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kere

By Kere

Somerset, United Kingdom Gb

Woody Nightshade?
Hi all, I have a 30 foot recently established hedge (planted about 4 yrs ago from 3 foot whips), various native hedging plants, and am thinking about putting some woody nightshade amongst it . It does border onto more cultivated areas (lawn, garden etc.) and I have read about it`s invasiveness.
Is it possible to control it or is it a long battle like bindweed, just to minimise it? Any experence?




Answers

 

I've never grown it deliberately - it disappears in the winter anyway, but it's not something I would ever allow in any garden I've done because of the toxic berries. They're not as toxic as deadly nightshade, but are still toxic nonetheless, causing convulsions and death. Have a look at Solanum 'Glasnevin' instead.

25 Jan, 2012

 

I encourage this to grow in some gardens, eg i manage a woodland type garden where i have encouraged this to scramble over mature rhododendrons, i have a mixed hedge of privet/yew and hawthorn this i allow to scramble at will, the effect in the autumn with the large hanging clumps of orange berries is breathtaking, bringing fantastic interest to the above plants etc, once the effect is over i pull away all the straggly growth that starts to look untidy,but as Bamboo mentions be aware of the berries.

25 Jan, 2012

 

Its a beautiful plant and I love it. Its very common in hedgerows but I've never noticed it spreading out beyond the hedge.

26 Jan, 2012

 

As said, it dies back in the winter and I've not found it that quick to spread.

I wouldn't worry too much about the berries. They are exceptionally bitter so you wouldn't eat them from choice.

26 Jan, 2012

 

thanks all, I think I`ll give it a go.

27 Jan, 2012

 

Well, you say that, poisongardener, but my son ate 3 when he was about 2 years old - in hospital for 5 days, drugged and tubed up... he recovered, fortunately.

27 Jan, 2012

 

What an awful experience Bamboo. So glad he recovered. I never heard of anyone who had actually tried eating them before. Its easy to imagine them appealing to a young child though, they are so beautiful.

27 Jan, 2012

 

Unfortunately, it was before I knew much about gardening - the nightshade was growing entwined with the blackberries in the garden - which, of course, we'd been picking, and I'm sure that's what he thought they were, why wouldn't he.

27 Jan, 2012

 

Bamboo, I'm glad to hear it ended well. Do you remember if he just swallowed them? It would be very surprising if a small child chewed them and didn't spit them out.

'entwined with the blackberries' explains a lot.

27 Jan, 2012

 

Exactly - I suspect he picked blackberries AND the nightshade berries together - he certainly didn't spit anything out, but he was always an adventurous child with food, liked strong tastes, so who knows. He wasn't old enough to say.

27 Jan, 2012

How do I say thanks?

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