Myrica californica

 Hello,Einion,
 
I'm writing from Sebastopol, in Northern California. We're about 60 miles or a 1 1/2 hour drive north of San Francisco.
 
Myrica californica is a shrub or small tree, usually multitrunked, that grows in the coastal ranges here. It's evergreen, with inconspicuous flowers and small seed pods. It grows most of the time in a very contorted fashon because of coastal winds and the shade of pines and other trees. 
 
I planted it as a screen/background plant on my property, and it did very well. It grew very fast and needed absolutely no care and hardly any water. After it became established, it's required no water but winter rains. It's grown to maybe 20 ft. high and equally wide. It is a favorite of small seed and insect loving birds who spend lots of time in its dark green foliage peeping and pecking away. It's made an excellent background plant. It's dark green leaves offer a great backdrop for lighter colored perennials and such. It's worked as a great wind screen as well.
 
We have very sandy well-draining soil here. I believe its Zone 9 in the USDA list. We have coastal influence, and at that property (I've just moved to a new place a couple of miles away - still in boxes) we had frosts to 15 deg. F. Nothing has hurt the Myrica yet.
 
I hope this is helpful.
 
Steve French
Sebastopol, California
Russian River Watershed
 
-----Original Message-----
From: E*@aol.com <E*@aol.com>
To: m*@ucdavis.edu <m*@ucdavis.edu>
Date: Monday, August 06, 2001 2:32 AM
Subject: Myrica californica

Medit-Plants has quite a number of members living in California, so I feel
this is the best forum for this particular query. What could be more
Mediterranean, & indeed Californian, than Myrica californica? I received
seeds of it in the spring of last year: they germinated readily under glass,
and there they stayed all last winter & right up until a couple of months
ago. At that point I took pity on them - they were still tiny little things,
less than 2" high, so I potted them up individually, & since then they have
started growing away much better, & the leaves are now some 2" in length & a
beautiful glossy green.

I know absolutely nothing about this plant - I got the seeds simply because I
liked the name! How big does it grow, what are the flowers & fruits like &,
most importantly of all, am I likely to succeed with it outside here on the
coast of North Wales, where the last winter's minimum of -7C compared to the
previous 3 winters' average of -3C? Any tips & suggestions gratefully
received.

Einion Hughes,
Rhyl,
Denbighshire,
Wales,
UK.
Zone 8, or thereabouts.
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