When I was a kid my mom used to have real bittersweet in a vase on the table, I have never seen it anywhere to buy, can you grow your own and what condidtions do you need?
Kitty Bittersweet isn't the easiest thing to grow. First of all, make certain you get American Bittersweet (which is more difficult to find) and NOT Asian Bittersweet - the Asian is EXTREMELY invasive and will choke out so much other vegetation including choking full grown trees.
In order to grow bittersweet, you actually need both a male and a female plant (like for holly). Unfortunately, American bittersweet is somewhat difficult to find (which is why you don't see it like you used to). You still do, though, find cut bittersweet at lots of roadside farm or nurseries that carry cut flowers and such (may actually be the oriental variety, which are a bit more on the red side than the orange/yellow).
You can ask now at a nursery/garden shop for them to see if they can order you the vines now, to plant in the spring, remembering again, you need both a male and a female.
