True Root Nursery
American Bittersweet Cutting
American Bittersweet Cutting
Species: Celastrus scandens
History: American Bittersweet is native to from Manitoba to New Brunswick and in much of the eastern and central United States. It was named 'bittersweet' by colonists since it resembles a nightshade that sometimes go by the same name that is native to Europe and Asia. Traditionally it is used by indigenous peoples for various medicinal purposes. Our plants come from a mother plant growing right here on the nursery property!
Why We Grow It: American Bittersweet is a visually appealing vine, producing unique yellow capsules that store bright orange/red fruit that really stand out in the fall. The berries attract birds but are toxic to humans. The vine itself is tolerant of many soil conditions and grows relatively quickly, reaching a length of up to 50ft.
Please Note: These cuttings were taken from a plant(s) where the sex was not identified beforehand and we therefore do not know the sex of the cuttings. We would recommend planting these for ornamental purposes only since a male and female plant is required for the vines to produce berries.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Ornamental, wildlife
Fruit Size: Orange/red
Storage:
Harvest:
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 5
Soil Preference: Prefers moist, alkaline soils that are well-drained but can tolerate clay soils, some drought and flooding, and salt
Flowering Time: June
Bloom Colour: White
Pollination Requirements: A male and female plant are needed for pollination
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Part shade to full sun (approx. 4-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Vine reaches over 15m, vigorous.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
American Bittersweet are divided into the following grades:
-1 year plant - 15-40cm
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.
Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.
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