If you have a well drained or even dry sunny spot you may want to consider planting a bayberry or two. These tough plants are mostly evergreen except in very harsh winters. They often get waxy gray berries and the foliage is quite fragrant. I decorate with it at Christmas. They are easy to grow and if planted now will...
If you have a well drained or even dry sunny spot you may want to consider planting a bayberry or two. These tough plants are mostly evergreen except in very harsh winters. They often get waxy gray berries and the foliage is quite fragrant. I decorate with it at Christmas.
They are easy to grow and if planted now will have the fall and winter in which to develop a good root system. You simply dig a hole the size of the root ball and fill in with soil, soak well and add an inch or so of compost, well rotted leaves or your favorite mulch. Soak again in a week or so and then again if it remains dry. Although this plant is very drought tolerant it is good to water once a week the first couple of months.
Pictured at a native plant class at Triple Oaks Nursery and Herb Garden of South Jersey in Franklinville, several years ago is Lorraine Kiefer (center) with two of the student.This is a native plant that grows all along the East Coast, but especially at the Jersey shore. I just saw the most beautiful stand of it, covered with berries, on a sand dune in Cape May point.
Part of the fun is collecting the berries. Most grow in the coastal area near the shore and are probably protected, but you can grow them in your yard -- we have them all over in one of our fields where the birds spread the seed from the original plant.
I love the fall and winter fields and woods, the leaves have fallen and berries can be seen everywhere. When we collect berries at the farm, I always look for bayberries and try to pick a big bundle to use for wreaths and decorations. We often gather these fragrant, grey/white waxy berries and use them in arrangements with bayberry candles. They keep well dried, lasting for years. They also look really great glued to swags or wreaths.
The wax from the berries is used to make candles, cosmetics and soap. It is removed from the berries by boiling them in water so it will float to the top. It melts at 116 to 120 degrees and is harder and more brittle than beeswax. Candles made from it are aromatic, smokeless after snuffing, and very brittle.
A few years ago I wanted to make bayberry candles with a native plant study group I have. I picked some branches with berries and leaves and proceeded to look for instructions. I found out that four pounds of berries yield about one pound of wax.
When I realized that I had only a few cups of berries I had to change my plans. So, I melted a large block of bee's wax in a big coffee can over a pot of hot water. To this I added all the berries, leaves and even small pieces of the stem including the bark. It simmered for hours and became dark army green, almost brown, but it smelled very good. I strained out most of the leaves and bark. We hung pieces of wick in small Dixie cups and poured in the hot wax. When it cooled we each had a nice bayberry votive.
We did not dip our candles as the colonial people did, but rather poured them. If you have ever dipped candles, you know what a tedious task it is. Beginning with the wick and dipping it up and down, over and over again in the hot wax until the candle is formed. It is a fun thing to do today only if you have the time, but a necessity back in colonial times if there was to be light after sunset. It was considered to be woman's work and they were constantly experimenting with additives to seek ways in which the candles would burn longer.
According to old stories in the 1700s, just before Christmas, a small group of women in a little New England colony added the oil of the Bayberry to their candles. Not only did the candles burn longer, but also they gave off a most delightful scent. So pleased were they that they decided to make a Christmas Eve gift of these candles to each home in the village, and so the poem:
A bayberry candle,
Burned to the socket,
Brings joy to the home,
And wealth to the pocket
Today folks still love to give and receive bayberry candles However, in order for these good luck wishes to come true for you the candles should be given to you as a gift. But I am sure many folks break this rule and buy their own.
And remember, once lit, traditionally on Christmas Eve, they must be allowed to burn out. You must not blow them out or all the good luck wishes will go up in the smoke and be lost. Should you have to leave your home or retire before the candles have burned out simply place them in the sink where they can burn without danger. Bayberry has also been used for making sealing-wax.
The official Latin name is Myrica cerifera but in many places people cal it Wax Myrtle, Candleberry, Candleberry Myrtle, Waxberry and Tallow Shrub.
Initially, Bayberry was used medicinally only in the South, where the Choctaw Indians boiled the leaves and drank the decoction as a treatment for fever. Later, during the early 19th century, bayberry root was used for colds, flu and other infectious diseases in addition to diarrhea and fever. Contemporary herbalists recommend using the herb externally for varicose veins and internally for diarrhea, dysentery, colds, flu, bleeding gums, and sore throat. They say it is excellent to use in the early stages of infection, as it contains myricitrin, which exhibits antibiotic activity against a wide range of bacteria.
If you have a sandy, sunny place in your yard plant a few bayberry now. Its height is from 3 to 8 feet, with small leaves that are shiny and resinous. The stems are dotted on both sides with flowers that are unisexual producing fruit in small groups of round berries with black grains crusted with greenish-white wax. These remain on the shrub for two or three years until they fall or the birds eat them. The leaves are very fragrant when rubbed. Bayberry needs very little care once established. It does not however like to be over watered or fertilized too much.
Email garden questions to lorrainekiefer@gmail.com. A six-session native plants landscape class will be held at Lorraine Kiefer's Triple Oaks Nursery this fall. Bayberry candles will be made in one of the classes. Call 856-694-4272 or visit tripleoaks.com for more information.