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I've never made candles before, but I was reading about boiling down the seeds/berries of these plants, extracting the wax, and making candles. Sounds intriguing, if not extremely labor intensive...but still interesting to me. Anyone ever attempted this? I am speaking specifically of the Chinese Tallow Tree and the Southern Wax Myrtle Myrica cerifera. I have both.
I heard it takes a lot of wax myrtle to make candles. I also heard it might be worth it for the smell. Are you planning to mix it or do you want pure wax myrtle candles?
You know, I have never made a candle in my life, lol. But I thought, maybe I'll gather a BUNCH of berries, boil them, collect the wax and store it, and repeat until I have enough to justify making candles. I know nothing of candle making, but mixing it may not be a bad idea, either.
When I lived in Orlando, I always thought about trying to make bayberry candles, but thought it would take the berries from every tree in the neighborhood. I like your idea of gathering bunches and making wax in small batches. I never thought of that. The only candles I made were hand-dipped ones and others in an old tin mold, but I got a couple of big blocks of bee's wax and melted it down. They turned out beautifully. Recently I looked for bee's wax to try it again, but the price of the material and shipping of it was just too much. Have you investigated how to make the candles from berries?
OK I'm gonna try this. I have 2 huge wax myrtles and I saw this done on Central Texas Gardening. My husband is hysterical! I am going to pick the berries and boil them and see how many years it takes me to make one candle. I'm always up for the adventure. Stay tuned.
