Stems will often root as they touch the ground, creating impenetrable thickets that prompted French trappers to christen it with the epithet “Tree of the Devil”. In shade the form becomes more rambling and contorted as the branches twist their way through the underbrush in search of light.
PACIFIC WAX MYRTLE GROWTH RATE FULL
When planted in full sun, vine maple becomes a short tree or multi-stemmed shrub slowly growing to 25 feet or more over time. The native range of the plant mirrors that of Vaccinium ovatum, and its preferred growing conditions are similar as well, so the two plants make excellent companions.
Unfair, I say! Our maple is hardier, tolerant of a wider range of conditions and abuse, and varieties are now available in dwarf, cut leaf, and several other forms. Acer circinatumĪnother vastly underused native, our native Vine Maple is often shoved into the corner at the nursery while those fancy pants Japanese Maples are given top billing on a table right next to the cash register. I try to water them a couple of times a month, but when I forget they don’t seem to mind much. They are happy as pigs in mud and pump out copious quantities of delicious berries starting in early August. Our huckleberries are growing in morning to mid-day sun in about 6 inches of decent manufactured topsoil mix hurriedly dumped onto the edge of a wider-than-necessary gravel driveway. Plants in sun will appreciate occasional watering, plants in shade in good soil are very drought tolerant. Maintenance is as complicated as you wish to make it pruning isn’t necessary, but if you are one of those folks who prefer their shrubs to look like cubes and spheres, knock yourself out, as they tolerate shearing about as well as anything else. In shade the plant can eventually reach 10 to 12 feet, but in sun you can expect a 4 to 5 foot shrub in 10 years. Preferring part shade but tolerating full sun, the plant is happy from the crest of the Cascades all the way down to the salty shores of the Pacific. Permit me to present 3 of our natives that will hold their own horticulturally against anything the rest of the planet has to offer. So instead of groaning, “What, that old thing?” when your local native plant enthusiast begins once again extolling the virtues of something he just transplanted into his garden from the alley behind his house, you might want to pause to consider the advantages of using a locally adapted species with all the four-season-interest of some of those imported, often pricier options. Indeed, the proceeds alone from David Douglas’ introduction of Ribes sanguineum to Europe paid for his entire expedition to Cascadia. Permit me to remind you, dear reader, that when European plant explorers first arrived in the Pacific Northwest, they absolutely LOST THEIR MINDS over the breadth and depth of the horticultural offerings provided by our region. Although awareness of the value of our native plant palette is growing, all too often our local plants are passed over at nurseries in favor of exotic, newfangled, over-bred introductions from lands far away.
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