Mistletoe

Does mistletoe actually grow in the wild in Michigan? Anyone know?

Anyone know where I can find fresh (not preserved) Mistletoe? Thanks!

Mistletoe berries - though used in the past for medicinal purposes - are very poisonous and should be kept safely away from young children and pets. Although it is usually associated with winter, mistletoe is sensitive to the cold, and prefers warm climates. It thrives where temperatures do not drop below 40 degrees and is found growing from the Atlantic Coast to Texas and Oklahoma, where it's the state floral symbol. Eastern wild mistletoe - just one of 400 species in the mistletoe family - is common along the Ohio River from Marietta to Cincinnati.

In fact, southern Ohio is on the northernmost edge of the mistletoe range. Selective about where it perches, mistletoe in Ohio prefers putting down roots in the tops of American elm, silver maple and black gum trees. Mistletoe may have long ago become linked to the holiday season in part because it?s so noticeable during winter. Living in deciduous trees, mistletoe has nowhere to hide after the host tree has shed its autumn leaves.

Check a florist. It usually comes with fake berries though. The preserved stuff, you can usually find in small packages at Mieghers (thrifty acres, I can never remember how to spell it).

Excellent botanical response.!!

Gary

When we lived in South Carolina, they used to shoot mistletoe out of the tops of the trees. They would hit the branches just behind it. (consiquently, most of the mistletoe we had was full of buckshot holes).

Thankyou. Great info! And funny! (buckshot holes...) I didn't want preserved mistletoe but I don't really want the berries. Ah well. After 27 years together, we shouldn't need mistletoe...and I suspect dh wouldn't have any idea why I hung it, if I had found any. LOL!