“It makes the house look abandoned,” she stated.
“If you don’t do it, I will.”
Now that’s a threat an experienced gardener like Grumpy loves to hear.
Credit: Getty/LITTLE DINOSAUR
Because I know what it takes to tear out an established clump of nandina.
(We don’t have one.)
Over time, a small clump grows into a thicket the approximate size of Delaware.
Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Extracting a clump using a pick or shovel goes about as fast as chiseling your way out of Alcatraz.
Plus, every little piece of root you leave behind grows another plant.
So when my lovely bride threatened to treat the nandina with extreme prejudice, I responded thusly.
Don’t just think indoors when it comes to decorating. You can show a sense of style outside as well. One of our resident garden gurus showed us how to make this arrangement. First he placed florist foam in the center of an old hanging basket. Then he simply pressed clippings of aucuba and berries from nandina and privet into the foam. For a finishing touch, he spray-painted dogwood branches a bright red and used them to add a little drama and height.Credit: Robbie Caponetto / Styling Buffy Hargett
“Have fun!”
And that’s precisely why so many people hate this import from Japan.
What Is Nandina?
Credit: Southern Living Plant Collection
Nandina is too easy to grow.
This upright, evergreen shrub grows in dense stands of cane-like stems everywhere.
It grows in sun.
It grows in shade.
It grows in any well-drained soil.
No pests bother it, not even deer.
It laughs at droughts.
Winter cold is its only obstacle.
Below zero temps kill it to the ground.
Then it grows back.
domesticahas become so widespread it is consideredinvasive or a nuisancethroughout much of the South.
For that reason, naturalists will urge you to do your best to eliminate this plant.
As for an established thicket, you’ll need to repeatedly attack the problem.
Some recommend buying herbicide, cutting all stems to the ground, and painting the ends with glyphosate.
Eventually, persistence can pay off.
Other Ways To Control Nandina
But wait a second.
Why should a plant be hated just because it can’t be killed?
Nandina does have some good points.
In the South, it’s evergreen.
The attractive green foliage turns burgundy and scarlet in winter.
And no plant produces showier clusters of bright red berries in fall and winter.
They’re the best berries for holiday decorating because they’re firm, dry, and last for months.
Then survey your property regularly and pull up small plants and seedlings before they become a problem.
Try The Newer Nandinas
While you may hate easy plants, plant breeders love them.
So what’s the attraction?
Compact, dense shapes, and attractive foliage.
Like this one here.
This new nandina from our Southern Living Plant Collection is named ‘Blush Pink.’
It grows only two feet tall and wideperfect for massing under low windows or planting in containers.
New foliage emerges bright pink before turning green.
In fall and winter, the leaves turn bright red.
Another from the collection, ‘Flirt’ nandina, has deep red leaves and stays even smaller.
And they’re easy tooboth grow well in part shade to shade throughout the South.
Woldemeskel M, Styer EL.Feeding behavior-related toxicity due tonandina domesticain cedar waxwings(bombycilla cedrorum).Veterinary Medicine International.
2010;2010:1-4. doi:10.4061/2010/818159
Related Articles
