mistletoe

[bandet]

hello all I am asking for advice on mistletoe
I pruned two bradford pear trees about 4 months ago not shure what time of year would have to do with the end ressult but rental house tinents are out and owner says to do the work dosent want to bother new tinents so ok your tree ill do it
so I go back this week to take a look
I remimber clearly looking at all the branches to make sure that I had got it all
taking the cut 1 ft down from the infected part
after taking a look this week ther is the nasty green again did I think it woud grow back yes
I told ho to expext to have to trim or prun it out again but 4 months seams early its dead of winter 30 out side
any good ides on how to deal with this stuff
or did I do what most of you would have done
trim it out and say this will have to be done again removel was not what ho wanted to do
View attachment 275410ATTACH=CONFIG]275401[/ATTACH

ok so part two now the ho wants me to do the same for his tree in his frount yard large tree about 70 ft
so I say well I think you may want to consider removel as to trim this all out will make the tree not look anything like a nice tree
when it is all removed and it will come back
in my city you cant go one city block with out finding a tree that has this
some are all but dead and others have had it for 15 to 20 years well on the way to dead
what would you have said
as the owner is trusting me with his money
Ill I can think of is if I was spending the cash I would want a long term return of money spent
the pics dont show how much is in this tree it is all over old growth new sprouts all you can see is the large clumps
I recomended removel but said its your tree and your money
how much would you charge for this eather way
trim it out $----- and removel$----- spraying $------

 

[B Harrison]

Huh?
Why do people keep asking how much to charge?


You tried killing the mistletoe ? Everything doesn't have to happen with a chain saw.

Kinda like when you have an infection (don't just cut it off) take antibiotics. Just my thoughts.

 

[bandet]

Huh?
Why do people keep asking how much to charge?


You tried killing the mistletoe ? Everything doesn't have to happen with a chain saw.

Kinda like when you have an infection (don't just cut it off) take antibiotics. Just my thoughts.

to my understanding ther is only one spray florel brand that is evan close to killing mistletoe
but as I read the compeny instructions you have to apply it befor spring att temp 65 or abuve directly on just the mistletoe
and thay dont give any warrinty as to the effectiveness
in fact thay discribe it as only making the leaves fall to the ground of the nasty toe
and recommend reapplying it after 7 days not expecting any rain withen 24 hrs
and than you will have to continue to reapply it every 3 to 4 yaers again repeating a second coat 7 days after the first and again it only makes the tree look better by making the leaves fall to the ground thay say it dos not kill the root
my understanding is the most effective way to get rid of it is to prune it out
cutting back 1 ft down from its current growth
you dont have to come back to the job 7 days latter hoping it wont rain for 24 hrs ext ext

price ?
since I dont have any experince with sparying nore do I have a applaction license to apply it I
thought about asking the ? to the site to see if any off you have any other ways to deal with the nasty toe
asking did I do the right things not a bad ?
and if any one has used spray and knew the cost than I could be infromd and tell the ho aproxment price to spray
letting them determine if it was cost effective to remove trim or spray twice every 3 years
any help is much appreciated

 

[smokey01]

...... you will have to ####inue to reapply it every 3 to 4 yaers ....

So I guess it is spelled continue, not cu.............













.

 

[bandet]

ahh yes the black plastic method
if you just have nothing but time on your hands than wrap 6 mill black plastic around a green cluster of nasty toe
I have never sean this done
and I think the look of a tree with 50 to 80 black spots around the limb for around two years
than removeing it to see if it worked shure that gives the ho the impression that he has spent his money well
and one just cant pass up the beautiful house with the black bags in the tree

 

[TreeGuyHR]

I think I would talk the owner into just leaving it alone. Plant non-host trees all around the tree so it can't spread.

 

[smokey01]

I think I would talk the owner into just leaving it alone. Plant non-host trees all around the tree so it can't spread.

Doesn't most mistletoe spread from birds eating the seeds and leaving them on a new host tree?

