Found mistletoe in my yamadori Ponderosa

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

This was my first real attempt at yamadori and I joined this forum in order to learn how to keep it alive after I had collected it in May of 2023.



Today while I was looking for scale on the needles (found on another pine in my garden) I discovered mistletoe on one of the branches.


After reading a bit here on the forum, I decided to remove that branch but am wondering what I should be looking for as the tree heals and what else I may need to do, including removing the larger branch that this comes from (hopefully not).


Mistletoe was within the red oval and I removed the branch it was on (yellow).

Looking to learn what I may need to know going forward.

 

[BrianBay9]

This was my first real attempt at yamadori and I joined this forum in order to learn how to keep it alive after I had collected it in May of 2023.

View attachment 602398

Today while I was looking for scale on the needles (found on another pine in my garden) I discovered mistletoe on one of the branches.
View attachment 602401

After reading a bit here on the forum, I decided to remove that branch but am wondering what I should be looking for as the tree heals and what else I may need to do, including removing the larger branch that this comes from (hopefully not).

View attachment 602402
Mistletoe was within the red oval and I removed the branch it was on (yellow).

Looking to learn what I may need to know going forward.

The question is, did you remove enough below the visible mistletoe to get all the "roots" in the host tree. If not, you may see swelling again and have to cut out more. Hope for the best!

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

The question is, did you remove enough below the visible mistletoe to get all the "roots" in the host tree. If not, you may see swelling again and have to cut out more. Hope for the best!

Exactly what I am wondering. The growth was only maybe 1 1/2" from the base of that branch but removing the next branch would take more than half of all the needles.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Having dealt with this I just dug it out and treated scar and surrounding area with fungicide. It can be killed without destroying tree. Branch removed will not damage trees future design. Plenty of possibility left.

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

Having dealt with this I just dug it out and treated scar and surrounding area with fungicide. It can be killed without destroying tree. Branch removed will not damage trees future design. Plenty of possibility left.

Interesting--when you say you "dug it out", is that literal? I will look into fungicide treatment for mistletoe, appreciate it.

 

[BrianBay9]

Having dealt with this I just dug it out and treated scar and surrounding area with fungicide. It can be killed without destroying tree. Branch removed will not damage trees future design. Plenty of possibility left.

Dwarf mistletoe is not a fungus. Don't know for sure but I doubt a fungicide would do any good.

 

[Atrox]

It is my understanding dwarf mistletoe is systemic, so-

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Mistletoe is a plant, I believe. Maybe some cut-paste would be more effective, but I’ve seen digging it out with an exacto or grafting knife.
If you are going with the other leader, branch removal would most likely solve the problem, but you could try and save the branch.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Dwarf mistletoe is not a fungus. Don't know for sure but I doubt a fungicide would do any good.

It is a parasite. Most normal green plants aren't but produce own food from chlorophyll. So to me it seems a far better idea than herbicide and harming or killing the tree. Maybe I dug mine out but it did not regrow after my harsh treatment.

 

[MaciekA]

A lodgepole I’ve been growing for 6 years had mistletoe growing out of it when I collected it. The solution to mistletoe when you have total control over / total access to a tree is to cut it off. I cut it off 6 years ago and it never returned.

Conventional writing (out there on extension office sites or in horticulture/wildland sources) on mistletoe may be a lot more hopeless because conventional writing may not anticipate that you have total access and control. It’s like oxalis, yes you’d rather get the roots out if you could but if you can’t, hammering away at the parts you can see will eventually exhaust it.

edit; I never used any kind of chemical product to attack it — just scissors.

 

[BrianBay9]

It is a parasite. Most normal green plants aren't but produce own food from chlorophyll. So to me it seems a far better idea than herbicide and harming or killing the tree. Maybe I dug mine out but it did not regrow after my harsh treatment.

I never suggested using an herbicide - just saying a fungicide won't do any good. Physical removal seems to be the only option.