"Sacha" wrote ...

Bob Hobden said:

After our conversation about mistletoe I went out today and took some
photos of some so those who don't have it locally know what to look for
when they are travelling about in the winter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobhobd...7632492269139/

These photos were taking in one small area but mistletoe is all around
here, even on some small rowans.


Lovely 'moody' photos, Bob! We see quite a lot of mistletoe when we drive
the motorway through Somerset and I wonder if the occasional (!) flooding
round that area has anything to do with it. In the past, in another garden,
I've tried pushing mistletoe berries into the branches of an old apple tree
to no avail, so maybe it's fussier than one would imagine for a parasitical
plant.


The bird that does the best "seeding" of mistletoe is the Blackcap, it does
not swallow the seeds but squeezes them out and wipes them off on a branch.
Other birds eat the seeds too (Mistle Thrush) and then it's pot luck if they
land on a branch, few will. So if you have Blackcaps in your area, we have
because I see one daily in our garden, and fruiting mistletoe, it will get
spread by them. If you are missing one or other there is little chance.

How to grow...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...w-to-grow.html

I understand mistletoe is spreading and wonder if this is due to the
migrating Blackcaps that come here now for the winter from Northern Europe,
it's a newish migration route as they all used to fly South.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK