I stepped out of my truck today and viewed gorgeous blue holly (Ilex x meserveae sp.) and bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) growing in a tangled mess.
If you live in a cave you should know that bittersweet is invasive in Connecticut and against the law to plant. You’ll often see it growing along the side of the road.
Here’s a picture with the bittersweet in focus
This is what the beautiful mess looks like
Over time the bittersweet will block light to the holly and wrap around it’s branches strangling it.
Bittersweet and holly do look great together in the fall.
Comments
2 responses to “Blue Holly and Bittersweet”
I can understand why people might like to plant Bittersweet just by looking at the seed capsule. Like you John I have seen where delicate houseplants have got out of control and become a menace. One example of a, not so delicate, plant that has got out of control is the lantana in Brasil it is controlled by native insects but in Queensland (Australia) it has become a declared pest and must be destroyed without exception. After living in Australia for some years every time I pass the lantana in front of my mother in law’s place I want to hack it out of the ground.
Many cool new plants come from foreign countries and have an advantage in how they grow over native species. I’ve seen the story repeated time and time again here with plants like barberry and burning bush. That’s a funny story about lantana, not for the people of Australia but for your mother in laws poor plants. I see lantana at the garden centers around here all the time and I know that plant thrives in drought.