Wax Myrtle

Morella cerifera

Hills guide picknative · Central Texassold locally

Wax Myrtle is a small tree native to Central Texas that grows 12–15 ft tall and 15 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms green in spring. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds and butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Wax Myrtle against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Fast-growing evergreen large shrub with aromatic olive-green leaves and waxy blue-gray berries on female plants.

Why it works here

Quickest native evergreen screen available. Tolerates wet or dry, sun or part shade, and fixes its own nitrogen.

Watch out

Fast means short-lived and prone to breakage. Multi-trunk it and expect to replace eventually.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Small tree
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Medium
Height: 12–15 ft
Spread: 15 ft
Bloom: Spring · green
Foliage: Evergreen
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on clay, dry, loam, moist, poor drainage, saline, sand
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Aromatic foliage
Wildlife: Supports birds and butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Southern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesSan Antonio Prairie

218 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

3, 15, 30, 45, 65 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.