At this time of year I see them everywhere, the gatherers of bittersweet. They love those colorful berries on the vine and they bring them home by the armful and the trunkful.

It’s so pretty, they say. They make bittersweet wreaths to hang on their fences and doors. They put it in fall arrangements indoors and out. They love it so much.

And then something funny happens. The bittersweet berries are full of seeds after all and the bittersweet begins to grow and grow and grow. It climbs up houses and strangles bushes and trees.

It grows and grows and grows

Until it alone stands in the landscape….

Of course bittersweet hasn’t taken over the landscape quite yet but think twice before you bring it home and let it wreak havoc in your yard.

When people say a plant is invasive bittersweet is one of the Poster plants!