What is pokeweed?

Good pokeweed identification is a safety issue, not just a yard chore. Pokeweed is a large native perennial found throughout Pennsylvania. It grows from a massive taproot, shoots up to 9 feet in a single summer, then dies to the ground after frost and comes right back the next year.

Birds eat the berries and drop the seeds everywhere they perch, which is why pokeweed often pops up along fence lines, under power lines and in the middle of shrub beds. The seed can stay alive in the soil for years.

It’s a real part of the native ecosystem, and wildlife benefits from it. But all parts are poisonous to people, dogs, cats and livestock, so most homeowners don’t want it near play areas or gardens.

Pokeweed identification: key features

• Stems: thick and smooth, often turning bright magenta or reddish purple as the plant matures.
• Leaves: large, smooth, oval or lance-shaped, up to about a foot long, alternating along the stem.
• Flowers: small, greenish-white to pinkish, in long, upright to drooping clusters, starting around July.
• Berries: shiny and slightly flattened, in hanging strings. They turn from green to dark purple-black and are full of staining magenta juice.
• Root: a big, white, fleshy taproot that can be more than a foot long and several inches thick.

Young plants in spring look like a clump of large, smooth leaves. They can be confused with other plants, which is one more reason not to eat anything you’re unsure of.

Where pokeweed grows in Pennsylvania

Pokeweed loves disturbed, open ground with decent soil. In central PA you’ll see it along woods edges and fence lines, in clearings after logging or tree removal, along field borders and roadsides, and in neglected corners of yards.

Because birds spread it, look under places they perch: fences, wires, trees at the edge of the lawn and the middle of shrub borders. Newly cleared or regraded areas often sprout a crop of it from seed that was already in the soil.

That last point catches a lot of people off guard. After a tree removal or brush clearing opens up a shady spot, pokeweed is often one of the first big plants to show up the next summer. Plan to watch for it and pull seedlings early.

Pokeweed look-alikes

Elderberry is the look-alike that matters most, since people pick its berries. Elderberry is a woody shrub with compound leaves made of several leaflets and flat-topped clusters of tiny berries. Pokeweed has big single leaves and berries in long, drooping strings.

Eastern black nightshade also has dark berries but is a small, bushy annual with star-shaped white flowers. Wild grape climbs with tendrils and has lobed leaves. If you’re not sure, don’t eat it.

How to get rid of pokeweed

Before you start, put on gloves, long sleeves and eye protection. See the safety warning above.

Hand and mechanical. Young plants pull up easily in spring and early summer, before the taproot gets big. For established plants, dig with a sharp spade or mattock and get as much of the root crown as you can. The top few inches of root are what sends up new shoots. Cutting the stalks at ground level repeatedly through the season will slowly starve the root, and cutting before berries ripen stops new seed. Bag the berries and roots in the trash; don’t leave them where kids or pets could get them, and don’t compost the berries.

Cultural. Pokeweed seedlings need open, sunny soil. Keep beds mulched 2 to 3 inches deep, fill gaps with desirable plants and reseed bare ground quickly after clearing.

Chemical. Penn State Extension notes that a systemic herbicide such as glyphosate or 2,4-D applied to the leaves in late summer can move down into the taproot. Another approach is cutting the stem near the ground and treating the fresh cut with a product labeled for that use. Large plants may need a second treatment the following year. Read and follow the label (the label is the law), check that the product is labeled for your site, and keep spray off nearby plants. In Pennsylvania, applying herbicide for hire requires a PA Dept. of Agriculture pesticide applicator certification, so bigger patches should go to a licensed vegetation-management company.

Keeping pokeweed from coming back

Since birds keep bringing in seed, you’ll likely see new pokeweed seedlings every year near fences and trees. The good news is that seedlings are easy to pull when they’re small. Make a habit of checking those spots in late spring and early summer.

Never let berries ripen near the house or play areas. Cut the stalks in midsummer if you can’t dig them right away. Over a few seasons, removing seedlings and starving established roots will clear most of it out.

If you’d like to keep a little for the birds, put it at the far back of the property, away from the house, gardens and anywhere children play.

Questions we get about pokeweed

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