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Heavenly Bamboo
November's Plant of the Month 2023

It's not Bamboo

heavenly bamboo
Heavenly bamboo is not bamboo at all, but a shrub that bears colourful winter berries.
nandina domestica
Colourful new foliage and berries appear together in March.
poisonous toxic berries
Berries persist from fall and throughout the winter.
plants that in fall
Flowers appear in late summer.
broadleaf evergreen
Nandinas have straight vertical stems that resemble bamboo.
plants for winter gardens
Plants may or may not lose their foliage during the winter, depending on the climate.
plants with red berries
Berries are toxic, especially to cedar waxwings.
Picture
Heavenly bamboo become garden stars in the winter.
Picture
Flower clusters are held erect atop stems.
Common Name:  heavenly bamboo
Botanical Name:  Nandina domestica
Form:    upright oval, fine textured
Family:  Berberidaceae
Genus: Nandina
Species:  domestica
Plant Type: shrub
Mature Size:  3 to 8 feet x 2 to 4 feet
Origin:  India, Japan, China
Hardiness Zone: 6 to 9
Foliage: green, tri or bipinnate compound with linear leaflets, bamboo-like, pointed tips with a wide base, red in spring, bluish-green in summer, purplish-red in autumn
Flowers: showy, pink buds mature to white with yellow anthers, held in long clusters (panicles), slightly fragrant, Aug, Sept.
Fruit: showy, bright red berries in autumn that linger throughout winter
Stems:  stiff, vertical, green, red, brown, with alternately arranged leaves
Exposure:  full sun to part shade, afternoon shade is recommrnded
Soil: tolerant of most, but prefers moist humus-rich  
Uses:  specimen, accent, cut flowers & foliage, screens, groups, shrub borders, woodland, foundation plantings, containers
Attracts: berries attract birds, toxic to cedar waxwings, flowers attract bees and other pollinators
Invasive Tendencies: yes, in Southeast US
Resistant: drought tolerant once established, rabbits
Propagation:   seed, layering, semi-hardwood cuttings
Pruning:  thin out old stems mid to late winter
​Problems:  root rot, fungal leaf spot

Comments: 
Heavenly bamboo, Nandina domestica, is a broadleaf evergreen shrub. Their stems and foliage resemble bamboo, but they are not even related. They are not from heaven either, but from Asia, but they have so many attributes that may explain why they are so named.
 
Nandinas are an attractive shrub with stiffly upright cane-like stems and colourful evergreen foliage. Its lacey, finely cut leaves change colour from green to red and purple in the autumn.
Combined with their stunning berries, they are an essential plant to add interest and colour - no matter what the season.
 
Heavenly bamboo’s slightly fragrant flowers appear are a welcome sight in fall as other plants decline. Their pink buds mature into white blossoms with bright yellow stamens. They are borne in clusters at the end of graceful arching stems followed by hanging grape-like clusters of brilliant shiny red berries. They persist well into the winter and provide food for hungry birds. For best fruiting plant several plants together in a cluster.
 
Heavenly bamboo is not always evergreen. Where and when winters are harsh, they drop their leaves. Stems may even die back, however new ones will emerge from the rhizomes in spring. To increase their hardiness, plant them in sheltered locations away from strong winds and provide a winter mulch. Cover their base with 3 inches of soil, straw or fall leaves.
 
Nandinas prefer a rich, moist soil, especially when young. As they age, they become more tolerant of dry soils. They benefit greatly from 3 inches of an organic mulch. Spread it on top of the soil to help retain moisture and to add nutrition.
 
The Trouble with Heavenly Bamboo
Be aware that their berries are toxic to wildlife, livestock and domestic pets especially when eaten in large amounts. They contain cyanogenic glycosides, that convert to hydrogen cyanide when ingested. Cedar waxwings love the berries so much so that they become intoxicated and die. It’s advisable to avoid planting nandinas where there are cedar waxwings, on farms, near horses and in gardens were children, cats and dogs like to graze on plants. As an alternative, plant cultivars that do not produce berries: Nandina ‘Nana', ‘Gulf Stream’,’ Firepower’ and ‘Blush Pink’.
 
Another issue with heavenly bamboo is that they are invasive in eastern US, especially in the southern states. For more information on where nandinas have run amok click here. 
Picture
Gulf Stream is a dwarf nandina that doesn't bear berries.
colourful spring foliage
Novembers foliage doesn't disappoint.
colourful fall foliage
September foliage.

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  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Amanda's Garden Blog
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
    • Growing Seeds Outdoors
    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Hardening Off Plants
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
  • How to Garden Topics
    • Fall Garden Chores
    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Soil pH
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Fall Veggie Garden Clean-up
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Raspberries
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Cloches
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Critters in the Garden
    • Black Sooty Mould
    • Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
  • Container Growing
    • Choosing a Container
  • Feeding Plants 101
    • Fertilizers & Ratios
    • Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
    • Organic Plant Food
  • Plant of the Month
    • Spring Flowering Bulbs
    • Colourful Fall Plants
    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
    • Astilbes
    • Azaleas, Deciduous
    • Aubretia, Rock Cress
    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Catalpas
    • Chinese Windmill Palm
    • Columbine
    • Chrysanthemums
    • Crocuses
    • Dahlias
    • Dawn Redwood
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Doghobble, Leucothoe
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Elderberries, Sambucus
    • Evergreen Clematis
    • English Daisies
    • Fawn Lilies, Erythroniums
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Hardy Fuchsia
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Heavenly Bamboo
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Hydrangeas, Mophead & Lacecap
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese spirea
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Kale, ornamental
    • Katsura Trees
    • Kousa Dogwood
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pearl Bush
    • Persian Ironwood
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Photinia, Fraser
    • Poinsettias
    • Primroses
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Saucer Magnolia
    • Shrubby Cinquefoil
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Solomon's Seal
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Variegated Wintercreeper
    • Viburnum, Pink Dawn Bodnant
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
    • Winter Daphne
    • Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens
    • Witch Hazel
    • Wood Anemones
    • Yews
  • Garden Tours & Such
    • NW Horticultural Society July Garden Tour 2024
    • Burnaby in Blooms
    • Burnaby's Century Gardens
    • South Delta Garden Club Tour 2023
    • Garden Club Events
  • Website Index
  • Subscribe
  • Need Help?
    • Gift Cards