- Botanical name: Viscum album
- Common name: Mistletoe
- Family: Santalaceae
- Plant Type: Shrub, Evergreen
Yellow
Green
- Key features:
- Attractive to wildlife
- Fruits
- Low maintenance plant
Mistletoe, Viscum album, is an evergreen, hemi-parasitic shrub, meaning it obtains part of its food from the plant it’s parasitising, and part from photosynthesis.
It has a bushy, globose shape and can parasitise more than 200 trees and shrubs – apples, lime, poplar and conifers are frequent hosts. Mistletoe doesn’t kill the plant, however, so you needn’t remove if you spot it growing in your garden. It’ll provide you with fresh mistletoe at Christmas, too!
It’s possible to grow mistletoe yourself by harvesting the seeds from fresh berries in spring, then placing them underneath bark flaps on a suitable tree or shrub.
How to grow Viscum album
-
Plant size
1.1m height
1.1m spread
-
Aspect
North facing, south facing, east facing, west facing
- Hardiness: Hardy
Plant calendar
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow | ||||||||||||
| Sow |
J
Do not Sow in January |
F
Do not Sow in February |
M
Do Sow in March |
A
Do Sow in April |
M
Do not Sow in May |
J
Do not Sow in June |
J
Do not Sow in July |
A
Do not Sow in August |
S
Do not Sow in September |
O
Do not Sow in October |
N
Do not Sow in November |
D
Do not Sow in December |
| Flowers | ||||||||||||
| Flowers |
J
Plant does not flower in January |
F
Plant does not flower in February |
M
Plant does flower in March |
A
Plant does flower in April |
M
Plant does not flower in May |
J
Plant does not flower in June |
J
Plant does not flower in July |
A
Plant does not flower in August |
S
Plant does not flower in September |
O
Plant does not flower in October |
N
Plant does not flower in November |
D
Plant does not flower in December |
| Fruits | ||||||||||||
| Fruits |
J
Plant does fruit in January |
F
Plant does not fruit in February |
M
Plant does fruit in March |
A
Plant does fruit in April |
M
Plant does not fruit in May |
J
Plant does not fruit in June |
J
Plant does not fruit in July |
A
Plant does not fruit in August |
S
Plant does not fruit in September |
O
Plant does not fruit in October |
N
Plant does not fruit in November |
D
Plant does fruit in December |
| Collect seeds | ||||||||||||
| Collect seeds |
J
Do not Collect seeds in January |
F
Do not Collect seeds in February |
M
Do Collect seeds in March |
A
Do Collect seeds in April |
M
Do not Collect seeds in May |
J
Do not Collect seeds in June |
J
Do not Collect seeds in July |
A
Do not Collect seeds in August |
S
Do not Collect seeds in September |
O
Do not Collect seeds in October |
N
Do not Collect seeds in November |
D
Do not Collect seeds in December |
Viscum album and wildlife
Viscum album is known for attracting birds. It has seeds for birds.
Does not attract Bees
Does not attract Beneficial insects
Attractive to Birds
Does not attract Butterflies/Moths
Does not attract Other pollinators
Is Viscum album poisonous?
Viscum album can be toxic.
Toxic to Cats
Toxic to Dogs
Toxic to Horses
Toxic to Livestock
Toxic to People
No reported toxicity to Birds
