# American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)

> A native twining vine whose orange capsules split in fall to reveal scarlet seeds that stay showy on the vine into winter.

Also called climbing bittersweet, staff vine, waxwork, false bittersweet. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-bittersweet/

![American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) orange capsules split open to show scarlet seed coats on a twig](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/american-bittersweet-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: M. O'Hearn, USDA ARS, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACelastrus_scandens_30593-2.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Shrub
- Mature height: 15 to 40 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 8
- Grows wild in: Rocky ground, stream banks, old fields and edges
- Native range: 38 states and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC), north to [North Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ND), south to [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA) and west to [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT) ([Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Minnesota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MN), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [North Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ND), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [South Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SD), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI), [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC))
- Sun: Full, Part
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- Growth rate: Fast
- Flowers: May to June
- Fruit: Capsules, September to January
- First crop: —
- Mature spread: 8 ft
- Traits: Wildlife value, Winter interest, Fall color, Drought tolerant, Salt tolerant
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Saplings ship [bare-root](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting-bare-root-trees-on-arrival/index.html.md) or [in a pot](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-sapling-in-a-pot/index.html.md), [usually 12 to 18 inches tall](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-sapling-or-big-transplant/index.html.md), in the dormant season, and their [height and age](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/reading-a-nursery-listing/index.html.md) are stated with the price, once available. Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Not priced yet: leave an email on the web page for one email when it is priced, with a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax, or write to captain@bluewhaletrees.com.

## Notes

American bittersweet is a twining woody vine of thickets, fence rows and woodland edges, and the only bittersweet native to North America. The invasive oriental bittersweet looks much like it, crowds it out and crosses with it. The native bears its flowers and fruit in clusters at the branch tips, and its leaves are about twice as long as wide, with pointed tips. Oriental bittersweet bears small clusters along the stems where the leaves join, and its leaves are nearly round. North Carolina and Rhode Island list it as endangered, and Connecticut lists it as a species of special concern. The fruit hangs on and stays ornamental into winter. Give it a sturdy fence or arbor in full sun, with a male among the females, for fruit to cut for wreaths.

## Size, growth and what to expect

American bittersweet grows fast, nearly three feet a year in our growth estimator. It is a twining vine that climbs 15 to 40 feet, and with nothing to climb it sprawls like a shrub. One plant spreads 2 to 8 feet wide, and root suckers can spread it into a thicket.

Small greenish flowers open in May and June, in clusters at the branch tips. Orange capsules about a third of an inch across ripen from late August into October and split to show scarlet-coated seeds. They hang on into midwinter, feeding ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, wild turkeys, songbirds, fox squirrels and cottontails. The leaves turn yellow in fall.

It grows wild from Maine and southern Quebec west to Manitoba and Montana, and south to Texas and the mountains of Georgia and Alabama. Its home is thickets, woodland edges, fence rows, stream banks and rocky slopes. NatureServe ranks it critically imperiled in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, at the southern edge of its range.

## How to grow American Bittersweet

American bittersweet fruits best in full sun and grows in part shade. It takes most soils that drain well, from sand to clay, and once rooted it rides out drought and road salt. Rich soil lets it outgrow its space, so a lean, dry spot suits it best. Its twining stems cannot grip a flat wall, so give it a sturdy fence, trellis or arbor. Keep it off shrubs and young trees, since its stems can girdle a trunk as it thickens. Stand the support 4 feet from a wall, and set plants 12 feet apart. Keep it at least 15 feet from overhead wires.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Pick the fruit once the capsules split, and let it dry for two or three weeks. Sow the cleaned seed outdoors in fall, a quarter inch deep. For spring, hold it damp in the refrigerator for two to six months first.

Water weekly through the first summer and in dry spells until it is established. Rabbits and deer browse the leaves and stems, so cage young plants where they are many. Prune in early spring to keep it in bounds and to bring on fruit.

Vines are male or female, and only females bear fruit, so plant three or more seedlings for a male and a female. One male can serve six to nine females. Bees carry most of the pollen, and wind may carry some. Powdery mildew, crown gall and euonymus scale can show up, and scale can be serious. All parts of the plant are reported to be poisonous, and eating the fruit can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

## Sources

- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Celastrus chapter, Wendel, Barbour and Karrfalt](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Celastrus.pdf)
- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Celastrus scandens](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/celastrus-scandens/)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Celastrus scandens](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CESC)
- [The Morton Arboretum: American bittersweet](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/american-bittersweet/)
- [Missouri Department of Conservation Field Guide: American bittersweet](https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/american-bittersweet)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Guide: American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, Nesom and Moore 2000](http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_cesc.pdf)
- [Flora of North America, vol. 12: Celastrus scandens, Ma and Levin](http://floranorthamerica.org/Celastrus_scandens)
- [Go Botany, Native Plant Trust: Celastrus scandens](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/celastrus/scandens/)
- [University of Michigan, CLIMBERS: Celastrus scandens, Robyn J. Burnham](https://climbers.lsa.umich.edu/celastrus-scandens)
- [Leicht-Young, Pavlovic, Grundel and Frohnapple 2007, Distinguishing native (Celastrus scandens L.) and invasive (C. orbiculatus Thunb.) bittersweet species using morphological characteristics, Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 134: 441-450](https://doi.org/10.3159/07-RA-028.1)
- [University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Tennessee Smart Yards: Celastrus scandens](https://tnyards.utk.edu/celastrus-scandens)
- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Celastrus orbiculatus](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/celastrus-orbiculatus/)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Celastrus scandens](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.130750/Celastrus_scandens)
- [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina 2024, revised 11/03/2025](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/833/open)
- [Rhode Island Natural History Survey: Rhode Island Rare Plants 2016](https://rinhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/RI-Rare-Plants-2016-simple-list.pdf)
- [Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection: Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Plants, effective August 5, 2015](https://portal.ct.gov/deep/endangered-species/endangered-species-listings/endangered-threatened--special-concern-plants)
- [Montana Natural Heritage Program, Montana Field Guide: Bittersweet, Celastrus scandens](https://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=PDCEL03020)
- [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Celastrus scandens](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/CESC)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md)
- [What a young tree looks like: first-year seedlings of oak, walnut, hickory, chestnut, maple and redbud, and the weed trees to pull](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-a-young-tree-looks-like/index.html.md)
- [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md)

## Related

- Trees to plant it under: [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md), [Western Soapberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/western-soapberry/index.html.md) and [Winged Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/winged-elm/index.html.md)
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on American Bittersweet, add ?species=american-bittersweet with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address; for example, the verdict for zone 3, part sun and average soil as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=american-bittersweet&zone=3&sun=part&moisture=average
- [Companion species for American Bittersweet](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=american-bittersweet): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Tree growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate for American Bittersweet as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=american-bittersweet (add height=, years= and site= poor, average or good)
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how American Bittersweet is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan for it as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=american-bittersweet (add state= and zone= for your own frost dates, method=fridge for the refrigerator route)
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what American Bittersweet needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the verdict for 3 of them as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=american-bittersweet:3
- [Planting-window tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md): when to plant American Bittersweet where you live, as a fall and a spring window from the local frost dates; the windows as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=american-bittersweet&state=MO&zone=6 with your own state and zone in place of those
- [Planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md): how far American Bittersweet goes from a house, a septic field, a walk, wires, a property line and the next tree; the distances as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=american-bittersweet&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months American Bittersweet flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species; its own row and the gaps of a planting with it as Markdown at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=american-bittersweet