Shrubs🌿 Native to the NetherlandsVery hardy — tolerates frost down to -20°C

Bittersweet / Bittersweet nightshade

Name: Bittersweet / Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
Brand: HSMN Planten
SKU: 6a5f7427299c80f9bc670056
Price: 7.45 EUR
Availability: BackOrder

Solanum dulcamara

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Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) is a native, semi-woody climbing plant in the nightshade family. It grows by creeping, climbing, twining, or leaning through other vegetation. The stems are often woody at the base and can resprout each year. From June to September, it blooms with striking purple flowers featuring yellow stamens. After flowering, it produces glossy berries that start green and ripen to red. This species thrives in diverse habitats, ranging from damp marsh forests, ditch banks, and shorelines to rough meadows, hedgerows, woodland edges, sand dunes, old pollard trees, and dry calcareous slopes. Bittersweet is well-suited for wild native hedges, natural shorelines, forest borders, and shrub plantings where additional climbing growth is desired.

Year calendar

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
🌸Blooms
🐝Provides nectar
🍓Bears fruit
🍂Has autumn colour

Pruning period

✂️Best pruning period: Feb–Apr

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
✂️ Pruning period

Best pruning period

Prune Bittersweet in late winter or early spring to control growth. Remove old, dead, or overgrown stems. The plant will regrow from its woody base.

Botanical profile

Site & soil

Sun, Half shade, Shade

Soil type: Clay, Sand, Loam, Peat, Humus-rich

Moisture need: Moderately moist, Moist, Wet / marshy, Dry

pH: Neutral (6.5–7.5), Chalky (>7.5), Slightly acidic (5.5–6.5)

Nutrient richness: Moderately nutrient-rich, Nutrient-rich

Humus content: Moderately humus-rich, Humus-rich, Peaty

Water drainage: Well draining, Moisture-retentive, Poorly draining

Appearance & season

Mature height: 30-400 cm

Bloom: Jun-Sep

Autumn colour: No notable autumn color. Its ornamental value lies primarily in the purple flowers, yellow stamens, red berries, and climbing growth habit.

Properties

Salt sensitive: No

Edible: No

Scent: The flowers do not have a strong or noticeable fragrance. Bittersweet attracts bumblebees and other insects primarily through its purple blooms, yellow stamens, and available pollen.

Ecological value

Bittersweet is valuable for insects, birds, and rugged shrub borders. The flowers are visited by bumblebees, which release pollen from the yellow stamens through vibration. Other small insects use the plant as a shelter and habitat. Its climbing growth adds structure to hedges, shorelines, wild areas, and forest edges. While the red berries are toxic to humans, they serve as a food source for birds, which also aid in seed dispersal. Bittersweet is an exceptionally robust native pioneer plant for nutrient-rich, moist-to-wet, or calcareous sites.

Food web & Biodiversity

🐛 Caterpillars & mothsVery useful

🐝 Bees & bumblebeesVery useful

🪰 HoverfliesUseful

🦋 ButterfliesVery useful

🪲 Beetles & insectsVery useful

🐦 BirdsVery useful

🐿️ MammalsVery useful

🐞 Other animalsUseful

Bittersweet is a valuable native climber for wild hedges, shorelines, marsh edges, and woodland borders. Its purple flowers attract bumblebees, and the plant provides essential structural diversity in naturalistic plantings.

Distribution in the Netherlands