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Sunday - December 21, 2008

From: Magnolia, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Privacy Screening
Title: Spacing for wax myrtles as screen in Texas
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have bought 30 wax myrtles, 15 gallon sized, and would like to plant them along my fence line, as a screen. How far apart is the recommended distance when planting plants of this size? Thank you!

ANSWER:

Morella cerifera (wax myrtle) is generally predicted to grow from 6 to 12 feet tall, with a similar spread. They can grow as high as 20 feet, often trained into a tree. You will want to grow them as shrubs without trimming them up, in order to achieve maximum screening. To follow this rather loose formula, if you have a shrub that is going to mature to 12 feet in spread, two shrubs should be 12 feet apart (trunk to trunk). The wax myrtle is fast-growing, but you will probably want to plant them closer together than that, for quicker effect. We would suggest 5 to 6 feet apart, and they should grow together fairly soon for your hedge, but not be so close together that they interfere with the growth of the others in the hedge.


Morella cerifera

 


Morella cerifera

Morella cerifera

Morella cerifera
 

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