Mistletoe Season – nearly there (again)

Late October, and those mistletoe berries are beginning to turn white, so it’s time for me to get blogging.

Firstly, it’s worth saying a few things about this year’s mistletoe crop.  Indications so far, despite a few worries from a few growers some weeks ago, are that there are lots of berries this year, so we may be in for another good season.  Slightly too early to be absolutely sure though, as I’ve only been monitoring mistletoe in Gloucestershire, but there’s no reason to think it will be different elsewhere. Final verdict  won’t be available until the berries have turned fully translucent white – as it’s only then you can truly assess the state of mistletoe in a tree.

And, as usual at this time of year, it’s worth briefly looking at sources and events. If you’re wanting to buy mistletoe there are the usual online sources – which include the English Mistletoe Shop (in which I must declare an interest), Kissmemistletoe, Intermistletoe, and the English Mistletoe Company – all of whom supply to individuals, and some do wholesale too. If you’re looking for wholesale then you should add TreeTops and English Mistletoe to that list (try not to get too confused by all those ‘English Mistletoe’ brands) and of course the Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Auctions.

Talking of which, planning for the Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival is coming along nicely – more details on events there in due course.

Now, back to the Mistletoe Diary – for which there are many emerging themes this year, as well as the usual reports on mistletoe crop, markets, sales, events etc. Plans so far include (in no particular order):

• Can mistletoe keep your cat calm?
• What Pliny really said about Druids and mistletoe
• The mistletoe harvest 2012
• The updated Mistletoe Pages – will they ever be finished?
• Druid events 2012
• Mistletoe medicines – the case for the cancer therapy
• Mistletoe Tea – how do take yours?
• Calm down, it’s only mistletoe
• Mistletoe Medicines – the case against the cancer therapy
• Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival – the Mistletoe Queen
• Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival – the Mistletoe Bride
• More on the Mistletoe Bride – locked in several different chests
• How mistletoe grows ‘into’ the host tree
• Updates on the Mistletoe League survey project
• Mistletoe Management Workshops
• Media coverage 2012 – will it be more accurate than 2011 and 2010?
• Mistletoe Beer – where to buy it
• Mistletoe rarity – is it really rare or is it spreading, or is it both?
• Current thoughts on the rare mistletoe insects
• Mistletoe stories from other countries – who have other mistletoes
• Mistletoe on oaks – my 2012 experiments
• Info Sheets from Mistletoe Matters – due in November
• The Western Australian Christmas Tree – a mistletoe on roots
• And lots of other mistletoey stuff…

More soon…