Morella caroliniensis
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Shrub
• Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade
• Soils: Moist to dry
• Bloom Time: Inconspicuous flowers appear in early spring- May
• Size: 5-10 feet in height
Ubiquitous on Cape Cod, it is adapted to the Cape’s poor soils and salt spray. Does well in drought and deluge. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. Bayberry is dioecious, being there are male and female plants, and it is the female plant that bears the berries. Makes a good backdrop to a garden.
Garden Companions
Beach Plum (Prunus maritima), Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), Scrub Oak (Quercus ilicifolia)
Nature Benefits
• Berries are important food for birds.
• The foliage provides cover for birds.
• It has nitrogen-fixing microbes associated with its roots and therefore improves nutrient value of soils for other plants.
Native Habitat
Occurs in dunes, fields, forest edges, roadsides, coastal banks, beach edges.