Northern bayberry
Morella pensylvanica · Myricaceae
A dense, rounded native shrub with glossy, aromatic leaves that hang on late into winter, and waxy grey berries, once used for candles, on female plants.
- Size
- 6½ ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around northern bayberry
The planner designed this bed around northern bayberry when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why northern bayberry stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Northern bayberry × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 3, purple
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 27, pink
- 4 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 5 Stiff goldenrod × 8, yellow
- 6 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 8, green
- 7 Rock cress × 27, white
- 8 Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' × 22, blue
- 9 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 6, purple
- 10 Star of Persia × 6, purple
- 11 Narrow-leaved foxtail lily × 4, yellow
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does switchgrass 'Prairie Sky'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to stiff goldenrod (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, into winter. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 15 of the 18 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is tied together by its repeats: five kinds come round again along it, among them Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' and rock cress. The flowering is at its height in late June, with 5 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where northern bayberry goes in a border
At 6½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
It thrives where the soil is poorest, because its roots fix nitrogen. It suckers into colonies that hold dunes and banks.
- Seaside gardens and sand
- Poor, dry soil and road salt
- Native hedges and mass planting
What to plant with northern bayberry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Rugosa rose: adds the flowers, early June to mid September; happy in the same dry soil.
- Little bluestem: low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about northern bayberry
Does northern bayberry need sun or shade?
Northern bayberry grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does northern bayberry grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should northern bayberry be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6½ ft (200 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many northern bayberry plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is northern bayberry poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat northern bayberry?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will northern bayberry spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by suckers into a wider clump. Remove the outer shoots to contain it.
What does northern bayberry look like in winter?
Northern bayberry holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is northern bayberry good for bees and butterflies?
Northern bayberry is visited by songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of columbia silkmoth feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Morella
- Wax myrtle Morella cerifera
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6½ ft (200 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Myricaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Canada to Eastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Host plant for
- Columbia silkmoth
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt, wet soil, poor soil, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.