Bittersweet Vine | Is the Invasive Plant Friend or Foe?
The Bittersweet vine is known for being destructive and invasive, but is everything about the bittersweet plant bad? Learn more.
By Shelley Wigglesworth|Nov 01 2021|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanNew Englanders know that the autumn blooming bittersweet vine is a catch-22. Loved for its beauty and versatility in autumn decor, the bittersweet plant is also loathed for its invasive and destructive ways.
What is Bittersweet?
Bittersweet is an ornamental climbing vine that is native to Eastern Asia. It was brought over to the United States in the 1860s and has been running rampant ever since. Hardy and fast-growing, the vines of the bittersweet plant mirror the warm colors of autumn upon reaching maturation. Reddish-brown creeping stems and leaves support clusters of tiny yellow flowers and orange bittersweet berries that usually bloom just in time for autumn floral arrangements in the Northeastern part of the United States.
Bittersweet is easily located all over New England as it has grown wildly out of control on roadsides, and can even be seen engulfing abandoned buildings in some areas. If you reside in North America, there is a high probability that you have a bittersweet source very close by. A word of caution — when left unregulated, established bittersweet vines will literally take over the landscape, smothering out native species of trees, shrubs, and plantings. The tangled vines can also become so heavy that entire trees and plants may be uprooted once the bittersweet plant takes over. For these reasons and others, The United States Department of Agriculture has the bittersweet plant listed as a national invasive species.
Decorating with Bittersweet Vine & Bittersweet Berries
Despite their destructive ways, bittersweet remains a popular fall decorating material. Bittersweet vines are not only eye-catching, but they are also versatile and pliable. They are easily bent to conform to almost any shape, allowing them to be effortlessly added to existing floral arrangements and wreaths as an accent, or to be used alone in construction of a free form autumn wreath.
The vines also look festive grouped in a vase or urn. They are best suited for cooler indoor rooms or for outside display as the flowers and berries will fall off when exposed to warmer indoor temperatures, and they can stain clothing and flooring.
To decorate with bittersweet, begin by cutting the vines while the berries are still green if possible, and form them into wreaths immediately. If you wait until the flowers and berries are in bloom, the flowers and fruits may drop off while you arrange the wreath.
If you’re enchanted by the bittersweet vine in autumn, go ahead and enjoy it for what it is, but heed its namesake warning and take care not to aid in the spread of this very deceptive vine.
How do you feel about the bittersweet vine?
This post was first published in 2011 and has been updated.
LEARN MORE:
How to Control Invasive Bittersweet
Are Burning Bushes Invasive?
Four Beneficial Weeds Found in New England
Invasive Plants in New England
Great photos of bittersweet. One of the “old fashioned” plants that my favorite Aunt used to use for decoration in the fall. Heaven help us if we dropped some on the carpet and left stains.
Thanks for sharing Sandra!
I made the mistake of letting bittersweet grow on top of a hedge row of diabolo nine bark. The bittersweet has almost smothered the ninebark out. At this point i am not sure i can save the nine bark. At one point is it impossible to save the ninebark. I have learned my lesson on bittersweet. To late in Champaign Illinois.
Is there any way to get rid of this awful vine. It is taking over. Thanks
Ortho Brush-b-Gon, painted on the cut stem. Read the article on line “hunting a colorful enemy in the yard” by Carol Stocker Boston Globe, October 2007
Apparently big difference between the invasive oriental bittersweet and that native American bittersweet which is endangered.
I have the oriental and am trying my best to tear it out everywhere it pops up. Plan to use poison on the survivors this summer as they start to blossom.
If you have the native species you might consider just managing and constraining it to a fence or trellis etc. It’s supposed to be much less aggressive.
I have seen what this vine can do. Here in PA it is beginning to overtake some of the trees near an area I was fishing. The vines are 60 to 75 feet or more up into the tall trees. Some spots look like something out of a Tarzan movie, lol. They do make interesting walking sticks, however. I had found one spiraled around a sapling, which had been girdled by it, and had died. I cut it, and made a spiraled walking stick out of it. It is surprisingly strong, about 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 inch in thickness, with many growth rings, and is an instant conversation starter, whenever I go on a hike. I have had it for about 20 years.
