Alkekengi Species, Chinese Lantern, Strawberry Ground Cherry, Winter Cherry

On Aug 7, 2017, papa1 from Dearborn, MI (Zone 5b) wrote:

This is an interesting plant but was very invasive in my zone 5b garden. It spread like wildfire. I cannot endorse the plant.

On Dec 4, 2014, Sequoiadendron4 from Lititz, PA (Zone 6b) wrote:

I planted this because my wife liked the way the seed pods looked. The plant itself looks like a weed and isn't very attractive prior to the pods 'ripening'. It flops over and the flowers are insignificant. It was in our garden for one season. This spring, I decided not to let it live any longer so I pulled it all out, or so I thought. For a couple months after, I kept pulling out more and, at times, it was several feet from the original location. Finally, I ended up putting Round Up on it every time it popped its head up. That was the end of that. I thought to myself what a nightmare it would have been had I let it go another season. I'm glad it's gone.

On Feb 3, 2014, coriaceous from ROSLINDALE, MA wrote:

This is a garden thug here in Boston MA Z6a. It spreads aggressively by a deep rhizome I've never been able to dig out. It can also self-sow. It's always popping up where I least want it, generally in the middle of a perennial I care about.

The leaves are always tattered and full of holes---something is always eating it, though I don't know if it's an insect or slug. Some insect often skeletonizes the only ornamental part of the plant---the husk---in my garden.

This isn't considered an invasive threat to natural habitat anywhere I know of, but it's not what I'd consider an attractive or neighborly garden plant.

It can be eradicated by repeated treatment with 2% glyphosate.

All parts of this plant are highly toxic if ingested due t... read moreo the presence of solanine and related alkaloids, except the fully ripened fruit. Some species of Physalis bear fruit that is edible and tasty when fully ripened. The fruit of this species tastes nasty even when ripe.

On May 15, 2013, katpages from Thornton, PA wrote:

Although beautiful, it is highly invasive. Today I spent 2 hours pulling the runners. It is crossing my pathway and heading to the neighbors! I am actually neutral, because it is so wonderful in the fall, but someday, when I am gone, it will take over. Fortunately, it is in a round "wilderness garden" with other hardies...common Day Lilies, Red Raspberries, Lemon Verbena, Thistle-"something", violets, etc. Mowing around it keeps it from too much migration. I marked it negative so that others would read. BEWARE where!!!

On Oct 10, 2011, piper4949 from Monroe, WI wrote:

Pasha,

If you plan to bury a pot of Chinese Lantern, MAKE SURE that there is not a drain hole in it. The rhizomes will escape through it and they will take over your garden.

Good luck, piper

On Jul 9, 2011, evelyngrace from HEISSON, WA wrote:

I experimented a few times with growing these plants from seed. The first time I did nothing fancy, and almost tossed the seeds right into a flat just to see what happened. I had no germination.
For the second try, I “scarified” the seeds by rolling over the packet with a rolling pin a good few times (I was pretty rough on them), and I soaked them in warm water for about three days.
The main thing that helped was some heat. About that time we started to get the first warm and sunny days of spring, and the greenhouse heated up to about 90 degrees (at regular intervals). At that time, almost all of the “Second Try” seeds came up, and ONE tiny pathetic plant appeared from the first. So, the heat seemed to contribute the most.

Hope this helps!

On Oct 10, 2010, fbull66 from Manchester, NH (Zone 5b) wrote:

full strength weed killer and diesel fuel .....mixture of 50 50 .....i had got the receipt from a friend because its the only thing that will kill poison sumac ...you need to cut the plant in the morning and just put it on the cut stems.....the diesel is a catalyst and will deliver the weed killer ..you just need to cover the stems not the soil ........

On Aug 15, 2010, sagebrush123 from Lexington, NC wrote:

Hi There,
A friend of mine gave me this plant 3 years ago, about 10 of them, The first year they bloomed and were wonderful, I loved them, Now 3 years later, I hate them, They come up every where and I have pulled them up, used diffferent weed killers, they have taken over my flower bed under ground. If any one knows how to get rid of these CHINEESE JACK O LANTERNS Please E-mail me!!!!

On May 17, 2010, oosa from Northbrook, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:

very invasive!!! DO NOT plant in the ground. It is taking over my entire yard, and several planters. IMPOSSIBLE to get rid off by pulling, or turning soil. It sends very deep runners, much deeper than any edging, then each runner sends up hundreds of shoots up from 1.5 feet deep. I am so concerned it will choke out all of my plants. I am very heartbroken...

