myrtle remains one of the South’s most popular ornamentals. No wonder—this Coastal Plain native is handsome, evergreen, and fast growing. It’s also extremely easy to maintain. In addition to tolerating heavy pruning, heat, sun, and salt spray, wax myrtle fixes atmospheric nitrogen, a trait that allows it to thrive even in the poorest of soils.

Wax myrtle is the perfect choice when you want to create a quick screen in the garden. Plus, its evergreen foliage provides valuable shelter for wildlife. The fruits, which appear only on female plants, are a high-energy winter food source for many bird species, including tree swallows, wild turkeys, bobwhite quail, bluebirds, catbirds, Carolina chickadees, myrtle warblers, mockingbirds, tufted titmice, brown thrashers, Carolina wrens, and red-bellied and red-cockaded woodpeckers.

FAMILY: Myricaceae (Bayberry Family)

DESCRIPTION: Large evergreen shrub or small tree with 1 to 4” aromatic olive-green leaves. Inconspicuous yellow-green flowers bloom in spring. 1/8” waxy blue-gray fruits ripen in fall and often persist through winter.

SIZE: 15 to 30’ high and 5 to 15’ wide.

GROWTH RATE: Fast.

HABIT: Open, airy broadleaf evergreen. Usually multi-trunked.

LIGHT: Full sun to part shade.

PLANTING AND CARE: Plants are tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions—wet to dry, acid to neutral, and poor to rich.

ORNAMENTAL VALUE: Assets include dense evergreen foliage; smooth, pale gray bark; and a graceful, open form.

LANDSCAPE USAGE: Plant in groups to create an informal hedge or screen, or limb up and use as a specimen tree.

WILDLIFE BENEFITS: Fruits are eaten by many songbirds, game birds, marsh birds, and shore birds.

NATIVE HABITAT: Though occasionally found in the Piedmont, wax myrtle is more common in sandy soils, swamps, and upland forests in the Coastal Plain.

PROPAGATION: Cold stratified seed, softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings, root cuttings, layering.

Text and photo by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation