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Dwarf Mistletoe on Pines and Firs in Pollock Pines

Seeing odd bushy clumps in your pines? Give us a call. A nearby tree pro can come look, tell you if it's mistletoe, and talk through what can be saved.

Call (530) 248-6524

This is the page for dwarf mistletoe care in Pollock Pines. For dwarf mistletoe care, a tree trimming company in Pollock Pines can come look, and we set it up.

Dwarf mistletoe care in Pollock Pines: how we help

Give us your Pollock Pines street and what dwarf mistletoe care you need. Then a tree trimming company in Pollock Pines looks at dwarf mistletoe care. The visit goes faster that way.

Not the Christmas kind in Pollock Pines

When people hear "mistletoe" they picture the leafy ball in the oak tree. That one is real, but it isn't the one we're talking about. Dwarf mistletoe lives on conifers, and it's small. UC's pest note describes short stems with yellow to orange scaly leaves. You could walk right past it.

It's a plant that lives off another plant. The roots grow into the branch and pull out water and food. UC says the problem shows up in landscapes at the forest's edge, such as the Sierra Nevada foothills. A lot of Pollock Pines lots are exactly that: a house with a forest at the back fence.

How to spot it in Pollock Pines

You rarely see the plant first. You see what it does to the branch.

• A slight swelling in the bark, where the branch looks a bit like a spindle. That's the first sign, says Nevada's forestry office.
• Witches' brooms. These are thick, tangled masses of twigs, and UC calls them the most obvious symptom.
• A thin, yellowish crown in older infections, with the tree dying from the top down.

One catch. Brooms can come from other things too. UC lists genetic mutations, mites, viruses and fungi. So a broom doesn't prove mistletoe. A tree company looks for the little shoots, then decides.

It's slow, too. Nevada's forestry office says shoots form two to four years after the seed lands, and fruit comes a year or two after that. You may have had it for years before you noticed.

How it spreads, and why the 40 feet matters

This is the part that surprises people. The fruit ripens, then pops. Nevada says the sticky seeds can shoot as far as 50 feet. They stick to needles and bark, and they sprout the next spring.

UC's number is about 40 feet. A healthy tree has to stand that close, or closer, to a sick one to catch it. So the trees closest to a sick one are the ones to watch.

That fits how it looks on the ground. One infected pine can seed the next one over, and the next, until a whole corner of the lot has brooms. It also explains why a tree trimming company will often ask about the neighbor's trees. Seeds don't read property lines.

What it does to the tree in Pollock Pines

UC says infested trees are often stunted, grow poorly, and in the end are killed by the parasite. Nevada fills in the timeline. Young trees go fast. Big old trees can live for many years with it, but they get weaker each season. Heavily infected trees usually die within about 10 to 15 years.

A weak tree is a target. Nevada says infected trees often fall to other problems, like bark beetles. That links this page to the next one: bark beetles and drought stress.

What a tree company can do

There's no spray you can buy at the hardware store that fixes this. The tools are pruning and, sometimes, taking the tree out.

The UC advice is to cut the infested branch at the next closest node toward the trunk, at least a foot back from the swelling. That makes sure the roots under the bark come out too. Just snapping off the visible shoots isn't enough, because the plant grows back.

It only works if the infection is limited to a few branches, low enough to reach. If the brooms are high in the crown, or all through it, pruning can't catch enough. UC says that in advanced cases it may be more practical to take the whole tree out. Nevada says the same for trees with only a few live branches left.

That's a hard call, and it should be a pro's call after a good look. Keep checking nearby trees for the next few years.

What it costs

National cost guides don't price mistletoe on its own. These are the closest numbers.

Homeyou says costs go up when the dead wood sits high in the canopy or near a building. Most mistletoe in tall pines is high up, so expect the higher end. If the tree has to come down, that's a different job with a different price, and your tree trimming company will quote it.

What you can do yourself

• Walk your trees every fall and look for swollen, spindle-shaped branches.
• Take photos, so you can compare from year to year.
• Don't plant a new conifer under or right beside a sick one.
• Don't climb or use a pole saw near wires.

A yearly check you can do

Pick one afternoon each fall. Stand back far enough to see the whole crown. Look for clumps, thin patches and branches that look swollen.

Take a photo of each tree from the same spot, and date it. A year later, hold the two side by side. A broom that grew bigger tells you the plant is active. Tape a bit of bright ribbon low on the trunk of any tree you're worried about, so the crew you hire knows which one to start with.

Keep a short list too: which trees, which side, how high. When the tree company arrives, you can walk them right to it. That saves time, and time is money when the clock is running.

Looking for dwarf mistletoe care in Pollock Pines? Ring (530) 248-6524. We arrange a tree trimming company for dwarf mistletoe care and the day.

More to read

See snow-load thinning for weak limbs, all tree jobs, towns we cover, or the home page.