On May 21, 2009, lehua_mc from Portland, OR (Zone 8b) wrote:

Not sure who planted this, but sure enough, it is growing like an invasive weed in both my neighbors' and my side yards. Their part is popping up in a pea gravel extension of their driveway, and so far they don't seem hell bent on getting rid of it. It's growing along our fence line and into the grass on my side. I can mow mine down if so desired, but I (also??) feel rather benign about it. I have a skeleton of a seed pod from last year as a cherished memento, go figure.

On Nov 6, 2008, kloverz13 from Portland, OR wrote:

I dug up a part of my grandmother's Chinese Lantern from her yard in Nevada. I moved to Oregon to an apartment upstairs and want to continue growing them but it has to be by pot. Can anyone suggest anything to keep this plant alive? I have it indoors right now, but it seems as though they might do ok in my covered sun room/patio. It gets cold in there, but I think it's a little more sheltered than being left outside. I just want some info on how to keep them growing. It rains here on a constant, should I keep them in their pots and put them outside? Keep them in the sun room? Or just keep it inside? any info will help. THANKS!

On May 21, 2007, gardenbugde from Smyrna, DE (Zone 7a) wrote:

I got this plant 2 summers ago from a lady friend. She had a patch of it and although she had dug it up, little shoots continued to pop up- and her husband would just mow them off! LOL I put mine in a big pot and it was wonderful. I got a lot of lanterns to dry and display. The second year, they didn't produce as many lanterns and I was bummed. They didn't even come up this year... I figure they may have gotten too wet over the winter. I have a window box with some in it that did survive the winter and they're coming up nicely.

These are extremely easy to start from cuttings! Just snip a stalk and root it in water. I've grown from seed too, but they do take a little longer.

VERY INVASIVE if you plant in the ground- you will never completely get rid of them. ... read more

I love mine and will continue to grow them every year.

On Jan 15, 2006, Gabrielle from (Zone 5a) wrote:

This took over an entire flowerbed, even coming up between bricks in a small sitting area. I went through and meticulously picked it out, but everywhere I left a bit of root, it came back. Maybe in poorer soil it wouldn't have been so bad, but I don't like things that send out shoots everywhere. Bugs also seemed to be a problem with it, as the leaves had lots of little holes in them. I tried it in a pot, but it didn't do very well. I might try it again, but not in an area that it can run free. Other names include Chinese Lanterns, Strawberry Tomato, and Winter Cherry.

On Oct 2, 2004, ANDISTARBUCK from Corning, CA wrote:

I LIVE WHERE IT GETS VERY HOT IN THE SUMMER, AND I HAD TO WATER MY TOMATILLOS EVERY DAY. UNFORTUNATLY THE NEED TO DO MORE WEEDING IS ENEVITABLE. THESE LITTLE PLANTS WERE GROWING ALL OVER THE PLACE. I FOUND IT INTERESTING AS THEY SEEMED TO BE A MINIATURE OF THE TOMATILLOS.

On Jun 26, 2004, NatureWalker from New York & Terrell, TX (Zone 8b) wrote:

Mine are growing from seed (the whole lanterns) that I took in last fall; in late October. They dried completely; I neglected to take them in off the front porch, as it was bitterly cold outside; down to -35 on some days (I'm up in the mountain zone.) There they stayed in a plastic flower pot with nothing in it; till I remembered them in April. I took them and crammed them into one pot 8 inch by 6 inch, (10-12 of them) with soil underneath and on top. They have arisen as if nothing happened. I'm glad I took them now; as we had to move mid-winter; in February and March. I will post a picture of them soon.

On Oct 19, 2003, maggiestarbuck wrote:

My sister-in-law just gave me a bowl full of the lanterns and I see the little cherries inside.

On Oct 11, 2003, gloriana wrote:

Today, after 9 1/2 autumns of enjoying looking at the Chinese Lanterns in our garden, a neighbour told me that the ground cherry is a delicacy in the Portuguese community. For the first time, I opened a lantern and tasted the bright red fruit. It was sweet and hopefully not poisonous.

What is missing (or what I missed) from the description on your site is more information about the red fruit and the confirmation that it is indeed edible. What a pleasant surprise to find the hopefully edible fruit!

Our lanternplants have been very aggressive and have taken over about 2/3 of a bed while I wasn't looking. We have done nothing to amend the soil; benevolent neglect is the type of gardening we practise. I live in Dundas, Ontario, Canada which is part of the Greater ... read moreHamilton Area.

Gloriana