Myrica pensylvanica northern bayberry
size/type
medium-sized shrub,medium-sized shrub
usual height
1,5-2,5m
usual width
1,5-2,5m
leaves
semi-deciduous broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
less showy but noticeable
colour of flowers
blooming time
May-May
location
full sun
USDA zone (lowest)
3 (down to -40°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Myrica and its various species have many names: bog myrtle, sweetgale, wax myrtle, even bayberry. All these names are for one genus that can be found worldwide, and for some reason nurseries don't grow them. So if you want one you have to search hard, and you will probably end up at a specialist nursery selling rare and unusual plants. That is such a pity! Because when I first saw a few myrica plants in a botanical garden it was love at first sight. Such neat and compact plants with handsome foliage and quite uniform habit. I made every effort to find a couple of growers of these plants so you can have them, too.
Description of the plant:
Northern bayberry is native to eastern coast of North America, and obviously Pennsylvania where its name comes from. It is probably the showiest of all hardy myricas thanks to its light green, leathery, and highly glossy foliage which resembles pittosporum. Leaves are 4-6 cm long, undulated, inversely lance-shaped, semi-evergreen. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow green, erect catkins which open from mid spring for a few weeks, releasing an interesting sweet and spicy fragrance, typical for ericaceous plants. Both this perfume and that of crushed leaves keep biting insects at bay. Bayberry, unlike its bog relative, needs well-drained soil that is kept moist, though it can temporarily take both drought and flooding for limited period of time. It needs fertile, acid soil, and preferably full sun. Pruning is possible in early spring or after flowering in early summer. It grows rather slowly or moderately (5-15 cm per year), forming a medium-sized, round-shaped shrub of handsome habit. It is hardy to about -37°C (USDA zone 3).
Last update 09-01-2017
SIZES and PRICES
height 275-300 cm, height of stem 70-120 cm, girth 8-10 cm, crown width 90-110 cm
9 900 Kč
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
