what do you call "good sized"?

wax myrtles are available at almost any nursery & they are fast growers, so you can start a bit smaller than you might with other trees

~ freshair

I know Strong's at I-35E and Sandy Lake Rd. has them. They are very fast growing, so if you get a moderate size plant, it will be huge before you know it.

Yep, you might not need to buy a big one, I've also found they grow really fast. Nice looking trees. Their main drawbacks for me are a short life span and extremely brittle wood.

Randy

the nursery in Rowlette--east of Garland has some I think
they have their inventory printed on their web site
sorry I forget the name--but you can google it probably

Thanks everyone! I think I'll call around and see what I can find. Can someone define how "fast growing" these trees are? I'm wanting something tall now and don't want to wait even another year if I don't have to.

Also, I haven't heard about them having a short life span. How long do they typically live around here? This isn't my forever home so I'm not too worried about their life span, as long as it isn't 2 years! :)

Kelli

if you are still looking--saw several wax myrtle trees--about 5-6 ft tall and maybe 3-5 ft wide at the Blooming Colors nursery on Hwy 26 south of the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club in Grapevine/Colleyville area yesterday
they actually looked nicer than most of the crape myrtles in that size range--some of them looked like they had mildew starting up...
but we want something with some color

Kelli, the life span is short compared to, say, a Yaupon Holly or a crepe myrtle.
When I plant a tree, I tend to think about not just my generation, but my kids generation as well.
It's just a perspective that having kids did to me :-)
I tend to think long term when planting something that grows to small tree proportions or larger.
I would not let that deter you from planting a Wax Myrtle, if that's the one you want. It should be alive well after you sell your home and move on, especially since it's not your "forever" home.
It's a beautiful plant, and I'm sure you willl enjoy it.

Randy

Thanks Randy and loves2read! I ended up finding some enormous ones at Big John's in Cedar Hill. I purchased two that were around 8 feet tall and the'll be installed in the next couple of weeks. They had some that were around 15 feet tall but they were a little too expensive for what I'm needing at this point. :)

I'm glad to hear that they'll be around at least as long as I'm living here. I researched small trees/large shrubs for a while before I decided on wax myrtles. My primary goal other than creating privacy was something for wildlife. I want to get my backyard certified in the next year by the National Wildlife Federation and always plan my plantings around that. I had considered the yaupon but didn't care for the look of it as much as I do the wax myrtle. The wax myrtyle is much softer and pleasing in my opinion. Plus, the scent/natural flea repellant feature is a nice touch!

I'm so excited. They called this morning and are planting them today. They just happened to have another install today in my neighborhood so now I don't have to wait 2-3 weeks. :)