Mistletoe at the Mill

Regular readers of this blog will know how important our apple trees are to the history and folklore of the mill.  Last autumn we spotted the plentiful balls of mistletoe in the orchard at Norton Priory and wondered whether we could try to get some growing on our trees.  Apple is the preferred host tree for mistletoe, so when the Paul Quigley from NP offered us the chance to plant some mistletoe of their mistletoe upon our trees we seized this gladly. 

Stretton Watermill is located at the northern end of the Marches betwixt England and Wales, whereas the wonderful land of mistletoe is in the southern Marches.  One of the issues in getting mistletoe to establish itself is to obtain the berries from a local plant, mistletoe from Gloucestershire would be unlikely to take well in Cheshire.  Norton Priory had taken berries from a walled garden on the Wirral and now established it in their own walled garden orchard near Runcorn, so these was some of the nearest established plants we could get berries from.

Paul turned up with a plenty of berries, and the clever tips on how to plant them, ignoring the RHS instructions of nicking the bark and trying to wedge the berry underneath. Instead we were to mimic nature and the actions of a mistle thrush rubbing its beak against the tree to remove the sticky inside of the berry, and also to carry out the job in early March, when the berries are ripe, rather than at the end of the Christmas festivities.

The berries are squeezed to get the sticky centre and seeds out.  We gathered these along the edge of our hands, then placed several on a branch, hopefully getting a mix of male and female plants.  We were advised to avoid the older branches with thicker bark.

Paul was happily in tune with our feelings at the mill, that anything we introduce should be done not for purely for beauty, but that it should become a part of the stories of the site, fitting in with its history and legend.  As we worked, we shared tales and folklore of the mistletoe and the trees around our the mill.  If you would like to find out more then travel no further than this excellent mistletoe website.

Mistletoe is slow to establish, in a year we will know whether it has taken at all, but in three or four years we will hopefully see the plant itself on the trees.  Patience is required for this magical plant.