12/29/2025
MISTLETOE!
Hello neighbors! It’s that time of year again! I’d like to provide you all with some information about this fungus.
In few words, mistletoe is a parasite which infests most of the common trees in our area. It robs your trees of water and nutrients, and kills the limbs it grows on with haste, leading to the eventual demise of the tree. Does your tree look like this? Don’t worry, we can fix it. We can carefully and effectively eliminate even the most destructive mistletoe infestations you can throw at us. Saving your trees, and saving you thousands on the removal of the host trees, which will die. Don’t hesitate to contact Lipari Tree Solutions at 903-718-0743.
🔶 Below is some expanded information for those interested in more reading.
Mistletoe is a source of cheer this time of year, often mistaken for holly, most don’t know what it really is! This is a cluster of trees on a common road just outside of Whitesboro, as you can tell, it is absolutely full of the leathery evergreen, and it is not in great shape.
🟢 What is it?
Mistletoe is a hemi-parasitic fungus. It is harmful to your trees, and it spreads quickly.
🟢 What does it do?
Mistletoe starts off as a seed in an egg, sticks to a tree, sprouts out of the bark, and grows to maturity in about 3 years, producing its white pearly eggs in adulthood. It develops under the tree bark, and harvests water and nutrients from the host tree. In a short period of time, the limbs will swell, develop cavities, dry up, and die. A severe infection, like the one you see here, will kill the tree, and spread rapidly to others by animals and other means.
🟢 How is it treated?
The most effective treatment method is mechanical removal of the parasite. We will surgically cut it out, to stop its destruction of the host. We typically recommend this as an annual or biannual service, as the sprouts will certainly return if you do not remove the entire branch well below the sprout, which can be equally damaging to your trees. It is often done in the winter, because the sprouts are harder to spot in the spring green.
