Viscum album (European Mistletoe)

I'd 'sown' mistletoe berries on garden trees somewhat haphazardly in the past (with no results), but here are some pictures of a better effort starting in 2012.

There is lots of information on the web, and it seems nothing 'mysterious' about germinating the seed. On 18th January 2012, I collected some mistletoe berries, squeezed out the seeds, and stuck them onto branches of apple and hawthorn in the garden. They are extremely sticky, so no problem at all attaching them - more problems getting the sticky stuff off my fingers! I didn't make cuts or anything in the bark - it seems it isn't needed, and after all, birds wiping their beaks wouldn't bother!

How does the radicle 'know' to grow towards the tree branch? I guess it just grows away from the light.

From what I read (and by now have seen for myself), not much, other than germination, happens for a year or two, during which time the seedling might be eaten by birds or animals. Is it perhaps more a case of waiting for the tree to grow around the 'root', rather than the root 'penetrating' the tree?

I sowed more mistletoe seeds on the apple tree in 2013. With a cold early part of the year, germination only happened in April this time.

Mistletoe on apple

Mistletoe seeds stuck to a branch of an apple tree. I seem to have stuck them on in rather a regular pattern!

Viscum album (European Mistletoe) seeds germinating on apple
Date: 2012 March 27

Around 10 weeks after 'sowing', the seeds are germinating. I imagine this depends more on the time of year (light and temperature) than the time from sowing, as the seed stuck to a tree is in a fairly similar situation to when it was still in the berry. I read that they will germinate anywhere, but obviously only succeed if they happen to be on a host tree.

Although there is usually just one embryo in what appears to be a single 'seed', multiple embryos aren't uncommon. I've read about sometimes getting two, and in this photo, I've got a 'three' as well.

Viscum album (European Mistletoe) seeds growing on apple
Date: 2012 September 9

Another 6 months or so later, we see the same cluster of 4 seeds. The two at the top still have the same number of 'shoots' as before. The one at the bottom now only has one remaining out of the two, and it looks likie the seed at the right is going to fail. Unlike in the picture on hawthorn below, there isn't any sign yet of the apple tissue 'swelling' around the attachment, but then it's a considerably thicker branch (with tougher bark?) than the hawthorn one.

Viscum album (European Mistletoe) seeds growing on apple
Date: 2013 May 11

Another 8 months later, so 16 months since 'sowing', we see the same seeds. Not much change (well, it's been winter), and no leaf-growth yet, but the remains of the seeds have further withered away, the 'shoots' have got thicker, and I think that there is some signs of a bulge developing where they attach (better seen when up the tree taking the photos). One of the seeds on hawthorn (below) is developing its first leaves.

Mistletoe on hawthorn

I stuck some more seeds to a Hawthorn Crataegus laevigata. Some of the seeds I collected were from mistletoe plants growing on hawthorn.

Viscum album (European Mistletoe) seed germinating on hawthorn
Date: 2012 March 27

Here is one of the seeds germinating on hawthorn.

Viscum album (European Mistletoe) seed growing on hawthorn
Date: 2012 September 9

6 months or so later, here are two of the seeds on the hawthorn again (different to the seed above). In contrast to the ones on apple above, there is quite a swelling of the host tree around the points of attachment.

Viscum album (European Mistletoe) seed growing on hawthorn
Date: 2013 May 11

Another 8 months later, so 16 months since 'sowing', we see the identical seeds to above (photo from slightly different angle). The top two seedlings (both from the same 'seed') have broken free from the old seed remains, and one is developing its first leaves. The two lower ones are still much the same, but then not much happens over the winter period.

Another Mistletoe on apple

A bit of a surprise here. While up the ladder taking the above photos of my mistletoe seedlings on the apple tree, I was hanging on to the tree branches, and broke a few leaves off something on the back of one of the branches. I wouldn't have thought any more about it, but one leaf landed on another branch, and I thought "that's not apple"! It turned out that there's another mistletoe plant, not one that I sowed in 2012. I don't think I broke much off it - no signs of new wounds on the 'stem' going upwards - I think maybe I broke off two of the small shoots at the bottom, but there are plenty more. At least I know where it is now, and it's easily visible from the ground. I can't remember whether I ever 'sowed' mistletoe seeds haphazardly on this tree in past years, or whether this one has arisen naturally. It's clearly at least a year, and maybe several years, older than the seedlings from 2012, and it's on quite a thick branch.