The vine I have is not the Bittersweet variety; but I just want to thank you for confirming what I wanted to do with my vine. I think it is Creeping Myrtle. At first I thought it was a tree twisted by a vine and I cut it and brought it home. Upon further inspection I found it was a vine and was tightly wound around a tiny sapling. It’s leaking sap like mad. I will dry it and see if I can make it into a walking stick. Where it is tightly wound, it looks like a large coiled snake. Thanks for the suggestion. This should be fun!
Given how easily this plant spreads by seed to areas that aren’t monitored and tended, it’s completely irresponsible to grow this plant, period. There are areas near me where the forest is entirely engulfed by this vine. When it’s finally pulled down all the trees there will be nothing left but a mass of roiling vine which will stop germination of any other plant.
We have the invasive bittersweet.I try to cut the new vines in early spring.My husband had to use his chainsaw on some of them!We live in northern New Hampshire.
Here in Lubec it has not become an issue but several years ago I planted both female and male native bittersweet. I was told it would never grow here. Seven years later it is strong and alive. It also has some berries but not quite as profuse.
Agree that using or growing oriental bittersweet is completely irresponsible. Adorning fences, gates and even doors offers opportunities for birds to spread the berries, and for the berries to drop onto the ground. Here in Connecticut, it is illegal for florists to sell bittersweet or use it in arrangements. American bittersweet is not invasive, but hard to find.
American Bittersweet a native is a beautiful vine that is not invasive,very slow growing and large clusters of berries. If people would ask their Nursery to. order it would become more available. Need one male to every 3 female plants.
Would like to order some but where do I get it. Remember it growing on the island I’m from in Lake Erie. When should it be planted? You said One male to three female plants?
I saw a reference to the use of a toxin. Birds eat the berries in large quantities — before using such a product make absolutely sure it won’t poison the birds eating the berries. I would call the Audubon rather than the manufacturer. Also, be sure to pull up the seedlings that sprout from May to September in eastern MA. They are still easy to pull the entire root. At least I can quell the tide of encroaching growth. I pull out what established roots I can — the longest I was ever able to pull was 10′ and who knows how much farther it went. Not only do they travel far but they bifurcate all along the way creating an underground network in all directions. But, any setback one can deal to the plants is a help. I discourage the use of toxins but perhaps in the case of bittersweet it is necessary. If we all pitched in and did some work on it we could make a big difference! I’m going to organize a couple of bittersweet parties this spring where we’ll fan out and then come back together and share a nice potluck meal. Wonderful sense of accomplishment and then fun and fellowship together.
Yes, everything about it is bad. Floral arrangements and wreaths can be made with benign plants. If you hang this on your door the seeds will drop and germinate nearby. When you toss the old wreath on your back yard leaf pile it will likely become established nearby. It is next to impossible to eradicate and spreads like the flu.
Does anyone have any comments on burning the larger trunks for firewood? It seems pretty hard and I have started my all out war on it.
I ordered the American version of Bittersweet. It too became somewhat invasive and the roots made there way under my concrete patio and cracked it. It’s been 4 years since I removed it and it is still popping up among my Clematis. The roots run deep – I’d make sure to plant this where you don’t have to worry about it – if you chose. Had I to do over, I would never plant it – regardless of it being the American version….
Don’t use the bittersweet on outdoor decorations. The chipmunks and other animals eat the berries and poo out the seeds which helps spread the vines. Use them indoors, get the faux bittersweet for outdoors.
Can bittersweet grow in Northern California and where would I get the plants?
You DO NOT want bittersweet in your yard. Trusto not plant it. It is terrible and nearly impossible to eradicate. Just be glad you don’t know where to find it, because that means it hasn’t taken over your area.
