Woody Nightshade, Climbing Nightshade, Bittersweet
Solanum dulcamara
Family: | Solanaceae (so-lan-AY-see-ee) (Info) |
Genus: | Solanum (so-LAN-num) (Info) |
Species: | dulcamara (dool-kah-MAH-rah) (Info) |
Category:
Vines and Climbers
Foliage Color:
Bloom Characteristics:
Water Requirements:
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Where to Grow:
Height:
6-8 ft. (1.8-2.4 m)
8-10 ft. (2.4-3 m)
Spacing:
6-9 in. (15-22 cm)
Hardiness:
USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 °C (-30 °F)
USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 °C (-25 °F)
USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 °C (-20 °F)
USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F)
USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 °C (-5 °F)
USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F)
USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F)
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F)
Sun Exposure:
Light Shade
Danger:
All parts of plant are poisonous if ingested
Bloom Color:
Blue-Violet
Bloom Time:
Mid Summer
Foliage:
Deciduous
Other details:
May be a noxious weed or invasive
Soil pH requirements:
6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic)
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)
Patent Information:
Non-patented
Propagation Methods:
By dividing the rootball
By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets)
From herbaceous stem cuttings
From woody stem cuttings
Self-sows freely; deadhead if you do not want volunteer seedlings next season
Seed Collecting:
Allow unblemished fruit to ripen; clean and dry seeds
Regional
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
, (2 reports)
Quitzdorf Am See,
Arvada, Colorado
New Castle, Delaware
Coeur D Alene, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Aurora, Illinois
Cary, Illinois
Grayslake, Illinois
Niles, Illinois
Westchester, Illinois
Wilmette, Illinois
Plymouth, Indiana
Valparaiso, Indiana
Des Moines, Iowa
Barbourville, Kentucky
Dayton, Kentucky
Cumberland, Maryland
Ellicott City, Maryland
Riverdale, Maryland
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Bay City, Michigan
Pinconning, Michigan
Clear Lake, Minnesota
Isle, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Silver Creek, Minnesota
Helena, Montana (2 reports)
Manchester, New Hampshire
Collingswood, New Jersey
Dunellen, New Jersey
Buffalo, New York
Canastota, New York
Deposit, New York
Yorktown Heights, New York
Cincinnati, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Oak Hill, Ohio
Ravenna, Ohio
Cheshire, Oregon
Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania
Newport, Rhode Island (2 reports)
South Jordan, Utah
Alexandria, Virginia
Lakewood, Washington
North Sultan, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Beckley, West Virginia
Elkins, West Virginia
Hartford, Wisconsin
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
show allGardeners' Notes:
Rating | Content |
---|---|
Positive | On Aug 25, 2015, malsprower from Daytona, FL wrote: When I lived in Stevens Point Wisconsin, it grew in a couple places here and there, the fruit are beautiful as well as the flowers, I personally find it a charming plant as it loves to grow along walls. I never see birds eat it. I loved seeing it every morning walking to and from school. It sure looks pretty! |
Negative | On Mar 1, 2014, coriaceous from ROSLINDALE, MA wrote: The cultivation of this common weed is illegal in Connecticut. It is invasive through much of the United States. It is especially noxious as an aquatic, forming large floating mats and lining stream and pond banks. |
Negative | On Jun 1, 2013, plant_it from Valparaiso, IN wrote: Solanum dulcamara is native to Europe from central Norway, south to northern Africa, and east and central Asia. It was introduced into the U.S. and Canada and has become invasive here. It chokes out native plants and is very difficult to get rid of. |
Negative | On Jun 21, 2012, cimoroba from Wilmington Manor, DE wrote: This plant is a bane of gardeners. I found it growing in the yard of a former home and pulled it out. I received a nasty rash for my trouble. It took over three weeks to get rid of the rash. I had to hire someone to remove the rest of the plant. I now find it growing in my back yard in my current home. I will have to find someone to dig this out. Between this plant and morning glory vine that the birds seem to revel in planting I sometimes think of concreting the entire yard. |
Positive | On Jun 19, 2012, skwiff from gillingham, i have never had a problem with this plant. even though most call it a weed it can be a highly ornamental plant if trained correctly, treat it like a grape vine, train it up a trellis and cut it back to a central stem in the winter. the only down side to it is the fact that the plant smells like cat poop but overal look of the plant from a distance is nice :) a good way to stop the birds getting the berries is to get a cat, or to net the vines. |
Negative | On Oct 31, 2011, kentstar from Ravenna, OH (Zone 5b) wrote: It's taking over the middle of our hedges! How on earth do I erradicate this vine? I can't even get into the middle of the hedges (large evergreen hedges) to dig it out! |
