Pokeweed

Pokeweed Care

Phytolacca americana

What is the plant

Phytolacca americana, American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae growing up to 8 ft in height. It has simple leaves on green to red or purplish stems.

Phytolacca americana, commonly known as pokeweed, common poke or scoke, is a vigorous, herbaceous perennial that typically grows to 4-10’ tall with a spread to 3-5’ wide. This plant features (a) showy reddish-purple stems, (b) large, alternate, lanceolate green leaves which exude an unpleasant (some say fetid) aroma when bruised, (c) apetalous, bisexual, summer flowers (to 3/4” wide) which bloom July to September in slender racemes to 8” long, each flower composed of five showy petal-like greenish-white sepals, 10 stamens and a pistil composed of united carpels, (d) grape-like fruits (each to 1/ 4” across) which emerge green but mature to a deep reddish-purple, and (e) very large taproots which will grow to 12” long and 4” thick. Pokeweed is native to clearings, fields, pastures, open woods, thickets and roadsides. Notwithstanding its somewhat attractive ornamental features, pokeweed is generally considered to be an invasive weed in many areas.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Part Sun

Hardiness zone

4 - 8

Difficulty

Medium

Hibernation

Cold Period

Toxicity

Poisonous

Invasive

Weed

How to Care for the Plant

Water
During its first year, you should water pigeonberry once a week or so if we're not getting any rainfall, but once established, you'll only need to water sparingly, if at all. During times of heavy drought, even if you don't water pigeonberry at all, it will simply go dormant and reemerge once the rain comes or water is given.
Pruning
Never remove more than a third of the foliage in any one year and to cut just above a node on the stem.
Fertilizer
As with most houseplants, they will benefit from an occasional feed during the growing season. An organic, balanced, liquid fertilizer once a month during spring and summer is recommended.

Disease diagnosis

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Sunlight
They prefer a filtered morning sun and afternoon shade.
Soil
A loam soil contains a nice balance of silt, sand, and clay along with humus.
Temperature
This plant can be found in the areas with the lowest winter temperatures of −34.4°C (−30°F). At the temperature over 86°F (30°C), many plants begin to suffer physiological damage.

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Container
Plants that don't like a lot of moisture will need a drainage hole for moisture to escape and for airflow to circulate through the pot. Another important function of drainage holes is to allow water to flush the soil of excess salts from fertilizers.
Popularity
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