Myrtle

Myrtus communis subsp. tarentina

• Position: full sun
• Soil: fertile, moist, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: July to August
• Hardiness: frost hardy (needs winter protection)

  
  This small-leaved myrtle has deliciously scented, large, pink-tinted cream flowers in summer offset beautifully by glossy, dark green leaves. The flowers are followed, in autumn, by white berries. It is an elegant, evergreen shrub which can be kept in a cool conservatory during winter and moved outside to a sunny patio during the warmer months. It has been trained into a half standard shape with a clear, straight 60cm stem and a 30cm rounded ball of foliage on top. It comes in a 5lt pot.

• Garden care: Protect from cold, drying winds. Apply a 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base of the plant in early spring. Remove any unwanted growth in late spring.
  
  

• Goes well with: Sarcococca confusa, Lavandula x intermedia 'Dutch Group', Rosmarinus officinalis 'Miss Jessop's Upright', Petrovskia atriplicifolia, Iris reticulata, Clematis viticella 'Purpurea Plena Elegans'