Shrub · Berberidaceae
Heavenly Bamboo
Nandina domestica
Fine-leaved, drought-proof, and fiery in winter, nandina glows red, though 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, though a glance at its thin, upright canes explains the mix-up. Nandina is a cane-forming evergreen shrub in the barberry family, and its leaves divide again and again into small, pointed leaflets that hang in airy layers off slender, upright stems. As the cold comes on, those fine leaflets flush from green into deep reds and purples, and clusters of small, glossy berries ripen bright red among them.
The whole plant is built lean and tough. Nandina takes heat, drought, and poor soil once its roots settle, grows from full sun to deep shade, and holds its evergreen leaves through cold down to -9°F (-23°C). Pests and deer rarely touch the foliage, which is part of why it spread so widely across southern gardens.
That hardy frame carries a hidden danger. The whole plant, and the red berries most of all, holds cyanide-releasing compounds that poison animals and people, and birds that gorge on the fruit can die outright. Nandina also slips beyond gardens and turns invasive across the Southeast, so where you plant it, and whether you let those berries form, matters as much as how you grow it.
Care
The short version: give it full sun to part shade in almost any well-drained soil, water it through the first season and then mostly leave it be, and renew a few of the oldest canes each late winter to keep the fine foliage full to the base.
Light
Nandina grows across the whole range from full sun to deep shade. Sun is what pulls the red and purple into the leaves through winter, so a plant sunk in deep shade keeps its foliage a flat green even while it grows perfectly well.
Water
Give it regular water through the first season while the roots take hold, then ease off. Once established it is genuinely drought tolerant, wanting a soaking only through a long dry spell, roughly every 7 to 14 days in heat.
Soil
The shrub roots into clay, loam, or sand wherever the drainage is decent. It tolerates a 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 holds up through heat to 100°F (38°C). That wide tolerance is why the leaves stay evergreen across USDA zones 6 to 9 with no special protection.
Humidity
Plain outdoor air is all it asks, so there is no humidity figure to manage. The foliage takes humid southern summers and drier spells 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 leaves break low and 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 renew it, 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, the canes rising in a loose upright clump. Give each plant room to reach that spread, or keep it in check with regular cane pruning.
When to plant
Nandina is a forgiving shrub to plant, set out in spring or fall when the soil is workable and the weather is mild. Small white flowers open in late spring, and the red berries follow in fall and cling to the canes 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 show up in the canes and leaves: how they are pruned, how much light they catch, or how far the plant seeds itself. Read the early signs below and you can restore the shape, the color, or curb the stray seedlings before they get away.
Small seedlings dotting the ground beyond the shrub
Little seedlings scattered well past the parent are nandina showing its invasive habit, and it travels by two routes at once. Birds swallow the red berries and drop the seed at a distance, while underground rhizomes and snapped root pieces push up new shoots close by. Pull the berry clusters before they redden and ripen, dig out every seedling and pale root fragment, and set sterile, non-fruiting cultivars or native shrubs in their place.
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 canes below a tuft of leaves up top
Left unpruned for a few years, nandina stretches into tall, leggy canes that drop their lower leaves and leave a stretch of bare, woody stem with foliage bunched at the tips, a look deep shade deepens. Late-winter renewal fixes it: about a third of the oldest, thickest canes come off at ground level, and the rest are cut back to staggered heights just above a node so fresh leaves break lower down. A shaded container plant leafs out fuller once it moves into brighter light.
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
Leaves holding flat green instead of deep red
The leaves flush their purplish-red only where sun reaches them, so a plant in deep shade holds flat green or a cool bluish-green all through the cold months instead. Shift it into more light, or open the branches overhead, and that red steals back into the foliage. Full sun to light shade draws out the deepest, most saturated tones.
Fix:
- Relocate or plant in a position receiving more direct sun
- Thin overhead shade where practical
Toxicity
Treat every part of the plant as poison. The whole of nandina, and the glossy red 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 fruit form at all.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
A cat that chews the fine leaves or the red berries can grow weak and unsteady on its feet within hours. Drooling, a heart that races then slows, seizures, and labored breathing all mark cyanide poisoning, and the cat needs a vet at once.
Dogs Severe
A dog that gnaws the foliage or swallows the berries may stagger, vomit, and tire fast as the cyanide takes hold. Trembling, collapse, and struggling for breath can follow quickly, so treat any suspected mouthful as an emergency.
Horses Severe
Cyanide strikes a horse hard. The gums flush bright red, breathing quickens into gasping, muscle tremors set in, and sudden collapse can follow soon after grazing, and the outcome turns fatal without quick treatment.
Rabbits Severe
A rabbit is small enough that even a little nibble matters. Weakness, a hunched and unresponsive posture, breathing trouble, and a rapid decline follow, so keep the plant well out of reach.
Livestock Severe
Cattle, goats, and sheep that browse the foliage can go down fast from the cyanide. Staggering, labored or gasping breaths, frothing at the mouth, and collapse can set in 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 bright winter berries die of acute cyanide poisoning, often found dead with internal hemorrhage and no warning signs at all, and a heavy feeding can wipe out a whole flock.
People Caution
No part of nandina is food, and the red 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, several bred to fruit little or not at all, which sidesteps the worst of the plant's spread. These are the ones you will meet most, told apart mostly by leaf color and fruit.
Fire Power
A compact dwarf whose leaves burn a brilliant fiery red through winter and which sets little or no viable fruit, making it the safe, non-invasive choice.
Gulf Stream
A dense, mounded form whose foliage deepens to a strong red across fall and winter, and it carries almost no fruit.
Harbour Dwarf
A low, spreading dwarf that hugs the ground and is often massed as a groundcover where the height stays short.
Alba
An unusual form whose clusters ripen to creamy white berries instead of the usual glossy bright red.
How to propagate
DivisionEasy
Late winter to early spring · One growing season
The easiest route to more nandina is to divide an established clump in late winter or early spring, prising apart rooted canes with their attached lengths of pale rhizome. Each split piece takes hold over a single growing season.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer · Several weeks to a few months to root
In summer, semi-hardwood cuttings taken from the firming current-season stems offer another way in. They root more slowly and less reliably than division, striking roots 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 is slow and best avoided. Sown in fall once the berries ripen and soften, it can take a year or more to sprout and reach any size. Because birds scatter that same viable seed and feed the plant's invasiveness, seed sowing is discouraged anywhere nandina can escape.
Myths
Heavenly bamboo is a true bamboo.
The name misleads the eye. Nandina is not a bamboo at all, but an upright, cane-forming evergreen shrub in the barberry family, Berberidaceae. Only its thin, jointed-looking canes and fine, divided leaves lend it that bamboo-like look.
Nandina berries are a harmless winter food for songbirds.
Those glossy red berries hold cyanide-releasing compounds, so they are far from harmless. Birds such as cedar waxwings that gorge on a heavy cluster in winter can die of acute cyanide poisoning, which is why stripping 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