THE neglect of apple orchards is putting at risk the future of mistletoe – that’s the warning that comes as the annual mistletoe auctions get under way in Tenbury.

The first sale of the season took place on Tuesday at the Business Park in the town.

Britain could soon find itself facing a mistletoe shortage, according to Jonathan Briggs, Britain’s leading mistletologist and owner of the Mistletoe Matters Consultancy.

He puts it down to the unintentional neglect of the country’s orchards.

Although there will be plenty of the white-berried, female mistletoe at this year’s annual UK mistletoe auctions, the future of the plant could be at risk if people don’t start to take responsibility for managing it like any other crop.

The auctions are held every year in Tenbury which is Europe’s mistletoe Mecca.

“Mistletoe grows best on apple trees and we’ve lost 75 per cent of our traditional orchards in the last 50 years anyway,” said Jonathan.

“If an apple tree has to sustain too much mistletoe growing on it, it just gives up and dies. So it needs to be managed to ensure it doesn’t swamp the tree.

“A tree should have 50 per cent male/female plants but really good management reduces that to about 25 per cent male to 75 per cent female.

With neglect, these are all too often the other way around – 90 per cent male to 10 per cent female.

“Just because there is plenty of mistletoe to buy this year, it won’t always be the case unless we take action now. We don’t want to rely upon buying the imported French variety in the future. ”

Jonathan is launching a new national survey and information website encouraging people to file information on mistletoe growing in their gardens.

As well as getting a better understanding of the state of the nation’s mistletoe, this will also provide people with tips on how to manage their crops for themselves.