Well. here's a first, not only do we have a sensible feature on how to-grow mistletoe in the Telegraph on Saturday but we have another one, equally sensible, on Monday. What's going on? The same national newspaper runs the same feature over 2 consecutive days? And such a distinctive feature too - you'd think the editor might just notice.
Each by a different journalist of course, and each with some differing content of course. But I'm stunned - it's very rare to get a grow-your-own account that doesn't fall for the old gardening book nonsense about cutting nicks in bark, covering with soil/moss/cloth etc. To get two good accounts in as many days in the same newspaper is, well, weird.
The cut-a-nick-in-the-bark etc nonsense is still propagated (geddit?) by BBC Gardeners and the Royal Horticultural Society - both of whom should know considerably better. One day they'll learn.
But back to the Telegraph pieces. The first, by Graham Rice, is simply about growing it, and suggest that you can buy your GYO kit from Tenbury English Mistletoe Enterprise (TEME). The second, by Bunny Guinness, has a bit mmore background info - but is basically just another GYO guide. But Bunny advocates a different GYO supplier - Nick Wheeldon of Lincolnshire and does bring in a new angle - Nick is now selling trees 'ready-infected' with mistletoe.
Now that is a different ball-game altogether - and I'm very pleased (and very impressed) that Nick has started this - a scheme which has been discusssed in mistletoe society?/circles? for some time. Trees cost £50 with at least three small germinated mistletoe plants growing in them.
Seasonality issues: One of the troubles with GYO mistletoe accounts (other than the bark-cutting nonsense) is that they tend to appear at Christmas - but planting season is in February. Which means they're not generally very helpful for Christmas. But Nick's ready-infected trees are available now - and so make an ideal Christmas Gift Go to Nick's website for details...
Alternatively (if buying for Christmas) consider the GYO Kit Gift Card from TEME - which at least gives something (an attractive card) to hand over at Christmas, albeit only containing a voucher to send in for a kit to be sent out, in February.
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