29 May 2018

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Backyard gardeners are being asked to get sowing to help establish 500 native mistletoe plants across Christchurch.

The Backyard Mistletoe Project, organised by Christchurch City Council's Parks Team, is back for 2018 and looking to build on last year's seeds of success.

In June 2017, over 300 people picked up locally rare green mistletoe seeds harvested from the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula by Council staff and sowed them on existing trees in their gardens. As a result, more than 200 mistletoe are growing across backyards and of those, 42 have already established.

Native green mistletoe would have once been common in the city but now it is only found on Banks Peninsula, with just a few remaining plants in Riccarton Bush. Mistletoe takes nutrients and water from a host plant but produces its own flowers and fruit.

If it spreads across Christchurch, it’s hoped that native birds such as korimako/bellbirds, tauhou/silvereye and kereru/native wood pigeons who feed on the bright yellow fruit will also grow in numbers.

Council Ecologist Kristina Macdonald, who is leading the project, is hopeful it will reach a target of creating 500 thriving mistletoe plants across the city.

Mistletoe on the Port Hills are covered in ripening fruit at the moment and she and her team are on stand-by for harvesting. The seeds have a brief shelf life so they must be planted within three days of being picked.

"This project shows that with public support you can conserve biodiversity in the urban environment."

“We had a fantastic response last year and I’m hoping this year will be even better. We think up to 500 people could be willing to collect seeds and plant them in their gardens this time.

“One of the reasons why we started the project is that so many people didn’t even know we had a native mistletoe. It’s locally rare and it’s been overlooked.  This project shows that with public support you can conserve biodiversity in the urban environment.”

Native host species, such as coprosma, acer, pittosporum, plagianthus (ribbonwood), sophora and pseudopanax have been found to be the most successful for germination.

* If you want to take part in the Backyard Mistletoe Project  this year you can register your interest online and collect seeds from the Christchurch Botanic Gardens this Friday between 11am and 4.30pm or on Saturday between 10am and 2pm.  Sow them in your backyard that same weekend and complete three surveys over the next 12 months to help the team keep track of progress.