Plants > Perennials

American pokeweed

Phytolacca americana

Genus: Phytolacca
Family: Phytolaccaceae
Common Names: American nightshade, cancer jalap, chon grass, coakum, cokan, crimson-berry plant, crowberry, dyer's grapes, garget, inkberry, pigeon berry, poke, poke root, poke salad, pokeberry, pokeweed, red ink plant, red weed, scoke, skoke, Virginian poke, Virginian pokeweed

About this plant

P. americana is an upright herbaceous perennial with oval or lance-shaped mid-green leaves, tinged with purple in autumn. White-pink flowers appear in racemes from mid-summer to early autumn, followed by crimson-black berries in autumn

Growing Information

Height

2.5-4 Metres

Spread

1-1.5 Metres

Hardiness

H7

Foliage

Deciduous

Growing Conditions

Sunlight

Full SunPartial Shade

Soil

ChalkLoam

pH

AcidAlkalineNeutral

Not Currently Available

This plant is not currently stocked at any garden centres on our platform.

Moisture

Poorly Drained

Aspect

West FacingEast FacingSouth Facing

Exposure

Exposed

Care Guide

Cultivation

Grow in any fertile moist soil in sun or partial shade

Pruning

No pruning required

Propagation

Propagate by seed in early spring

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

May be prone to virus diseases

Garden Uses

Uses

Ground Cover

Season of Interest

AutumnSpringSummer

Size & Characteristics

Height

2.5-4 Metres

Spread

1-1.5 Metres

Habit

Climbing

Time to Full Height

Five To Ten Years