Looks Great, But A Bad Idea
The New England Wildflower Society is asking the public to avoid the use of Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), pictured here, and Multiflora Rose in holiday decorations this year.
True, they look great twined into wreaths, atop mantles, or in centerpieces for the table. However, Tom Smarr, NEWFS Director of Horticulture, warns that "too often, birds carry the fruits right off wreaths and garlands, or the fruits end up in landfills where they resprout. These plants create severe environmental damage in many parts of the country. They invade open fields, forests, wetlands, meadows, and even your own backyard, aggressively killing off whatever plants are nearby." And Smarr notes that bittersweet can even kill mature trees.
Both of these plants are so dangerous to the natural environment that it is now illegal to sell them in any form (plants or prunings) in the state of Massachusetts.
I've used bittersweet myself in holiday decorations (I have tons of it I've been struggling to eradicate in my MA backyard), but no more. It never occurred to me in the past that the seeds might end up in a landfill and then resprout, take hold, and spread everywhere.
There are great substitutions: the fruits of winterberry and holly, cranberries, dried ornamental grasses, pine cones, and the boughs of many evergreens. In warmer zones, you can use clusters of nandina berries and the leaves of southern magnolia. And don't forget that dried hydrangea flowers can be spray-painted -- try gold or silver, and place them against a green background.
And wherever you live, check the invasive plants list for your own region first before you merrily use berries and dried fruits and the like in holiday handiworks.
(image: New England Wildflower Society - John Lynch)
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