Running late on so many mistletoe matters this season. And hardly had time for blog updates. So here are a few bits and pieces of info, just to get things moving and answer some questions:
Mistletoe crop 2014 – looking good, lots of berries. And, for all those journos who insist on writing silly stories about a berry glut (or shortage, if doom’n’gloom is your forte) being due to a hot/cold, dry/wet, winter/spring/summer/autumn (take a random combo – most journalists do), there is NO definitive cause. So please don’t try to find/invent one. The berries are formed after pollination in early spring, from flower buds formed slowly over the previous summer. Which makes the flower bud formation to mature berry process nearly two years long – and there’s no point in looking to credit one particular season. And no, they won’t all be eaten by the birds before Christmas either (they never are – mistletoe’s not like holly or other conventional berried plants).
Tenbury Mistletoe Auctions 2014 – dates are Tuesdays 25th November, 2nd December and 9th December. And there’s a change of venue. This season they will be at Burford House Garden Store, Burford, Tenbury Wells, WR15 8HQ. Details, as usual, from Nick Champion. Buying or selling? Check out Nick’s guides here – Buying, Selling
The mistletoe.org.uk websites – several are being re-vamped this season (and it’s taking up a lot of my time!) to make sure all are ‘responsive’ site designs, working on tablets and phones as well as on desktop and laptop computers. The latest to get the treatment is the home index page at mistletoe.org.uk. Check out the new design here.
Mistletoe Surveys – the Mistletoe League project – a group of public participation surveys looking into how mistletoe is managed on fruit trees and whether there are fruit varieties more susceptible or resistant to mistletoe – is being re-launched this month. This is also taking up a lot of my time – but there should be some progress to report soon….
Commercial break – the English Mistletoe Shop have just launched a new Grow-Kit website, dedicated to just the mistletoe grow-kits. Aimed particularly at gardeners, though suitable for all of course. Visit it here – it is, of course, a fully ‘responsive’ design.