Common Purple Lilac vs Northern Bayberry - TreeTime.ca

Common Purple Lilac vs Northern Bayberry

Syringa vulgaris

Myrica pensylvanica

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Common Purple Lilac
Northern Bayberry

Common Purple Lilac is a popular lilac. This large shrub provides excellent privacy or wind protection in an attractive package.

Lilac flowers are pleasantly fragrant and add a beautiful lavender colour to your property. Common Purple Lilac is cold hardy, easy to grow, and can tolerate most soil types.

Some people alternate villosa and common purple lilacs to create the impression that the hedge is in flower for almost a full month with the common purple flowering about 2 weeks sooner than the Villosa Lilac.

Northern Bayberry makes an excellent hedge or feature shrub. It will retain its leaves in warmer climates but drops them in colder areas. They produce blue-grey berries that have a wax coating on them that can be used to make candles or soaps.

In colder hardiness zones the leaves turn an attractive orange to red colour in the fall, making it a striking addition to your landscape.

Northern Bayberry is native to Nova Scotia and tolerates both drought and wet conditions. It is also a nitrogen fixer that tolerates poor soil conditions.

Common Purple Lilac Quick Facts

Northern Bayberry Quick Facts

Lowest Price: $3.49 - SAVE UP TO 50%
Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: long
Suckering: medium
Suckering: medium


Toxicity: Warning: The wax from bayberry fruit is considered toxic and may be carcinogenic.
Flowers: dark purple, extremely fragrant
Berries: blue-gray
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: yes

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: common lilac, french hybrid lilac, lilac
Other Names: candlewood, myrique de pennsylvanie, small waxberry, swamp candleberry, tallow bayberry, tallow shrub, tallow tree, tallowshrub