Success with mistletoe! (1 Viewer)

[Yaffle]

After years of trying without any luck I think I've finally go the hang of growing mistletoe from seed!

For anyone interested:

1. You must use ripe berries, those on the mistletoe sold in the shops at Xmas are often not fully ripe and will not grow. You can buy ripe berries from http://www.mistle.co.uk/ The best time to purchase is January, best time to 'plant' is probably mid/late February.

2. Apple trees are a very successful host tree.

3. Squeeze the seed from the berry onto a branch that is ideally no more than 1" or so in diameter. Mistloe will not easily penetrate thick bark. No need to nick the bark either, this is a myth and if anything probably hinders the rooting process.

4. Plant during a dry spell so that the sticky gel around the seed can dry out and glue the seed firmly to the bark. If you plant on a wet day the seed will just get washed off.

5. Protect those seeds that germinate with a bit of chicken wire otherwise the birds will peck the seed off during its first year.

The pics show progress to date. The first shows the intial germination with two little green pads emerging from the seed. The second shows the seed at the end of the first summer. The third shows the emergence of two leaves by the end of the second year.

To say that patience is needed is an understatement and I won't predict when I will see the first berries!

Yaffle

 

[steve_nova]

Excellent shots of the progress.
I have been growing this plant for years on various hosts with Apple probably the best but Hawthorn and Sorbus having been quite successful for me too. I will post some pics of it on all three above mentioned hosts soon.
I have several plants on a Crab Apple and a Sorbus at work (I work in a garden centre in Northumberland) and often have to tell customers who inquire about it's propagation that "No, you don't cut a slit in the bark, I have never yet seen a Mistle Thrush carrying a penknife!"

ps. I have also tried it surprisingly on Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) with great success, picture of that on its way too.

 

[steve_nova]

First two on Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
Second two on Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Last on Japanese Crab (Malus Floribunda)

The Sorbus is at work and I'm off today but will post if you want the proof!

 

[Isurus]

First two on Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
Second two on Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Last on Japanese Crab (Malus Floribunda)

The Sorbus is at work and I'm off today but will post if you want the proof!

very impressive. might be time to try again. if i buy my berries in january do I just leave them out in the cold until planting in feb?

 

[buckskin hawk]

I didn't know anyone tried to clutivate it. It is our State flower. You can find it all over downtown in just about any older tree. The birds do love it.

 

[Yaffle]

I didn't know anyone tried to clutivate it.

Indeed nor did I before I started. I have always been fascinated by mistletoe as it is such an unusual plant and there remains a distinct lack of advice anywhere on how to grow it, hence it seemed a good challenge - one the more difficult of our wild flowers to grow from seed I suspect. There is also a good practical reason - most of the mistletoe in our area is quite old and it is not obvious that there is much succession. I believe one reason for this is the dramatic fall in UK birds populations, including I suspect those that traditionally spread mistletoe, so every little helps.

Steve, great pictures especially the last one - are these multiple shoots all from one seed?

Isurus, if you buy berries in January just leave then in an unheated shed or garage for a few weeks. Keep them in an open container otherwise they will go mouldy, and don't let them dry out to much. If there is a long dry spell when they are on the branch I have found that a quick spray with water last thing at night helps them along.

Yaffle

 

[buckskin hawk]

I don't know if this is the same species but it grows on almost all the large older trees such as sycamores, pecans, oaks, elm, etc in my area. It is usually found in the crotch of a branch and is high up in the tree. The way we harvest it is to shake the tree or throw something into the tree and knock it down. Fresh seeds are plentiful and I bet you would have to wait until Jan or even Feb to let them ripen.

This is our Mistletoe:
(Phoradendron flavescens)
.
State History:
Leave it to the Sooner State to adopt the second state flower. Minnesota beat Oklahoma by just a week. But Minnesotans later changed their state flower, because they chose one that doesn’t even grow in Minnesota! On the other hand, Oklahoma’s state flower, mistletoe, wasn’t really a flower, and Oklahoma wasn’t a state yet! It was Oklahoma Territory.


The World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893 inspired both Oklahomans and Minnesotans. Representatives from all the states were invited to choose an official flower to represent them at the Fair.

The passion flower was a leading candidate in Oklahoma until it was announced that it already represented Arkansas. In fact, Arkansas didn’t adopt a state flower until ten years later. Although the passion flower was a candidate, the apple blossom won.

But Oklahomans stuck with their other favorite, mistletoe. It was reportedly chosen because it was once used to decorate a settler’s gravesite when no other flowers were available.

 

[Yaffle]

I don't know if this is the same species but it grows on almost all the large older trees such as sycamores, pecans, oaks, elm, etc in my area.

The european mistletoe is Viscum album, but is very similar in appearance to
Phoradendron flavescens.

Yaffle

 

[steve_nova]

Steve, great pictures especially the last one - are these multiple shoots all from one seed?
Yaffle

Actually, this last one was an experiment. I scooped a one year plant off with a sharp knife to see what would happen, and this was the result! Multiple shoots. The bark calloused over faster than normal (a bit like a wart really!) and these emerged.

I wondered what happened when it was harvested to its stock and now I know.

 

[rollingthunder]

I have just finished some crown reduction work on a large False Acacia and altho not native this particular specimen had a number of rooted Mistletoes - first time i have seen it on this species personally...Loz.

 

[Gill Osborne]

This is a fascinating subject and something I wouldn't mind having a go at once we find somewhere long-term to live and I can get my garden sorted.

Do the host trees have to be mature or could I perhaps plant some young trees, give them a year to get established and then introduce mistletoe?

Certainly seems a slow-growing plant but I've been a keen gardener for years so know all about patience! The end resuls are always worth it!

Gill

 

[steve_nova]

Hi Gill. A young three year old apple tree is quite capable of supporting two or three plants. I know, because I have done it in the past and the tree has not suffered significantly. By the time the Mistletoe is becoming noticeable, the young tree will have had at least three years of growing under its belt.

I have just finished some crown reduction work on a large False Acacia and altho not native this particular specimen had a number of rooted Mistletoes - first time i have seen it on this species personally...Loz.

Dont suppose you have any pics do you? Mistletoe (Viscum album) is very unusual on Leguminaceae (Fabiaceae).