Bittersweet is taking over the town of Canton CT. It is now on my property, and I am constantly pulling young shoots up while trimming bushes etc, because the birds eat the berries, then fly into an ornamental bush for cover, and you know what happens next. You have to recognize the young bittersweet and pull it when it is easy to do or in no time it will take over another shrub/tree. And to think I once had a hard time finding the stuff for fall decorations !!
I used to cut some bittersweet vines in the fall to use for indoor decoration. I live in Central Massachusetts. I went looking for it today (October12, 2017) and couldn’t find any, Is it too early to see any green berries on the vines? I just wanted a small piece to bring to my daughter in California as her mother in law always loved it and used it decoratively. In fact, she called her homestead in NJ Bittersweet Hill.
Please do not take this plant to California or anywhere else. California has clear laws about importing plants and road blocks at their borders to police it. This plant is very invasive and very bad for the woodland and fields.
DO NOT transport bittersweet ANYWHERE. This invasive plant will overtake your trees in a matter of years. Fast growing, it strangles anything it can reach! Do not be taken in by its great fall orange and yellow berries. You will soon regret it!
Do you think bittersweet will live at 6200 feet in the mountains of New Mexico?
What range? We live in High Rolls
We bought a place in High Rolls! Will be moving into it soon
Bittersweet is a terribly invasive plant that is tearing down the tops of our wonder White Oaks and Maples. It is especially dangerous in Connecticut because of its pattern of growing a dense canopy that shuts out light and moisture to the host plant. It also twines itself around the host tree, squeezing the trunk and cutting off the trees’ nutrient flow. Homeowners, unaware that the extremely tall tree in their yard or surrounding their horse pastures is dying from the top down, can not react quickly enough before tragedy strikes. Why is this? Because articles sing the praises of Bittersweet, the promise of berries, the colors of autumn and more decorating ideas. Strong winds and tornadoes (new to us in Connecticut) have toppled these compromised trees causing death, destruction of property, and loss of wildlife habitat.
Abandoned lots of land due to our poorly planned highway system is a prime location for the invasive plants introduced to Connecticut from China, Korea or Japan in the 1800’s. It runs rampant in these areas along our highways, exits, and entrances. This vine can establish itself in many different ways. It grows a strong subterranean root. It seeks moisture and sunlight where it can grow sometimes into a tree. When it locates one of our treasured stonewalls, its growth will eventually topple the stones. It will smother flowering shrubs.
When planning some autumn interest or bird and butterfly sustaining habitat, please steer clear of this parasitical plant. There are plenty of indigenous North American species of trees and shrubs to cultivate.
This plant can also cause a severe rash very similar to poison ivy rash.Not everyone is sensitive to it, but I am, and work as a gardener so am exposed to it often. If I forget to wash thoroughly after exposure, as I did this week, I get a rash that can last a week or more (currently have it all over my face)
I’m glad people have noted that we have a native type of bittersweet and not just the invasive kind of Asian vine. As a girl 70 yrs ago, I had a native spotted along side an old shed. I’d go back each year to gather some. It never spread or grew bigger. The berries are smaller. Currently, the Asian type is growing in my holly tree and seedlings in my herbs. I always know when I pull them because the roots are orange.
I live in CT, and when I first moved onto our 3.5 acre property, much of it was filled with bittersweet. I have been here for 35 years now, and in that time I have nearly eliminated the bittersweet from my property. It is very hard to keep it free from bittersweet, though. As soon as a small vine appears anywhere, it needs to be pulled, if possible. If it is deeply rooted in a wall, it needs to be continuously pruned off until it dies. I have never used any type of herbicide on it. I am very wary of herbicides. But it is possible to get rid of bittersweet by continuously pulling, mowing, or pruning it. Just be persistent.
Odd person out here. On our property, we love bittersweet. It represents good forage for our goats, and the bluebirds love it. We have a large bluebird population.
Please, please, please stop letting your bluebirds eat those bittersweet berries! This is only helping to spread this invasive and destructive plant. If you care at all about your trees, you will eventually regret letting the birds eat the seeds, because the vines will strangle and shade out your trees. I’ve seen 70’ oak trees pulled to the ground by bittersweet vines. Please stop.
does anyone know how to preserve it for dried arrangements?
