Shrub · Berberidaceae
Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina domestica
Tough, drought-proof, and fiery in winter, nandina earns its keep, but its berries are poison to wildlife.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 6–9
3–8 ft · 0.9–2.4 m
Overview
Heavenly bamboo isn't a bamboo, and the look is the only thing the two share. Nandina is an upright, cane-forming evergreen shrub in the barberry family, with airy compound leaves and slender stems that read as bamboo from a distance. It turns warm shades of red and purple as the weather cools, then carries bright berries through the worst of winter.
Few shrubs ask for less. Nandina shrugs off heat, drought, and poor soil once it has settled in, takes anything from full sun to deep shade, and rides out cold down to -9°F (-23°C). Pests and deer mostly leave it alone, which is part of why it spread across so many southern gardens.
That toughness has a dark side. The whole plant, and the berries most of all, carries cyanide-releasing compounds that poison animals and people, and birds that gorge on the fruit can die outright. Nandina also escapes gardens and turns invasive across the Southeast, so where you plant it, and whether you let it fruit, matters as much as how you grow it.
Care
The short version: plant it in full sun to part shade in almost any well-drained soil, water it through the first season and then mostly forget it, and renew a few of the oldest canes each late winter to keep it full.
Light
Nandina grows in just about any light, from full sun to deep shade. Sun is what brings out the red and purple winter color, though, so a plant buried in shade stays green and flat-looking even if it grows fine.
Water
Give it regular water through the first season while the roots take hold, then ease off. Once established it is genuinely drought tolerant and only wants a drink during a long dry spell, roughly every 7 to 14 days in heat.
Soil
This shrub adapts to clay, loam, or sand as long as the drainage is decent. It handles a remarkably wide pH range, from 5.0 to 8.5, so most garden soil suits it without any fuss.
Temperature
Nandina is cold-hardy down to about -9°F (-23°C) and shrugs off heat up to 100°F (38°C). That wide tolerance is why it thrives across USDA zones 6 to 9 with no special protection.
Humidity
Outdoor air is all it needs, so there is no humidity figure to manage. The plant takes humid southern summers and drier conditions in stride alike.
Feeding
Nandina is a light feeder that gets by on very little. A single balanced slow-release shrub fertilizer in spring is plenty, and many plants do fine with none at all.
Pruning
Prune in late winter by cane, cutting individual stems at different heights just above a node so the shrub fills out rather than thinning at the top. Take out a few of the thickest, oldest canes at the base each year to keep it renewed, since flowers and fruit form on new growth.
Repotting
Nandina is mainly a landscape shrub, but a container plant wants a fresh, larger pot every 2 to 3 years. Repot when you see roots circling, water running straight through, or growth stalling.
Size & spacing
Expect a mature shrub of 3 to 8 feet (91 to 244 cm) tall and 2 to 5 feet (61 to 152 cm) wide. Give each plant room to reach that spread, or plan to keep it in check with regular cane pruning.
When to plant
Nandina is a forgiving shrub to plant, going in during spring or fall when the soil is workable and the weather is mild. It flowers in late spring, and the red berries follow in fall and hang on through the cold months.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring or fall
- Harvest: Flowers in late spring; bright red berries develop in fall and persist through winter.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–9
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
Nandina is one of the easier shrubs to keep, and most of its troubles come down to how it's pruned, how much light it gets, or how far it spreads. Read the early signs below and you can fix the look, the color, or the unwanted seedlings before they get away from you.
Volunteer seedlings popping up well beyond the original shrub
This is nandina behaving as an invasive, spreading two ways at once. Birds eat the berries and drop the seed far afield, while underground rhizomes and broken root pieces resprout close to home. Strip the berry clusters before they ripen, dig out every seedling and root fragment you find, and lean on sterile, non-fruiting cultivars or native shrubs instead.
Fix:
- Remove berry clusters before they ripen to limit bird dispersal
- Dig out seedlings and rhizomes, removing all root fragments
- Replace with sterile, non-fruiting cultivars or native alternatives
Bare, woody lower stems with foliage only at the top
Left to its own devices for a few years, nandina forms tall canes that shed their lower leaves and go leggy, a habit deep shade makes worse. The cure is renewal pruning in late winter, cutting roughly a third of the oldest, thickest canes right to the ground and heading the rest back to different heights above a node. A shaded container plant also fills out faster once you move it somewhere brighter.
