Can i grow mistletoe

No, mistletoe can only grow from seeds. It is impossible to grow it from a cutting. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 2. No, mistletoe is hemiparasitic, which means it feeds mostly on the water and nutrients of the tree you plant it on. If you plant it on soil, it will die, because it needs to feed off of a living thing. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. The best way to kill mistletoe is to remove the stems one by one to ensure that there is nothing left.

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 4. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Mistletoe is notorious for taking a long time to grow. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1. Plant a generous amount of mistletoe seeds.

Mistletoe seeds are divided up by sex: female and male. Planting a lot of mistletoe will guarantee that at least some of your seeds will start to grow properly. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1. Your new mistletoe seeds should thrive on the same tree species, making this step of the planting process easier.

Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Avoid planting the mistletoe berries from your Christmas decorations. These berries are too old and are unlikely to be able to grow. If you managed to obtain mistletoe berries or seeds during the holidays, stow them for only a few months at the longest. They will be ready to plant by February or March. Mistletoe cannot survive without light.

Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Never try to plant mistletoe on the trunk of the tree. This area is much too large for the mistletoe to adhere to and germinate properly. While you may be advised to create nicks in tree branches so the mistletoe can stick, this step is unnecessary.

In fact, doing this may cause more harm than good. The exposed flesh may make the tree branch more susceptible to decay and sickness. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References About This Article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: Updated: March 29, Categories: Growing Trees and Shrubs. Article Summary X To grow mistletoe, start by pressing the seeds onto tree branches in early spring so they can take root.

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 39, times. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. Wreathed in myth and legend, mistletoe makes an unusual addition to gardens. Why not try growing your own, says Graham Rice. Before science determined what was really going on, people saw mistletoe Viscum album as a magical plant, a bushy little shrub with no roots that mysteriously remained green, high up in tree branches, while the leaves fell all around it.

It was eventually discovered to be a partial parasite. While its few green leaves photosynthesise to some extent, it gets much of its nutrition by sinking its roots into its host plant to tap its sap. The National Mistletoe Survey confirms these are the top two hosts followed by hawthorn, poplar and maple then willow, crab apple and false acacia Robinia.

Until last year, when someone cut it down, there was an impressive clump in an evergreen cotoneaster growing in a park near me in Northamptonshire. Cordon and espalier apple trees are the ideal hosts — the mistletoe likes apples and the low height of dwarf trained trees makes the process easy to manage. One thing to keep in mind is that mistletoe comes as male or female plants and, of course, like holly, only the females carry berries. Top 10 hollies and ivies Pick of the best winter-flowering shrubs RHS advice: how to sow mistletoe seed Grow your own Christmas greenery.

Join the RHS today and get 12 months for the price of 9. Skip to content [Accesskey '1'] Skip to navigation [Accesskey '2']. Get involved with the RHS ». Take action Why take action? Support us Donate Careers Commercial opportunities Leave a legacy. Join the RHS today and support our charitable work Join now. Gardening with the RHS ». Hot links Browse inspiration articles Buy plants online. RHS Flower Shows ». BUT the growing mistletoe plant seems to have the ability to photosynthesize and provide some of its own nutrients; and many experts now feel that it doesn't harm healthy trees.

A great article on the Department of the Interior's US Geological Survey website reveals that American mistletoe is a native plant that's been co-existing with our trees for the last 20, years; and that stands of mistletoe have been found to dramatically increase the diversity of important wildlife in the areas in which they grow—especially desirable species of birds, butterflies and pollinators. Yes, it can theoretically grow big enough to eventually shade the tree's true leaves—but it would take decades.

Mistletoe grows VERY slowly. That's one of the reasons it's much smarter to find it in the wild than to try and farm it. It would take quite a few years to grow plants of any appreciable size. Once you do find it and get permission, you generally need a ladder, a helper and a pole pruner.

You use the ladder, steadied by the helper, to get up as high as you can and then you use the pole pruner to cut off pieces, which ideally you catch in a net or something so they don't hit the ground.

Mistletoe bruises easily, and while you or the final buyer may choose to replace the poisonous berries with artificial, you don't want them to roll away on minute one. There's certainly money to be made. I found a Bulletin on the West Virginia Extension website that talked about local harvesters gearing up to sell it at farmer's markets, roadside stands and a market in downtown Charleston. And they linked to a great article from a issue of Mother Earth News where a West Virginia woman talked in detail about harvesting mistletoe and selling it from a card table at a local mall during the Christmas holiday season.

She reported making several hundred dollars—and having a lot of fun. Now if you owned a woodlot in a prime growing area, you could certainly try to seed some of your trees—but it would be a slow process. I think it's much smarter to use the Internet—which did not exist when that Mother Earth News story was written—to connect with a harvester in a mistletoe-rich region who can ship it to you overnight. Sign up today and be the first to know when a new article is posted and when there are special offers too!