Negative | On Jun 22, 2011, WaterCan2 from Eastern Long Island, NY (Zone 7a) wrote: Extremely invasive and difficult to eradicate, birds seem immune to it's toxicity and spread the seed as well. Grows aggressively and is undeterred by my sandy soil here on the Island, prefers shade. Literally suffocates and cuts light from otherwise healthy trees. |
Negative | On Jun 7, 2010, l6blue from Coon Rapids, MN (Zone 4b) wrote: I think the foliage on this plant is not pretty. I have this coming up in one of my garden beds, and I'm constantly pulling it out. |
Neutral | On May 31, 2009, grrrlgeek from Grayslake, IL (Zone 5a) wrote: Anyone growing this plant needs to cut off the fruit before the birds eat it, as daistuff does, or they will spread it. |
Neutral | On Aug 19, 2008, daistuff from Cary, IL (Zone 5a) wrote: I guess I got lucky that this came up right next to our deck, in the shade in front of a trellis that I was looking to cover. It doesn't seem to spread too quickly, but I do cut off and discard all the berries, and I aggressively trim all the long pieces that hang off the trellis. Wind the rest around and it looks very pretty! I was just starting to wonder if there was any vine that would grow in the shade under the deck, when this popped up. Grows in shade and sun. I guess I wouldn't plant it intentionally, but I've taken an "if you can't beat em join em" approach to it, and we are living in harmony (so far). |
Positive | On Aug 10, 2008, NHVineLover from Manchester, NH wrote: If you know what you're doing and are diligent in your gardening habits, this plant can be an absolute joy and wonderful to look at. Planted in a dry area, it is much easier to control instead of it controlling you. |
Negative | On Jun 26, 2007, picante from Helena, MT (Zone 4b) wrote: What an ugly mess of tangled, dead stems woven through our chain-link fence! We inherited this rambunctious plant, and I took an immediate dislike, since it was out of control. We dug it up last spring, and this spring we are still pulling thousands of seedlings, as it self-seeds all over creation. |
Negative | On Jun 16, 2007, heathrjoy from Weedville, PA (Zone 6a) wrote: This certainly is a nasty and invasive weed. I've had it pop up in our unused gravel parking place, year after year. It will choke out nearly any other plantings as the others here have said. I try to stay mostly organic in my garden, but I did have to resort to chemicals for this monster. RoundUp didn't do the job for me. I used a product by Ortho that was labeled to kill Poison Ivy and Blackberries. It is a slow-kill process, but it kills everything it touches (nasty, nasty stuff). |
Negative | On Jun 6, 2007, ScottishThistle from Charlottetown, I once thought this plant was tolerable because of it's pretty deep purple flowers and red berries. I moved in to a new home in spring with a lovely natural pond and stream and was discovering this plant along the banks and some in the woods. Each plant got bigger throughout the summer and was entangling all sorts of natural plants with huge clumps of en snarling, thick vines. |
Neutral | On Apr 3, 2007, renwings from Sultan, WA (Zone 8a) wrote: This plant is a notable homeopathic remedy that is not commonly used, due to the skill required in dosing. |
Negative | On Jul 29, 2006, Itchyfromvine from Beckley, WV wrote: This is not a plant anyone should desire. It is a weed! It is invasive, destructive, indestructible, and chokes out any desired plants. A single brush against my skin caused a rash that flared up within an hour and lasted for weeks(and I was wearing gloves!). I pull it whenever I see it, and can never seem to fully eradicated it. |
Negative | On Jul 4, 2006, hildaham from Helena, MT (Zone 4a) wrote: This plant was all over our landscape when we bought our house a year and a half ago. We didn't know what it was and our toddler picked the berries - luckily we got them out of his mouth before he swallowed any! DO NOT PLANT THIS if you have young children or children that visit. I am still finding it in our yard even though I pull up every plant I see. |
Positive | On Nov 1, 2005, JerusalemCherry from Dunellen, NJ (Zone 6b) wrote: Gardeners in North America either love bittersweet vines or hate them. Bittersweet plants can kill trees and are difficult to eradicate from your landscape. But during the fall season bittersweet vines put on a display few other plants can rival. To grow bittersweet vines or not to grow bittersweet vines: truly a bittersweet decision for landscapers. |
Negative | On Jul 17, 2005, raccoonwoman from Silver Creek, MN wrote: The flowers are pretty, and the berries look nice too, but it's much too invasive. I hate the way it will wrap itself all over a |
Negative | On Dec 4, 2004, Equilibrium wrote: Eurasian in origin. In the midwestern Region of the US, this plant has become extremely invasive. Appears these same characteristics are associated with this plant south of us here too. It has naturalized. Listed as noxious in a few states. All parts of this plant are poisonous to people, horses, pigs, horses, and pets which is why the plant is sometimes called Deadly Nightshade. The toxin this plant contains is called solanine. |