Hello -

I have been growing bittersweet for many years, starting mine from seed collected from vines that were growing up into the trees along the back roads. If you can get hold of the ripe fruit sow the seed outdoors this autumn in a seed bed to overwinter and germinate next spring - the seed needs to be vernalized (cold moist temps) for good growth. In a couple of years the seedlings can be planted out in a row and if you have a good quantity of them, you will have both sexes of plants and fruit production. I keep my bittersweet away from anything that it would want to climb on, and it will be shrub like instead of vining. I know folks that are horrified that I grow bittersweet, telling me how invasive and terrible the plant is - I have had it for more than 30 years and have never found it growing anywhere other than where I have planted it on my property. The birds won't touch it, deer leave it alone and it is easy to grow if given full sun and well drained soil.
- Some grocery stores carry the fruited branches for sale in the floral departments during October, another way to get fresh seed. From seed it takes about 3 to 5 years to mature and make fruit, which is about the same time it takes for transplanted stock to settle in and make berries.
I ran out and took a picture of some of my bushes before posting this - the branches are cut with the leaves still on, I pick all the leaves off and the berries pop open overnight given room temps. If you wait for the leaves to fall off on their own outside it is usually too late in the season and the berries have started to deteriorate and shatter.
Before the berries open up they are easy to work with, I have made wreaths using only bittersweet vines and berries, twisting them together and selling them at a farmer's market where customers will pay dearly for them without batting an eye.
Good luck with your search!

ugh,i have pulled so much of that vine last week clearing my woodlands back yard, its been hard work but i can see the results already. What do you guys are growing them for? I am curious.

Forget woodland...my parents have it all over their beach and I just found one climbing cedar trees.

Honestly, you want bittesweet? Build a fence and hang a bid feeder from it. The bids will happily plant the bittersweet for you.

If you build it, they will come.

This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Oct 28, 14 at 9:39

How do you tell if you have female or male bittersweet vines. I ordered from a catalogue got 3 plants. 2 survived. Reordered, got 3 more plants, 2 of those survived. Same thing with 3rd order. I now have 6 growing vines and still no berries! HELP :)

Subtle flower differences are the only visual way to determine gender:

http://www.friendsofeloisebutler.org/pages/plants/bittersweet.html

While it has been stated within this thread already, I believe it warrants repetition: Do plant the native bittersweet. Do NOT plant the invasive Asian species.

+oM