Myrtle, Greek Myrtle, or Swedish Myrtle
Myrtus communis (MYRTACEAE)
Planting and Growing Myrtle
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow myrtle, Greek myrtle, or Swedish myrtle in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and berrylike fruit of myrtle, Greek myrtle, or Swedish myrtle
- Growing conditions for myrtle
- When and where to plant myrtle
- How to plant myrtle
- How to shape, prune and control growth of myrtle
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of myrtle
- Landscape uses of myrtle
- Pest and disease control for myrtle
Growing Myrtle
Many cultivars of medium-growing, rounded, dense, woody, evergreen shrubs, to 15 ft. (4.5 m) tall and wide, with opposite, shiny, deep green, variegated, oval to lance-shaped, fragrant leaves, to 2 in. (50 mm) long.
Common cultivars include Myrtus communis ‘Buxifolia’, ‘Compacta’, ‘Microphylla’, and ‘Variegata’.
Myrtle Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Fragrant, crestlike, white flowers, to 3/4-in. (19-mm) wide, with many long stamens, in summer, form black, blue, white, 5-lobed, berrylike fruit, to 1/2-in. (12-mm) wide, in autumn.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 8–11. Tender. Best in subtropical, mild-winter climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist to damp, well-drained humus. Fertility: Rich. 6.0–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full to filtered sun. Space 4–5 ft. (1.2–1.5 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep evenly moist until established; drought tolerant thereafter. Fertilize monthly. Prune or shear to shape. Protect from wind. Propagate by cuttings, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, containers, hedges in arid, tropical, woodland gardens. Good for espaliers, topiaries. Pest and disease resistant.