Merry berry: magical mistletoe



How to grow mistletoe
Chris Groves, Head Gardener at Overbeck's and former Orchard Officer at Cotehele, Cornwall shares his tips on how to get mistletoe growing in your garden.
Mistletoe seeds germinate best in February and March, so obtain fresh berries then if you can.
Choose the right tree, mistletoe prefers trees and shrubs from the Rosaceae family, which includes fruit trees and hawthorn.
Mistletoe grafts itself onto the tree and grows around it, so it’s important to keep the trunk clear and allow it to establish towards the end of a branch.
Choose at least twenty berries, divided between different branches. Mistletoe is dioecious, meaning plants will be either male or female, so you’ll need to grow both to produce berries.
The seeds are naturally sticky and designed to cling to branches. Wipe fresh berries, squeezing out the seeds, onto the underside of a new branch, where birds are less likely to spot them. Avoid old branches and there's no need to cut into the wood.
Be patient! Mistletoe takes time to establish and five years at least to become large enough to produce berries.
Remember that mistletoe is a parasite, so once it is established it will affect the growth of the branch that it’s on.