Rain Garden Plants: Northern Bayberry

Northern bayberry is a deciduous, multi-stemmed, rounded perennial shrub that provides good erosion control and soil stabilization. It grows best in well-drained, acidic, sandy, or peaty soils and is often found in coastal areas. Flowers are small, inconspicuous catkins. This shrub is dioecious, meaning that at least one male and one female in a group of northern bayberry are required for fruit to set. If female flowers are pollinated, a small, grayish-white drupe is produced in late summer, persisting through April. Leaves are alternate, with a dark gray-green, waxy, shiny surface, and are especially aromatic when crushed. The bark is reddish brown to gray. Northern bayberry is tolerant of difficult conditions, including a range of soil types, occasional wet and dry conditions, and poor soils. It has a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen bacteria, enabling it to thrive even in low-fertility conditions. It offers high-value food and shelter for birds and small mammals, but is moderately deer-resistant. It grows slowly and retains a rounded shape, so heavy pruning is not required or recommended.

• Height: 6 to 12 feet
• Bloom color: Gold/yellow (inconspicuous)
• Bloom time: Late spring to early summer
• Hardiness zone: 3a to 8b
• Salt tolerance: Highly tolerant of salt spray; moderately tolerant of salt in soil
• Spreading habit: Spreads rhizomatously, forming colonies or thickets under favorable conditions

Site Conditions

• Sun: Full sun/Partial shade
• Soil: Well-drained
• Hydrologic zones: Tolerates from occasionally wet to occasionally dry soils

Sources

North Carolina Extension 

United States Department of Agriculture 

Prepared by Jodi Sulpizio, Beth Yount, Jessica Chou, and Constance Schmotzer. Peer reviewed by Scott Sjolander and Sandra Feather. Finalized by Jodi Sulpizio