Lauterbach: Mistletoe may be friendly for lovers, but it can kill trees
This is the season when it’s acceptable for strangers to kiss under the mistletoe, although folks who take advantage of its presence usually are at least acquainted. One version of the tradition dictates that when one kisses under the mistletoe, the kisser reaches up and picks a berry from the spray, then discards it. When there are no more berries, there’s to be no more kissing. But here’s a little gardening lesson: Mistletoe is a parasite on living trees, often killing its host. How did it come to be associated with romance (or friendliness)? A Norse goddess, Frigga, begged all living things that grew in soil not to harm her son, Balder. As in all such cases of “divine” eternal life, there was a flaw: the wood of mistletoe did not grow from soil, but from other wood. Mistletoe was used to kill Balder. When his life was somehow restored, Frigga made the plant a symbol of love. We have dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium) in Idaho, especially in forests, but it can set root on trees anywhere. It’s a close cousin to the broadleaf Phoradendron used for kissing ceremonies. Both are evergreen, so are obvious in deciduous trees after leaves have fallen but difficult to see among branches of needled evergreens. The male plants produce pollen, the females small white berries. Birds are very fond of the berries, and consume the pulp, fly to another tree and excrete the berry seeds. Dwarf mistletoe seeds are mainly dispersed by being forcibly discharged horizontally, 30 to 40 feet away, effectively infesting a forest.When these seeds germinate on branches, their roots grow through the bark into the tree’s water and food-conducting system, which nourishes the parasitic plant. Development of the mistletoe may be slow, evident only by swelling on the branch at first. Some control may be gained by cutting off the infested limb. Just pruning off the mistletoe plant won’t control it, because it will quickly grow back. A homeowner can get a little control by removing the mistletoe again and again. SET UP A ‘HOT FRAME’ FOR VEGGIES THIS WINTERIf you have access to fresh horse or cattle manure, and you know they haven’t been grazing on herbicide-treated pastures, you could set up a “hot frame” for growing veggies in winter. Dig a pit about two feet deep and as large as your cold frame or old window. Fill the pit with fresh manure to within about five inches of the top, then water it lightly to start decomposition. Top the manure with garden soil to the top of the pit. Set your cold frame over the top of the pit. Check soil temperature every few days.Temperature of the soil will be too hot at first, when the manure begins decomposing, then it will gradually cool. When the temperature has dropped to 70 degrees or a little higher, plant greens or seeds in the soil. On sunny days you may have to prop the hot frame window open to avoid cooking your crop. Be sure to close it at night. GARDENING CATALOGS ARE STARTING TO ARRIVESome seed companies such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Pinetree and Thompson %26 Morgan, have already mailed 2008 seed catalogs. I usually order seeds at this time of year because if I wait until after Jan. 1, they’re often sold out of the varieties I want. I will order anything except alliums (onions) from last year’s catalogs or Web sites. Allium seeds have a short viability expectancy.
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