Using the Asiatic Bittersweet berries fresh or ‘dried’ will spread the vine and kill our forests. Unfortunately Oriental bittersweet has also been shown to hybridize with the American bittersweet, leading to a loss of genetic identity. If you are absolutely determined to use Bittersweet in decor – please harvest without dropping any seeds on the ground, limit to INDOOR arrangements only, and when spent – DO NOT COMPOST – dispose of with garbage in closed containers. Fortunately after 2-3 years the seed viability reduces – and if you are successful in harvesting ALL fruiting branches without allowing any to fall on the ground, you will be helping to reduce this devastating invasive vine. Please do not deliberately plant/grow this species. Thank you for reading and caring!
URGENT – PLEASE DO NOT USE ASIATIC BITTERSWEET IN ANY FLORAL DECOR!! Sadly our native Bittersweet [Celastrus scandensis] is now a threatened species and Asiatic Bittersweet [Celastrus orbiculatus] has been declared a NATIONAL invasive species threat. Using any of it in decor will further spread the seeds of this extremely destructive vine that can overcome and kill every tree, shrub and plant in it’s grip. A little research will help folks ID with ease. Wonderful alternatives are American Beautyberry [Callicarpa americana L.], all Holly species, Hypericum, Vibernum and many others. Grape and other vines can be easily shaped, decorated with native berrys, seeds, acorns or cones. Top designers all use a few discreet artificial pops of color in wreaths and arrangments when their go-to or favorites aren’t available. Saving our natural world must be a full-time priority without exception. Thank you for reading & caring!
Are the berries poisonous to humans?
This article solves my 50-year-old “What ever happened to bittersweet?” mystery. Growing up in Michigan during the fifties and sixties, bittersweet arrangements and wreaths magically appeared EVERYWHERE in the fall. It was a repetitive part of autumn life, just as the moon and stars are part of the night sky. Then I moved to California and never saw real bittersweet again. And I asked, and hunted, and began my 50-year quest for bittersweet. Nobody in CA even knew what I was talking about! I moved across state lines and asked everywhere I went. I was obsessed! (Oh, how we struggled before Google!) Finally, while living in Texas, I met a woman from Ohio, who lamented that every fall she made a futile attempt in to find BITTERSWEET! We were friends for the rest of her life. Years later, I moved back to Michigan and vowed to send her some bittersweet. I assumed a lack of bittersweet was a regional issue. But, when I got to MI, there was NO bittersweet to be had and NOBODY knew what I was talking about! During one of our last conversations I said to my friend, “Sue, I’m still looking bittersweet!” (sniff. . .) Thanks for the article.
I too live in Michigan and am very excited that I just found bittersweet growing way back in the wild brush of the family home that i moved back into! In the 50’s and the 60′ we had it in decor. my mother loved bittersweet and her sister had plants growing on their farm. I always understood that it was an endangered and protected plant. Nice to find others who love the plant!
Apparently bittersweet is so invasive and destructive that it’s not protected; it’s illegal! Another Michigan illegal beauty is lythrum. It’s those long purple blooms that grows along creeks. I had picked some and grew it in my yard. Sadly, that too has disappeared.
Lalaine, please keep a close eye on that bittersweet plant. It’s a non-native invasive plant, and if left on its own will wrap around your trees and bring them to the ground. Please, please, please use it only indoors if you must use the berries. Do NOT let any birds get those berries and only dispose of them in the trash—not in your compost. This is a silent tree-killing plant. Please use with extreme caution.
Oriental Bittersweet has taken over in many parts of the country and it is very dangerous to all other plants and trees.
It is illegal to grow or harvest this extremely invasive and destructive plant. Irradicate only – which takes years to do once the plants are established.
how do i tell asiatic bitter sweet from native? I just found a vine i had never seen growing in my yard and was told it was bittersweet… it grew 6 feet in just a couple weeks if not faster
Peg, can you please describe what your rash looks like and what from the bittersweet causes the rash?
