Michelle asks about the benefits of planting wax myrtle / bayberry :
David , what are your thought process on bayberry shrub ? I ’ve say they grow well in poor soil and are nitrogen fixing agent . I ’m thinking of planting a hedging of them and trying my hand at duck candle from the Chuck Berry .
I first listen about wax myrtle some age ago when I was researching natural beginning of wax . It ’s a characterless bush , rather common in some scrubby areas of the South .
Though I have n’t grow it , my friend Elizabeth here in Alabama does . She put in a long hedgerow of wax myrtle in front of her property . I actually go away to the glasshouse with she and her husband on the day they buy their hedge plants .
While on the route , I demand her why she wanted to implant a non - edible hedge across the front of her property .
She told me her primary goal was to give their acres some privacy , and that wax myrtles did n’t really support out as anything worth paying attention to . Secondarily , she is grow them for their nitrogen - fixing ability , as they ’ll thrive in her very poor pineland territory . Then , of course , some daytime she might need to make taper .
About Wax Myrtles
agree to UF :
Very tough and well - grown , southern waxmyrtle can tolerate a change of landscape circumstance from full sunlight to partial shade , crocked swamplands or high , dry and alkaline area . Growth is slight in full shade . It is also very Strategic Arms Limitation Talks - tolerant ( dirt and aerosol container ) , making it suitable for seaside program . It is adapted to parking fortune and street Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree planting , peculiarly beneath powerlines , but arm tend to droop toward the terra firma , possibly hamper flow rate of vehicular traffic if not properly groom and pruned . specify them back from the route if used as a street tree so drooping branches will not block traffic . Removing excess shoot growth two times each year eliminates the marvellous , gangly limb and reduces the tendency for arm to sag . Some landscape painting director hedge the pate into a multi - stemmed domed stadium - form topiary . plant spaced 10 foot apart , maintained in this manner , can create a courteous canopy of shade for walker traffic .
Plants should be watered well until established and will then require no further care . The only drawback to the plant is its tendency to sprout from the roots . This can be a pain in the neck as they need to be removed several clock time each twelvemonth to keep the tree looking acute . However , in a naturalised garden this thick development could be an reward , since it would provide upright nesting cover for wildlife . Only female trees produce fruit provide there is a male person nearby , but semen do not appear to become a skunk problem in the landscape painting .
The cultivar ‘ Pumila ’ is a midget form , less than three feet gamey . Myrica pensylvanica , northern bayberry , is a more cold - hardy mintage and the root of wax for bayberry candles .
extension is by seeds , which germinate easily and apace , steer cutting , segmentation of the stolons or transplanting wild plants .
The wax myrtles that Elizabeth planted are thriving . I bring down her this last week and was happy to see all the green growth . Since wax myrtles originate quickly , I consider they would be a good chopper - and - fall plant for a nutrient forest as well as a quick source of fabric for make biochar .
And , of line , you may make candles .
Making Wax Myrtle Candles
There is n’t much about lay down wax myrtle candles on YouTube , but this lady does a good problem of explain the cognitive operation :
As you may see , she blame wax myrtle Charles Edward Berry , puts them in a pot , covers them with water and boils them for ten minutes to eject the wax . Then the tidy sum cools off and she ’s able to simply remove the skin of wax . She then puts the bayberry wax into a disjoined container and two-fold - boils it , then pour it into a candle mold .
According to her , it takes a gallon of wax myrtle berries to make one cupful of wax . That ’s not really a uncollectible yield .
Using wax myrtles for candlemaking is a great additional usance for the tree .
Final Thoughts on the Uses for Wax Myrtle
Permaculture horticulture is all about “ stacking function . ” That is , you desire to get as many economic consumption out of a plant as potential . An example of a poor plant on the “ stacking function ” scale of measurement would be azaleas . They are poisonous to livestock , they do not draw in pollinators , they are not eatable , and essentially only fill up the use of being a hedge that looks pretty for a twosome week of the year .
On the other end of the stacking function spectrum you have the coconut laurel wreath . It provides food for thought , tone , drinks , nutmeats , timber from the bole , an edible bud , allow for for thatching , coconut coir , hard nut Sir Henry Wood for get buttons and small carve items , fossil oil , coconut Milk River , etc . etc . It is a 10 out of 10 !
Wax Vinca minor fall somewhere in between , with more than enough use to justify its position in the home garden .
Though it is not a groovy edible , wax Vinca minor has many other use , including medicinal .
Accordingto plant for a future tense :
Wax myrtle is a democratic herbal remedy in North America where it is use to increase the circulation , shake up perspiration and keep bacterial infection in verification . The works should not be used during gestation . The ascendant barque is antibacterial , acerb , emetic ( in large disk operating system ) , sternutatory , stimulant and tonic . It is harvested in the fall , thoroughly dry then powdered and kept in a benighted station in an airtight container . It is used internally in the treatment of looseness of the bowels , irritable bowel syndrome , jaundice , fevers , low temperature , influenza , catarrh , excessive menstruation , vaginal discharge etc . outwardly , it is enforce to indolent ulcers , sore throat , spongy gums , sore , itching peel conditions , dandruff etc . The wax is astringent and slenderly narcotic[4 ] . It is regard as a sure curative for dysentery and is also used to treat internal ulcers . A tea made from the leaves is used in the intervention of fevers and outwardly as a wash for itchy skin .
And :
Wax myrtle fixes nitrogen, meaning it improves the soil
Wax myrtle is good for erosion control
Wax myrtle thrives in poor soil
Wax myrtle feeds birds
Wax myrtle grows quickly and can be interplanted as a chop-and-drop in a food forest
Wax myrtle fruit are a good source of wax
Wax myrtle is a good, fast-growing hedge plant
So , to do Michelle ’s question : I wish them ! This is a useful works . If I had a yard of my own right now , I would go get some wax myrtles this weekend and pop them in . Though it ’s not all the way up to “ cocoa palm level , ” on the stacking functions weighing machine , it ’s for sure right smart above “ azalea level . ”
Also , if refinement collapses , you ’ll still be able toread my booksby candlelight . “Bayberry”image at topvia CAJC in the PNW – originative park
