American bittersweet
Celastrus scandens
USDA zones3 to 8
SunHandles full sun to full shade
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size15 to 20 feet tall3 to 6 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Greenish-white to yellow
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Circumneutral (pH 6.8-7.2)
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) is a vine for woodland gardens, winter interest, privacy screens, and meadows. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun to full shade and dry to moist soil of most types. Small greenish flowers are followed by showy orange capsules that split open to show a crimson aril. Deer tend to browse other plants first. Give this twining vine something sturdy to climb, since it can reach 30 feet or more.
Pairs well with New Jersey tea, Fragrant sumac, Little bluestem, and Sensitive fern.
Native range
North America.