Phonetic: MIR-i-ka pen-sill-VAN-ee-ka
1 Gallon Pot - 24" Shrub
Also called Northern Bayberry
Bayberry is an easy to grow, aromatic shrub. Groupings of plants need a least one male plant to facilitate pollination of the female plants and subsequent fruit set. Shrubs tend to sucker and may form sizable colonies. The plant is dioecious and male and female flowers appear in separate catkins on separate plants. Neither catkin is showy, with only the male flowers displaying color of yellowish green. Flowers on female plants, if pollinated, are followed by attractive clusters of tiny, grayish-white fruits in late summer which usually persist through the winter. The fruits are covered with an aromatic, waxy substance which is used to make bayberry candles, soaps and sealing wax. Fruits are attractive to birds. Host plant for several moths, including an oddly named one, The Little Wife Underling.
- Hardiness Zone: 3-7
- Native Northeast Region: USDA Database
- Sun Exposure: Part Shade to Full Sun
- Bloom Color: Yellowish-green
- Bloom Time: May, June
- Soil Type: Medium Dry to Medium Moist
- Mature Plant Size: 5-10' Height, 5-10' Width
- Plant Spacing: 6'
- Host Plant: Little Wife Underling
- Attracts: Birds, butterflies
- Advantages: Medicinal, Home product uses
- Landscape Uses: Fragrant, Nitrogen fixer, Transition
- Companion Plants: American Cranberrybush
- Deer Resistant
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