Bittersweet is not a poisonous plant. Very likely it’s the poison ivy that gave you the rash.
I don’t know if it affects everyone but exposure to bittersweet most definitely causes a blistery reaction to me and my aunt, who has it pretty much on all sides of her property. She had a guy come in to tear out a whole border garden that was infested beyond control, otherwise. She warned him to cover his skin but he shrugged her off and ended up with a reaction for his trouble.
Bittersweet is a bane. It seems that the slightest rub or scratch with either the leaves or the vine is all that it takes to get a rash. Cutting the vines only defers the problem, as people have stated, it comes back. Fortunately, the roots are a highly visible, bright orange because getting them all out of the ground is what it takes to eradicate this plant (barring using chemicals which can be problematic, given how it’s usually in too close a proximity to desirable trees and shrubs).
Peg: is there a test that lead you to know that it’s bittersweet and not poison Ivy? I’ve been working on a property and had the same blistery rash and have only been working with bittersweet as well, and it showed up all over my hands and face. We found some poison ivy, but not enough to cause this reaction ;(
We have bittersweet all over our pond and yard. Our landscaper cuts it back every over year. But it is spreading and chocking out all other vegetation. How do we get rid of it? Help! Thank you for this site to learn more about this invasive plant.
Be diligent, you need to get the roots out as well as the vine
I have made a lot of money in the fall selling bittersweet in bunches & in wreathes. Local florists would be thrilled to buy your Bittersweet!
You and your local florists seem to care only about money…and not the damage being done. Unfortunately, most of the Bittersweet found now is either a hybrid American/Oriental or Oriental.
I find it hard to believe you are encouraging people to decorate with Oriental Bittersweet. Using the vines in decor just spreads the already incredibly invasive plant to more areas! We have had several trees in the woods behind our property killed by this vine. We constantly pull it up and bag it in black plastic to kill it.
Bittersweet got into our stonewalls that were built in the 60’s and helped topple them and has choked out, made trees bend down and break, and killed them. NEVER transport or try to grow these. There is so many other beautiful foliage that can be used in arrangements. Can these be burned in a brush pile to get rid of them?
I have a love/hate relationship with this vine – but really I’d rather not have it around my property at all. This vine is killing my wonderful trees and other plants. It’s grows all over our property. We cut it down every year – it comes back stronger! This year we found a very large set of twisted vine roots and we cut them, we’re hoping that was the root and maybe next year it won’t be as bad.
I live in MN and Bittersweet shrubs can be purchased in nurseries.
It is illegal to sell oriental bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus in MN. nativariety but it readily hybridizes with
Thank you for the Latin name. I was looking for it.
Bittersweet is a PAIN IN THE … It is difficult to get rid of. We have some growing on our land and it is difficult to keep under control.
Oriental bittersweet is highly invasive & getting worse with increased Co2 in atmosphere from climate crisis. It spreads rapidly, strangling ornamental trees and flowering shrubs. It is labor intensive to destroy. There is no debate. This plant should be illegal to sell in the US. This article needs serious reconsideration.
I totally agree and your article is irresponsible.
There is no climate crisis!
Don’t believe the lies!
Infact, we are in a CO2 deficit. Look up “Dyson” on YouTube and get the truth.
For the real truth about bittersweet, check out this fact sheet which has detailed information and illustrations: http://www.co.becker.mn.us/dept/soil_water/PDFs/weeds/Oriental_Bittersweet.pdf. Now, get out there and treasure the native plant! Quarter Century NJ Master Gardener
Evil stuff! Impossible to eradicate; I settle for slowing it down before it takes down whole trees. I clip smaller vines and take my chain saw to larger ones, some the diameter of small trees. Birds love the berries, of course, but there are plenty of non-invasive natives like sumac which don’t destroy woodlands.
It is irresponsible for Yankee to encourage any use of this invasive vine. It is a beast to eradicate.