Home > Projects >

How to Propagate Mistletoe

You will need: Knife, Mistletoe Berries, Suitable Tree

If you have not thrown your mistletoe away, try growing your own! This partial parasite grows on plants like apple, hawthorn and poplar. Use fresh, plump berries in March.

Best time to do it:

Step 1

Start by cutting a flap in the bark under a branch lifting it up.

Step 2

Insert (squish) the mistletoe berries into the wound.

Step 3

Be gentle and make sure not to break off the flap.

Step 4

Germinating seeds cause a swelling around the wound and small leaves will appear by the autumn. The success rate is variable, so use 4-5 seeds to improve the odds. It takes around 5 years for the female mistletoe to grow large enough to flower and produce berries.

Related FAQs

Ask a gardening question:

Latest Gardening News

Rhododendrons for non-acid soils

A New Alliance for Britain's Specialist Nurseries

Essential Gardening Jobs for Early Spring

Future of Original Bramley Apple Tree in Jeopardy

Gardening Projects for March

---

How to: Maintenance Pruning

How to control slugs

How to keep a lawn drained

How to make a Herb Planter

Latest Gardening Videos

---

Potting Cacti

Weed Control Using Mulch

How to Grow Perennial Scabius

Moving House and Taking the Garden with You | Garden Ideas | Val Bradley

How can I get rid of a red ant nest in my lawn?

5 Essential Spring Bulb Tips in 1 minute

All Videos

Explore Gardens from Around the World

Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Cape Town, South Africa

Medellin Botanical Garden
Medellin, Columbia

Missouri Botanical Garden
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Aswan Botanical Garden
Aswan, Egypt

Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore