Wax Myrtle

The Wax Myrtle is an easy to grow evergreen shrub that gives you endless possibilities in the landscape. The shiny evergreen foliage ranges from deep to light green. This dense foliage and the extremely rapid growth of the Wax Myrtle make it ideal for privacy hedges. These fast growing plants can grow up to 5 feet in a single growing season! 

Wax Myrtles can be grown naturally as a large, full shrub or with some lower branch pruning you can have a gorgeous, multi-trunk tree. Either form looks great as a hedge or screen. Get creative and artsy or classy and simple! Or maybe somewhere in between is more your style. No matter your preference, this tough, beautiful plant offers unlimited options.

Key Features

• Fast growth rate. From 3 to 5 feet of growth per year the Wax Myrtle is one of the fastest growing privacy hedges.
• Hardy plant. This shrub-tree is no maintenance once established. The Wax Myrtle tolerates drought, heat, and salt. They are also resistant to deer damage, insects, and disease.
• Perfect for privacy. With dense foliage and a fast growth rate, the Wax Myrtle makes an excellent privacy hedge. An added bonus is this tree only reaches 15 to 20 feet at maturity. It doesn’t grow to enormous heights like the other fast growing privacy trees that have similar growth rates.
• Easy to sculpt. Whether you want a tidy, polished hedge or a nice natural screen, this privacy plant will work for you. It can be left unpruned or pruned heavily. The fast growth rate will allow you to change the style from year to year!

Pro Tip for Privacy Hedge Spacing

Plant you Wax Myrtles 5 to 6 feet apart for a nice tight linear hedge. Keep them at least 5 feet from your property line to allow space for growth.

Plant Wax Myrtles in full to partial sun. They adapt to just about any soil. Water about twice weekly for the first 2 to 3 months during establishment. Once established the Wax Myrtle is very drought tolerant. Feed your plants with a high quality, slow release fertilizer when planting and in spring. We have our own custom blend made to give your new plants the best start! Apply 1 to 2 inches of mulch around the rootzone to keep weeds at bay and help the ground better retain moisture.

Since Wax Myrtles tolerate drought, heat, salt, and sand, they thrive in coastal regions. They grow in warmer planting zones from 7 to 11. These shrub trees are pest and disease resistant and once established they are maintenance free! 

Wax Myrtles can withstand heavy pruning, but don't require it. Late winter is the ideal time for heavy pruning. Prune dead, diseased, and crowded branches any time of the year. Avoid shearing in late fall because pruning stimulates new growth. This new growth is easily damaged by low temps in winter. Shearing can be done at any other time of the year.

Landscape Ideas

Are you getting tired of looking at your neighbor? Planting Wax Myrtle Trees will fix that problem.  

Start out by the property line. Don't plant directly on the line because they will fill out and grow on your neighbor's property. Plant about 5 feet off of the property line and about 5-6 feet apart. You can stagger your trees for a more natural effect. 

In the Design above, we have wax myrtle trees in groups of 4. They are spaced out at 6-8 Feet apart on center. At first they may look too spaced out but they grow fast. We decided to use Green Giant Arborvitae trees to also help with screening. We placed the Thuja Green Giants in the corners because this is where we needed the most privacy to block out the taller houses behind the fence. They grow tall and will eventually hide the houses. 

We then placed a birch tree in the left corner as a focal point. We will be lighting this tree up and night to enhance our landscape. On the right side we placed a Eastern Redbud Tree. This tree is absolutely beautiful in the spring with its purple blooms.

To add even more color, we dressed up the front of the planting bed with some drift roses. They will flower all summer long and come in a variety of colors. We will keep the wax myrtles at about 10 Feet tall so that we can have full privacy in this yard.

You will also want to use mulch or pine needles for ground cover. Mulch will also help your wax myrtles and other plants grow faster without having to compete with the lawn. 

For additional trees for sale, be sure to browse our Thuja Green Giant as well as our Privacy hedge and Privacy tree collection.