Plant types

Plant styles

Planting conditions

Seasonal interest

Nurseries & Gardens

Photo by Plant Image Library

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Show all photos

Morella pensylvanica

Also Known As

Myrica pennsylvanica
Myrica pensylvanica
Bayberry
Candleberry

Plant type

shrub

size

H: 5'-10'
W: 5'-10'

planting zones

2a-7b

More Options

Morella pensylvanica plant details

Morella pensylvanica is a broadleaf deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub with blue foliage. In spring yellow flowers emerge followed by blue, green and white fruit. Features glossy texture. Attracts birds and butterflies making it an excellent addition to pollinator gardens. Adapts to various soil conditions. Does well in gritty, lean and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something for erosion control and seaside / salt tolerant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Morella pensylvanica

Plant type: shrub
Plant family: myrtaceae
Foliage: deciduous or semi-evergreen blue
Mature size: 5 FT - 10 FT - wide, 5 FT - 10 FT - tall
Flowers: yellow blooms in spring
Uses: fragrant, fragrant foliage

GROWING CONDITIONS for Morella pensylvanica

USDA Zones: 2a - 7b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade
Resistant to: deer, erosion and seaside / salt
Soil needs: gritty, lean and well-drained

Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Deliciously spicy aromatic leaves on this fabulous dense suckering 6-10' eastern native shrub make it a great choice for a hedge; insignificant flowers become wonderful waxy grey-blue berries on pollinated female plants, the berries are used for bayberry soap, wax and candles, the leaves become a very attractive burgundy in fall and in warm locales this shrub is semi-evergreen; tolerant of a wide range of conditions including wet feet and drought, also tolerant of salt spray; ours our unsexed seedlings. S/D-M-W

By: Forestfarm

Bayberry is native throughout the Eastern United States and can often be found growing in conditions ranging from sandy coastal dunes to inland bogs. The fragrant leaves are frequently used in making soap, candles and wax. When grown in full sun, Bayberry plants grow quite dense and make an excellent hedge or windbreak. In warmer climates the leaves are evergreen but in sub-zero conditions the leaves will often drop off in the fall. The attractive gray berries are popular with birds.

By: Red Panda Nursery

An Eastern native that's tolerant of seaside conditions, but also at home in a variety of sites and conditions. Semi-evergreen leaves usually last until January here in central New Jersey; Bluish-gray fruit cluster on stems of female plants and yes, you need both males and females for fruit production. Female flowers look like "spikes"; male flowers are rounded and are more numerous.

By: Deer Country Gardens

Small to medium-sized shrub of fragrant foliage, often used for naturalizing in states along the Atlantic from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Famed for its use in making candles from the waxy berries during colonial times, its best present use is as a foundation plant, where it will tolerate compact or infertile soils.

By: Heritage Seedlings

Here is an opportunity to have one of the hardiest native plants in the U.S. Not only can it withstand the cold, but it grows right along the ocean and can tolerate the salt mist and poor, sandy soil. The entire plant is aromatic and the waxy gray berries are used as fragrance in bayberry candles. If this is not native in your back yard, it makes a nice addition to your collection. Thrives in poor sandy soils, and extremely adaptable.

By: Greer Gardens Inc.

A deciduous shrub, native to Eastern North American where it even grows on the seashore. Can take dry, infertile soil. Narrow, leathery glossy gray-green leaves to 4" long are dotted with resin and aromatic when crushed. Female plants have attractive clusters of tiny, grayish-white fruits in late summer which persist through winter. Birds love them. Used in the shrub border, combining well with evergreens for a contrasting color. Colonizing nature.