Of all things Christmasy
I have written about mistletoe, holly, poinsettias – all things important this time of year. I have my tree up, but not decorated. Besides ornaments, garlands and angels, what else do I need for my tree? My mother-in-law always did up small Santa stockings with candy, especially candy canes sticking out the top, for each grandchild. We put the canes on our tree for Christmas Day treats. These days, canes come in many flavors – peppermint, hot cinnamon, cherry, at least 22 flavors in all. Fruit flavors, bacon flavors and this year, I found pickle-flavored canes. (I guess even pregnant women needs candy canes.)
But J-shaped red and white canes prevail. The legends/myths behind their origin and symbolism intrigue us. It is credited to a German choirmaster, who, when confronted with rowdy, noisy children, handed them all long white sticks of candy he had bent to resemble a shepherd’s cane. Giving chocolates or candy to the children was considered sacrilegious, so he needed a sacred, significant religious twist to make them acceptable.
Its popularity came in 1847, when a German-Swedish immigrant in Wooster, Ohio, decided to put them on the Christmas tree for decoration. By 1900, they came in red and white with peppermint or cinnamon flavors. Symbolism came when someone figured that the white was the purification of Jesus and the red was his blood, even the peppermint flavor was said to be similar to hyssop, which, according to the Old Testament, symbolized purification and sacrifice. Today, we love the flavor and crunch of chewing on them.
Peppermint flavor is used many times in many ways. It is a favorite flavor. However, I have a grandson who found the flavor too strong for his palate, and is not a lover of mint. Many of us do, though, because it calms a queasy stomach. Gums, toothpaste and teas lead in uses of peppermint.
Mentha piperita, in the family Lamiaceae, peppermint, was first described by the Father of Botany, Carl Linnaeus, in 1753, from specimens found in England, as a species. However, it is now universally agreed to be a hybrid. An herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant, with leaves and square stems that are slightly fuzzy and have wide-spreading, fleshy, fibrous roots, making it a low creeping plant. Flowering mid to late summer with thick purples spikes of blooms, it is a fast growing plant; once it sprouts, mints spread very quickly. Being a hybrid, it’s usually sterile; it doesn’t seed, spreading by its rhizomes, and can grow anywhere. It usually loves moist habitats and shaded locations. Grown outside of its native range, it creates an abundance of feral plants. It is considered invasive in Australia, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and, since 1843, the United States in the Great Lakes region.
If you are growing it in containers, keep it permanently moist without being waterlogged, and place in a part sun to shady area. Honey bees are attracted to the flowers. In Ohio, I grew it under my water spigot outside the kitchen window. As it spread into the lawn area, its fragrance pervaded the air when mowed. Neighbors to the back of me had bee hives. The bees kept a solid line going back and forth to the flowers when they were in bloom. The children could not play out there at that time.
What makes it a hybrid is that peppermint was a cross between water mint, Mentha aquatica, and spearmint, Mentha spicata. Water mint is a shore plant and important for erosion control. It prefers slightly acidic soil in moist loam, and full sun, although they tolerate some shade. As a natural pesticide, it repels flies and mice.
I can grow the common and easy-to-grow spearmint. Although spearmint and peppermint are mints, they are both completely different, based on their taste, aroma and properties. Both came with the English colonists because they used them in their tea, for their medicinal purposes and because mint tea was tax free. Spearmint is a naturally occurring aromatic herb found in cooking since the Roman times. It does not contain the menthol power of peppermint, that is a cross of two highly menthol mints.
Come Kentucky Derby time and when I want my English pea soup, I need my spearmint. We had a lovely patch at Trafalgar until it got flooded out last year. Burst pipe.
There a many varieties of mint and my favorite is chocolate mint. A tiny, dark-leafed variety that spread around an earlier home, from the north side to the east side, which it much preferred.
As for the orange in the toe of my stocking, I was afraid citrus greening would devastate our Florida economy. After all, they are on our license plates. Our citrus industry is in a sad state, now less than a third of what it was 20 years ago. USDA says this year’s crop is expected to be the smallest in more than 50 years. At the Lake Alfred Citrus Research and Education Center, in Polk County, in Central Florida, they now have one tree that is surviving beautifully. They wanted to call this variety “Bingo,” it’s a small mandarin orange, seedless and easy-to-peel. Growers are excited about this new variety that has survived 9 years of citrus greening infection and flourished. The hope is to compete with the clementines from California and Spain. They have received orders for nearly 150,000 trees, many already in the ground.
It has sparked hope and optimism in an otherwise doomed industry. When the disease first showed up in 2005, they felt this was a death sentence. “In 10 years, the industry would be gone.” Now they have hope. That’s what Christmas is all about.
It’s time to start watering wisely and according to local ordinances. The dry season is upon us.
Also, thank a tree for all it gives us – clean air and oxygen, cooling shade, food, building material, and landscape beauty. ‘Tis the season to be thankful.
Joyce Comingore is a Master Gardener, hibiscus enthusiast and member Garden Club of Cape Coral.