How to Kill Mistletoe on a Sycamore

Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that taps its hosts for water and nutrients.

Mistletoe is evergreen perennial, which makes it easy to spot when deciduous hosts, like sycamore, drop their leaves in the winter. It grows in a rounded, ball-like form usually about 2 feet in diameter. Mistletoe has sticky, white berries that are a food source for birds. They digest the berry’s flesh and excrete the seed, which sticks to bark and germinates. Mistletoe manufactures its own carbohydrates through photosynthesis but takes water and nutrients from its hosts. Healthy trees withstand a few mistletoe plants but heavy infestations are deadly.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears
• Ladder
• Black plastic
• Twine
• Herbicide containing ethephon

Instructions

1. Prune infested branches as soon noticed. According to the University of California, mistletoe takes several years to produce seed. Cutting it out before it flowers helps stop its spread. Cut at least 1 foot beyond the mistletoe or back to a main branch or trunk if possible.

2. Cut mistletoe on the trunk or large limbs flush with the bark. Wrap the infected area with a few layers of black plastic and secure it to the tree with twine. It may take up to 2 years for mistletoe to die using this method. according to the University of California. Check the plastic often for rips or holes.

3. Spray the sycamore during the dormant season with a product containing the chemical ethephon. Although effective in killing some of the mistletoe, spraying doesn't usually kill all the plant and repeat applications are needed. Use herbicides with caution and according to the manufacturer's directions.

References

• University of California; Mistletoe; E.J. Perry, et al.; February 2006
• Mississippi State University; Mistletoe in Landscape Trees; Frank Killebrew, Ph.D.; January 1997