Fix:
- Cut about one-third of the oldest, thickest canes to the ground in late winter
- Head back remaining canes at varying heights just above a node to encourage branching
- Move container plants to a sunnier spot if heavily shaded
Dull green leaves instead of red fall and winter color
Nandina turns its best purplish-red only when it gets real sun, so plants tucked in deep shade just stay green or bluish-green through the cold months. Move the shrub or thin the canopy overhead, and the seasonal color comes back. A spot in full sun to light shade gives you the richest tones.
Fix:
- Relocate or plant in a position receiving more direct sun
- Thin overhead shade where practical
Toxicity
Treat the whole plant as poison. Every part of nandina, and the berries above all, holds compounds that release cyanide when chewed or digested, and there is no safe amount for a pet, a child, or grazing livestock. The berries are especially deadly to birds, so keep animals away and think hard before letting the shrub fruit at all.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
A cat that chews the leaves or berries can grow weak and unsteady on its feet within hours. Watch for drooling, a racing then slowing heart, seizures, and labored breathing, all signs of cyanide poisoning that needs a vet right away.
Dogs Severe
Dogs that gnaw the foliage or swallow berries may stagger, vomit, and tire fast as the cyanide takes hold. Trembling, collapse, and struggling to breathe can follow quickly, so treat any suspected mouthful as an emergency.
Horses Severe
The cyanide hits a horse hard. Bright red gums, fast breathing that turns to gasping, muscle tremors, and sudden collapse can set in soon after grazing, and the outcome turns fatal without quick treatment.
Rabbits Severe
Rabbits are small enough that even a little nibble matters. Expect weakness, a hunched and unresponsive posture, breathing trouble, and rapid decline, so keep the plant well out of reach.
Livestock Severe
Cattle, goats, and sheep that browse nandina can go down fast from cyanide. Look for staggering, labored or gasping breaths, frothing, and collapse, sometimes with little warning before the animal is in serious trouble.
Birds Severe
Birds face the gravest danger of all. Cedar waxwings and others that gorge on the berries in winter die of acute cyanide poisoning, often found dead with internal hemorrhage and no warning signs at all. A heavy feeding can wipe out a whole flock.
People Caution
No part of nandina is food, and the berries are not safe to eat. A swallowed berry or two rarely causes serious harm in an adult, but children are far more vulnerable, so keep the fruit out of reach and call poison control if any is eaten.
Keep berries and foliage away from pets, children, and grazing animals; supervise pets around landscape plantings.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Most nandina sold today is one of a few named selections, and several were bred to fruit little or not at all, which sidesteps the worst of the plant's invasiveness. These are the ones you'll see most.
Fire Power
A compact dwarf with brilliant red winter leaves that sets little or no viable fruit, which makes it the safe, non-invasive choice.
Gulf Stream
A tidy mounded form prized for its strong red fall and winter color, and it produces almost no fruit.
Harbour Dwarf
A low, spreading dwarf often massed as a groundcover where you want height kept down.
Alba
An unusual form that carries creamy white berries in place of the usual bright red.
How to propagate
DivisionEasy
Late winter to early spring · One growing season
The simplest way to make more nandina is to divide an established clump in late winter or early spring, separating rooted canes along with sections of rhizome. Each piece settles in over a single growing season.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer · Several weeks to a few months to root
In summer, take semi-hardwood cuttings from the current season's growth. They are slower and less certain than division, rooting over anywhere from several weeks to a few months.
SeedModerate
Fall after fruit ripens · Slow; one or more years to germinate and reach size
Seed works, but it is slow and best avoided. Sown in fall once the fruit ripens, it can take a year or more to germinate and size up. Because birds spread that same viable seed and fuel the plant's invasiveness, seed propagation is discouraged wherever nandina can escape.
Myths
Heavenly bamboo is a true bamboo.
The name is misleading. Nandina is not a bamboo at all, but an upright, cane-forming evergreen shrub in the barberry family, Berberidaceae. The slender canes and fine leaves simply give it a bamboo-like look.
Nandina berries make a harmless winter food for songbirds.
The berries hold cyanide-releasing compounds, so they are far from harmless. Birds such as cedar waxwings that gorge on a big clump in winter can die of acute cyanide poisoning, which is why removing the fruit protects local wildlife.
Sources
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center
- University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions
- USDA National Invasive Species Information Center
- NIH/NCBI PMC (Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation)
- Maryland Department of Agriculture