Mistletoe plant is a devastating parasite of trees worldwide.
There is a softwoods variety of dwarfed mistletoe that is 'thorny'
kinda. Then there is the leathery leafed variety
that we see in Florida hardwoods. This list includes: Camphor,
Chinaberry, Elm, Hickory, Oak, Pecan, Sourgum, Sycamore, Willow
etc. Down here we find the 'lesser' oaks (Water,
Laurel etc. rather than Live Oaks etc.) to be more likely to have
mistletoe, and also for it to then proliferate more i think. That can
be good that it don't mess so much with the more favored Live Oaks.
But, on the flipside; bad in that the trees it does hit seem to grow
with more speed/ less quality. Thus are more problematic/ more chance
of other problems/ less defense as compounding elements to the
mistletoe weakening the trees further. Other complications are
that it grabs it's water first, so can starve a host tree from water,
especially in tough droughts etc.
This plant is spread by birds and
squirrels from it' berries in the spring. Then grows on it's
host plant; draining the life from the tree etc. Shaving
mistletoe off a branch doesn't get rid of it, as it will regrow, from
'roots'/hausteria under the bark; that may extend up to 2', but
usually seems not more than 18". After pollination it takes a
full year to berry/seed. So shaving off bark sets it back from
spreading by 1 season, But it will grow back. Florel
forces the blooms to abort, but must be applied at right time, and is
not a cure. Amputation of the limb further back than the
roots/hysteria is the generally accepted 'cure'. Otherwise some
try to suffocate teh plant from air/light with paint, or kill it with
herbicide at the risk of hurting the hsot tree, for their systems are
Fortunately our Live Oaks seem resistant
to this parasite. But our thinner barked Water and Laurel Oaks
etc. seem most easily infected, then devastated; along with Elms, Maples
etc. So, the tree breeds that seem to get infected easier, and
also more deeply infected; are the ones that are 'weaker' breeds; giving further
complications. Mistletoe can make or help to make a tree
Wintery time of
year, when the trees thin, you can see the mistletoe better; for it
doesn't thin. This is the time to assess and treat it; before the
poisonous berries in the spring get spread by birds/squirrels
droppings from eating the berries. Also, can be spread shortly
thereafter, as small plants not quite anchored, and transported in
mouths of these carriers.
Some butterflies and moths feed on mistletoe without spreading it.
Over thinning or less dense woods coverage can expose more wood area,
to chance the parasite getting a good anchor. Mistletoe dropped just
on dense leaf coverage having less of a chance to take hold i think.
Even if it does get a good hold there, it is more likely to fall off
of it's own weight.