southern schisandra

Photo: Hobbs, John — CC BY 4.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 8

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

⚠ Five-flavour berry — MEDICINAL/adaptogenic, tart and harsh; NOT a dessert fruit.

Hardiness

Zone 6–8

Habit

Vine

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Autumn

Mature size

Twining vine 6–9 m, needs trellis

Light

Partial — shaded roots, sun on top

Soil pH

5.5–7.0 (rich, moist)

Environment

Montane

Native range

Central and southern China — Shaanxi, Sichuan, Henan, Hubei and neighbouring provinces — in montane forest and thickets at 600–3,000 m. This is nan wu wei zi, the 'southern' five-flavour berry, kept distinct from S. chinensis in the Chinese pharmacopoeia.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

3–4 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate

Spacing

200 cm (79 in) apart — about 4 m² (43 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Alternate, elliptic to ovate 5–11 cm, thin-textured and paler beneath, on slender twining stems — very close to S. chinensis, and the two are hard to separate out of fruit.

Root system

Shallow, fibrous and wide-spreading, almost all of it in the top 30 cm, and it will not take drying out — this is a forest-floor root that expects leaf litter and shade. Mulch it, keep the root run cool, and give the top growth the light; the usual failure with these vines is a hot, bare, dry root zone.

Fruit description

Spikes of orange-red to dark red berries 5–8 mm, ripening in autumn. Tart, resinous and astringent in the same way as its northern relative. ⚠ A medicinal and tea crop, not a dessert fruit.

Propagation

Seed after a long cold stratification — three months at least, and germination is still erratic. Softwood cuttings in early summer under mist are more dependable, and layering works. Since the plants are dioecious, cuttings are the only way to be sure what sex you are planting.

Pollination

DIOECIOUS — needs male and female plants

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.