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I found a vine on my property that has attractive blue, purple, violet and almost turquoise berries.  It has leaves similar to a grape.  Do you know what it is?  Is it a good garden plant?

It sounds like porcelain vine (Ampelopsis brevidpedunculata), which is native to the Far East but is naturalized in parts of the United States, including Georgia.  The berries are indeed attractive, but it spreads like wildfire and is considered an invasive weed.  If you plant it in your garden you will be pulling up porcelain vine seedlings the rest of your life and so will your neighbors.

Porcelain vine is also called porcelain berry and Amur peppervine.  To verify our identification, take a sample of the vine to your county Extension office, a nursery or garden center staffed with trained horticulturists, or look it up at your local library or see photos at www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/ambr.html.

If you have questions or problems with products or services regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, you may contact the Office of Public Affairs, 19 Martin Luther King Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30334 or call 404-656-3689 (Metro Atlanta) or 1-800-282-5852 (state wide).