It is Solanum dulcamara.

AKA Bittersweet Nightshade. I always found the flowers pretty, but it is a weed in my yard. The plant is toxic.

I'd like to thank the bush community again! Second bush question I had answered this week, and so quickly. Interesting how a plant can be introduced as a cultivated ornamental and now is a weed. I have it growing in a completely shady place, under a tree next to a privacy fence. Seems to do OK there. If anybody can suggest a bush to plant in the shade please let me know.

It is only a weed if you don't want it in the location at which it resides.

Bush or plant for full shade: Most hostas and ferns (especially if the soil is rich and moist), aruncus dioicus (i believe it's goat's beard in English?), brunnera, hachonechloa (smallish variegated ornemental grass but spectacular punch of colour), cimicifuga (bugbane?)... check your zone if these are tolerated.

Was Solanum dulcamara introduced as an ornamental in N America? It's a native here but I've never heard of it being deliberately planted.

From the U.S. Forest Service:
Probable causes of bittersweet nightshade introduction to North America are cultivation by early settlers (reviews by [53,117,183]) and agricultural and shipping activities in the Pacific Northwest [51,52]. The earliest reports of bittersweet nightshade's establishment outside of cultivation in North America are from the Great Lakes region, where it occurred by the mid-1800s ([169], Wisconsin State Herbarium 2006 as cited in [126]). Floras and surveys indicate that bittersweet nightshade spread to parts of the eastern and western United States by the early 1900s [73,109,144,175].

Fascinating - thanks.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was introduced as a medicinal vs a ornamental.

It's one of the plants that have been here long enough that people assume it's native.

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll look into those. Actually right next to that I have hostas planted, all around the tree. As they multiply perhaps I'll let them annex that space. For now I did plant the bittersweet nightshade at that location, so I suppose it's not a weed.

As for whether or not it was brought over as an ornamental is before my time. I just did a little googling after I found what it was and read this article...

Here is a link that might be useful: ornamental article

I am glad that you posted a pic.

One very common mistake that people make is adding flower beds around established trees. By covering the area that roots have established as "feeding" zones and burying the root flare, the tree cannot "drink or breathe" properly. The results of this change in the environment of the tree can take years to present symptoms. But what you can expect is gradual decline in tree health.

please see the attached article.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Perils of Planting Trees Too Deeply

Bed and plants too small to be in scale with tree. Wall beyond tree (as well as fence) could use some softening as well - taking out edging, flattening bed out (to uncover tree) and making bed bigger, planting bigger shrubs farther out from trunk would be big improvements.

Thanks for the concern. I did add mulch and edging around the tree, but really didn't add any dirt. My yard is on a slope and that tree sits up high. I think it technically might be in the neighbour's yard, which is higher. However they put up that fence two feet into their yard and left me the responsibility of the tree. They did that right before I moved in! The tree has part of the old metal fence post in it as well as some chain link, which they left me to surgically remove as much as I could.

As far as its health who knows? That silver maple fills my yard and gutters with helicopters in spring, and leaves come autumn. I'm constantly pruning offshoots, from the base coming out of the ground to as far as I can reach up the trunks. It seems like it wants to grow grow grow. From what I understand they are "weed trees"? I have little ones growing everywhere now that all the helicopters are down. Three years ago I saved one, planted it in a bucket. It's now seven feet tall planted in the other half of my yard.

I love silver maples and would never call them a weed.

I grew up in zone 5 with 2 very large silver maple that I climbed since I was able. We never had a weed problem from them spreading. Maybe due to mowing over the keys or winter freezing them, I can't say.

Once in a while I see them in SoCal. If they were "weedy". I would probably see more, alas.

I love my sliver maple also, even planted another.

I meant weed in a sense that it is a hardy tree, difficult to kill, and loves to spread its seed.

I'm plucking little sliver maples daily out of my mulched garden...

We had silver maple roots ruin our sewer and water lines. They came up everywhere in our yard when I was young. Dad mowed them and they came back larger around.

I must have spent my youth in the perfectly balanced environment to deter the spread of plants that a lot of people find invasive.

All kinds of Acer, Albizia, Hibiscus syriacus, Paulownia. Not one volunteer ever. They were in lawns and we had long harsh winters...

if you have children.. the pretty deep grape colored berries are HIGHLY poisonous ..

do not tempt your children.. or grandkids...

get rid of it now

ken

Ken, I grew up in a yard that had bittersweet everywhere (it's still only moderately under control). I never ate them. Why? Because my parents told me not to. In fact they told me early on never to eat a berry off a plant I didn't know, because they can be poisonous.

If your kid is too young to understand "don't eat that" then they're probably also too young to be allowed to run around a yard unsupervised. There a lot of things out there that are poisonous, and unless you put your kids in a sealed bubble, they're going to come into contact with them at some point.

For those in slightly milder areas Solanum cripsum 'Glasnevin' is a much showier and larger alternative. They are loaded with blue blossom round here at the moment. Here's mine. Sorry it's a bit blurry - camera is getting old and it's rather breezy out there this morning.

Flora, that's a lovely plant! Is it a bush or a vine?

Bittersweet nightshade makes red berries. When ripe they will not kill you, in small quantities at least. They are toxic, but I ate one or two as a kid and am still here to talk about it over 40 years later, and I still remember the bad taste they had.
I do not like this plant because it is difficult to rip out once it has grown a bit. It also loves to reseed right next to trunks of other plants probably because of birds dispersing the seeds, and that makes for difficult removal.
Remy

no kidding cara ...

stay at home dad here ...

i trained my kids.. by handing them a baggie of snacks as i kicked their butts out the door.. and told them that ONLY daddy gives them food to eat ....

and as the years rolled by .. i got rid of the attractive nuisances [and that is the key here with the pretty berries] ... and taught them which ones they could eat ... e.g. mulberry.. raspberry strawberry ... etc ...

got to the point.. they would find things.. and ask.. and we would go explore.. and i would rip out the bad ones..

its not unlike the peeps who have dog problems.. and it takes all i have.. to not yell .. TRAIN THE DOG ... lol ...

ken

Solanum crispum is a vine, but rather a floppy one, more of a scrambler.