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Texas Gardening

Has anyone grown Greek myrtle?

14 years ago

I went shrub shopping today at Natural Gardener and ended up getting two Greek myrtles (Myrtus communis), and now I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse and wondering if this plant will do well where I plan to put it.

I told the nursery guy what I was looking for - a shrub for a north-facing wall that gets full sun until about 1-2 p.m. and then is in bright shade (if that makes sense.) I have slightly alkaline clay soil that holds moisture pretty well but is not soppy. He recommended the Greek myrtle.

I was a little hesitant because I had not seen this plant mentioned in any of the local gardening guides I've been checking out. But you know how it is - after wandering around the shrub section like a crazy person for what seemed like an eternity, I just grabbed two of the pretty little things and left.

Anyone grow this plant or have any opinions on whether it will do well in the site I described?

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Comments (6)

annieinaustin
14 years ago
Hello Basilette,

I've got three of the Myrtus communis nana - supposedly dwarf variety and like their neat appearance and fragrant foliage. They're in sun much of the day with some shade in the afternoon, in clay but a place that doesn't stay wet. Oldest of mine was pretty small - maybe 10-12 inches tall and in nearly 3 years has grown but not rampantly - maybe 20-22 inches now and rounded. The others went in the following season.

But with time they can grow pretty big - my friend's Greek myrtles are about 7-feet tall after 9 years. She never pruned hers, using them to form one wall for her Secret Garden. BTW, We both bought our plants at Natural Gardener, too.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose
knittlin
14 years ago
I've not grown it yet, Basilette, but I also work at the Natural Gardner, in the herb section where a lot of the myrtles are kept, so I've read up on them a lot & talked to those who have grown it.

I think it'll do well where you've described. The only thing that gives me pause is the clay (myrtles don't like wet feet), but so long as it doesn't stay wet, it should be just fine.
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basilette
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the responses - I really like these plants and LOVE the fragrant leaves, so I'm hoping they do well.

I amended the soil where I put them with compost and expanded shale, so hopefully that will help with drainage. Of course, the MONSOON we had on Saturday really drenched them, but luckily we don't get those too often.
HU-349883073
3 years ago
Basilette, I ordered one from online last month. From what I've read the root ball is never supposed to dry out, so you have to water pretty often but make sure it drains well. I'm sure hoping for a good result because I love this little bush. Right now it has berries on it, and the blooms in spring will feed my honey bees.
HU-349883073
2 years ago
None of these posts say where the plants are located. I would like to know the cold tolerance.
annieinaustin
2 years ago
HU-349883073 - I'm in far NW Austin and had 7 flourishing Greek myrtles in January 2021. Most were bought in 2007 and 2008 so they'd been through low temperatures of 12-15F.

Then the big February freeze came, with extended cold down to about 7F, longest deep cold in decades. One Greek myrtle died outright and the other 6 looked dead for a few months. The tops stayed dead but eventually green sprouts appeared on the trunks a few inches above ground. We cut off the dead wood and the survivors are about a foot tall and very full. I'm glad they survived.

Hope this information is useful to you.

Annie in Austin

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