A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Replacement for Wax Myrtle/Bayberry

Hi, I'm new to this forum, hope you all can help me out.

Recently I bought a house, and the deck attached to the house has wax myrtles planted beside the deck. The deck is about 4 feet off the ground, and the railing is 7 feet from the ground. I like the privacy the wax myrtles have created so far this summer, but fear that they will become more tree-like and get out of hand.

Does anyone have any suggestions of a plant that could replace these wax myrtles to provide some privacy, but won't grow 20ft tall?

PS. The soil here consists of mostly red clay and rocks.

photinia, mountain laurel, rose of sharon, chinese hibiscus, blue hibiscus 'alyogyne', camellia, dodonaea

To answer the question per wax myrtle...They can be trimmed back & will grow more bushier. You can hack it off at the base & it will sprout back out. We have them growing wild here, but I noticed that subdivisions are planting them, also hotels have them around the swimming pools.

The biggest thing that this is also called "Flea Bush" it expells fleas.