 

[beastmaster]

Iv worked several times on a federal grant to reduce mistletoe damage in a mountain community. Mistletoe has really done a lot of damage to Live Oaks and Sycamores. It stunts their growth and take over to the point if you remove it the tree looks bare. In some cases even kill them.
We go in and try to remove all the mistletoe. Smaller branches that can be removed that have mistletoe growing in them, are best removed from the tree. On some trees to remove infected branches would leave no tree left. Mistletoe needs sunlight, so cutting it off to the tree will deprive it of that. This has to be repeated for several years if not for the life of the tree. On some trees with only a small amount of mistletoe, cutting the infected wood(twigs, small branches) and cutting off to the wood and wrapping it with heavy black plastic, we used duck tape to secure it. If you don't take your time it won't hold. Probably won't hold anyway. It really stands out ifs strung out in the tree flapping in the wind.
Birds and tree climbing animals help spread it. Its seeds are really sticky and sticks to their bodys and feet and get deposited on other trees.
Mistletoe giving the chance will become part of the tree, when this happens die back past where the mistletoe is will often result. I'm no expert but supposedly our directions are coming from one. Over the last 5 years it's removal has made a mark difference in the landscape.

 

[woodchuck357]

Try teaching birds not to crap on limbs

:msp_tongue:That's why it spreads South faster. Birds eat mature berries on their southern migrations.

 

[TreeGuyHR]

My comment was from the point of view of control of dwarf mistletoe in conifer forest. You guys are talking about leafy mistletoe; I am not as familiar with its spread and control. In ornamental landscapes, there is probably a lower damage threshold as well.

Maybe I am just a little weird, but keeping some level of mistletoe around adds some interest, and it maybe impossible to completely get rid of it anyway, short of replacing the trees. When i worked at a research site in old-growth forest, we could access the tops of trees with a crane (in a gondola). i found out that hemlock dwarf mistletoe had sweet nectar, by licking the flowers right on the mistletoe growing from the hemlock 150 ft. in the air. I'll have to scan some more film slides and post them to the thread.

 

[StrataTree]

Some recent research suggests that eradication of mistletoe toe is not the beneficial practice that it was once thought to be. Residential situation, ho rules but in larger forest plots it can enhance the biodiversity and some studies showed that full eradication actually harmed the ecosystem and the trees in that ecosystem. Having a few sick trees around improves the health of the community? Sounds backwards, but.... A study I read showed also that bird populations were reduced when mistletoe toe was removed.... Home owners like birds. It will be interesting to see how/if the industry responds to this. I was a forest technician in Oregon for a decade And worked on Old Growth and Wilderness Current Vegatative Surveys. Lots of surveying... In an undisturbed true multi-canopied Old Growth forest there will be many healthy trees and some infected, even severely. I never saw it so bad that it kills entire zones. Seems like it was just sprinkled around the forest. Beatles and root rot are another story and pose more of a threat IMHO.

 

[treeseer]

Some recent research suggests that eradication of mistletoe toe is not the beneficial practice that it was once thought to be. Residential situation, ho rules but in larger forest plots it can enhance the biodiversity and some studies showed that full eradication actually harmed the ecosystem and the trees in that ecosystem. Having a few sick trees around improves the health of the community? Sounds backwards, but.... A study I read showed also that bird populations were reduced when mistletoe toe was removed.... Home owners like birds. It will be interesting to see how/if the industry responds to this.

there is something to this but dwarf mistletoe is bad news for oaks (i would just leave it in a pear). instead of black plastic just use gooky black pruning paint to block sun.

cutting the branches off as you see is throwing baby out w bathwater.

rw how much to charge, when in doubt, charge by the hour, with a high ceiling. ps forget florel for this.

 

[beastmaster]

When we remove mistletoe at the botanical Gardens, they always leave some trees with mistletoe intact for the wildlife to feed on.
Much like the bark beetle problem we're having, it's all the stressed trees that are giving mistletoe it's foothold. It's not in the mistletoes interest to kill off its host, that seems to be a modern phenomenon. All we're doing is putting a band aid on a much bigger problem.
Here is a link, pretty much rehashes what's already been said. Mistletoe Management Guidelines--UC IPM