Nandina domestica*

Where it isn't an *invasive pest, Nandina is valued for its extreme tolerance of drought, its tolerance for sun or deep shade, its evergreen foliage, and the red berries that, when eaten by birds, are causing problems in the Southeast. (Photographed here with Aesculus parviflora or bottlebrush buckeye.)

Invasive?

Nandina domestica is on the invasive plant lists for Texas and the Southeast, as far north as Virginia, where it spreads by bird-carried seeds.   Yet I've read warnings from  naturalists that nandinas aren't, in fact, food for birds (so shouldn't be counted as wildlife-friendly).  So the unsolved mystery is:  Are there noninvasive varieties of nandina whose berries the birds won't eat? They also spread very occasionally by stolens in a clumping manner, but that's not been pinpointed as the problem - only the dropping of seeds by birds.

But just to complicate the issue even further, the former president of the Florida Native Plant Society has written publicly that Nandina was designated as invasive in Florida by the very groups who benefited from doing so (by receiving more funds for its removal).  He disagreed with that designation and quit the Society in protest.  Yikes.

In any event, some gardeners who grow Nandina prevent the production of berries and the possibility of spreading by removing its flowers.

It's indigeneous to China and Japan.

Details

• Lacy white panicle-shaped flowers in the spring; bright orange berries emerge and last for months.
• Fine in full sun or deep shade.
• The species grows to 8 x 4-6 feet', and dwarf varieties are available that are full grown at  3 or 4 feet, even just 2.
• Hardy to Zone 6.
• Deer-resistant.

Care

• Extremely drought-tolerant, meaning that gardeners report its survival through the longest droughts with no supplemental watering at all.
• No insect or disease problems are reported.
• If leggy, the stems can be cut back to the ground.
• May drop leaves if temperatures go below 10 F, or die back to the ground in below-zero temperatures.

Your Comments are Welcome and will be added to the plant profile on Sustainable-Gardening.

Comments

[Pam/Digging]

You point out that nandina is on the invasives list here in Texas, so it won't surprise you to hear that it's taking over Austin's greenbelts. And I've had a number of clients who are struggling to get nandina under control or removed in their gardens. Aside from all that, most people who plant it, inevitably as a foundation shrub, never prune it, so it gets all leggy like a flamingo. Not attractive.

[Frances]

There is much nandina here in my part of Tennessee. Our older neighborhood has it as a foundation planting at almost every house. While there are sterile types that don't bloom, it is the berries that are the main appeal. The same can be said of mahonia, and the native holly, Americana. Babies of these plants sprout easily in my woodland area, along with the dreaded Japanese privet, a much worse problem since it grows so large so quickly. What can we do?

[Annie in Austin]

Hi Susan,

There were lots of nandinas in my yard when we moved in. Most have been removed, except for a few non-fruiting dwarf plants, and two fairly large ones that provide evergreen privacy.

I cut off the flowers so mine don't make berries, but that doesn't stop seedlings sprouting from all the other nandinas in my neighborhood. I wonder if the birds pick up the berries and fly off with them, then discard them?

As to the decorative value of the berries - I don't miss them - their red orange color always seemed to be at its most intense stage at just the time it would clash with whatever else was in bloom in that area.

The small nandinas are still on probation -

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

[David in Austin]

Here is a link to kab.
http://www.keepaustinbeautiful.org/news.php?p_query=event&p_id=151 and if you scroll down to:
Greenbelt Guardians Cleanup
10/20/2007
you will see they are removing Nandina from the greenbelt and did earlier this year as well.

Here is a post by an Austin resident
http://www.penick.net/digging/?cat=27
who if you scroll down to:
January 2, 2007
New Year’s hike on Barton Creek Greenbelt describes the invasive Nandina.

My impression from your post is that you are questioning if Nandina is truly invasive. The answer is that absolutely it is invasive and should be not planted and ideally removed. I do not know the situation in Florida but it is obvious here.

[susan harris]

I have no doubt that this plant is invasive in Texas - really! No controversy about it at all. And thanks for the information, which I've added to this plant profile on my site.

[Karen Arms]

I'm with Pam/Digging. Here in Georgia, nandina is horribly invasive, taking over state parks and, when planted near the house, rapidly becomes a leggy mess unless you prune things much more often than I do.

[Eric]

Susan: I consider it very invasive - I'm afraid to plant it in my own garden because I've seen first hand what a pest it can become in the Washington, DC area...as an example, near Bartholdi Fountain Park in DC, not far from the U.S. Capitol, a few were planted about 6 years ago in an overpass area near one of the tunnels that go under the mall, and it's shocking to see how quickly they have spread/taken over the entire area! Now, please keep in mind I am nothing if not a hypocrite, for in own garden I have crimson pygmy barberry, which many consider equally invasive...but in my case they function as a low "dog barrier" that keeps dogs along the sidewalk from straying too far into my yard. (My garden is not fenced at the street/curb.) Yes, some day I should think of an alternative, but for now they are serving a very critical protective function for my more tender plants (and someone gave them to me for free back in the days when my gardening budget was tiny and I was desperate for a natural dog barrier....we have lots of dogs here - in fact, some of the dog walkers tell me they intentionally walk by my garden because they like to look at it, so my own gardening hobby is helping to exascerbate my dog problem - go figure!)

[Wendy]

My sister has a serious problem with her nandinas and wants to rid her yard of then but is having great difficulty. Can anyone give any suggestion short of completely digging up her yard?