This easy-to-grow, disease-free plant lives up to its name
At a glance
Callicarpaspp . and cvs .
Zones:5–9
Size:4 to 6 substructure improbable and wide ( unless otherwise noted )
condition : Full sun to fond shade ; evenly moist , average soil
aboriginal range : China , Japan , or continental United States
I love a four - time of year shrub as much as the next nurseryman . A industrial plant that blooms gorgeously in spring , has wonderful summer foliage follow by fall color , and then display great bark and social organization through the winter is amazing . But some plants just ca n’t have it all . Since autumn is my favorite season , I love plants that shine from September to November . plant life that blossom in fall or have large previous season color or an surpassing fruit display catch my interest because that ’s a metre of year when not much is happening landscape painting - impudent . Beautyberries are genuinely darlings of the fall garden for their yield exhibit .
Callicarpais a large genus of shrubs with more than 100 species worldwide , most of which grow in tropic areas . However , several metal money grow in temperate region and are complete add-on for North American gardens . The wordCallicarpacomes from the Greekcallosandcarpos , intend “ smasher ” and “ fruit . ” The bloom of beautyberry are often small and go unnoticed in summertime , and the leaf of most species is a medium green and not very distinctive . It is the yield in hue of fertile purple , white , or pinkish that sing out for care and make beautyberry a free fall industrial plant with no rivals .
Notable selections you won’t soon forget
American beautyberry(Callicarpa americana ) is our proud American wiz . A native plant from Maryland to Oklahoma and Texas , American beautyberry mature in wooded areas and favors moist grease with an receptive canopy . In the garden , it is tolerant of a wide cooking stove of soils and wet degree but does advantageously in wetter areas . Sometimes a moment difficult to establish in the cooler areas of its range ( geographical zone 6b and 7a ) , it prefer spring planting and good watering throughout its first twelvemonth . American beautyberry has larger fruit and declamatory foliage than other species , and the leaf are notably a light Green River . The ¼-inch - diam medium purple fruits encircle the stems at steady intervals and make a corking show . The overall show of the bush can be a shade indocile , so planting in a group or mass make a better showing and increases bad-tempered - pollination and yield yield .
Asian beautyberry ( C. dichotoma ) has a modest habit than most beautyberries , and several natural selection are top - snick . Two of the most notable are‘Issai’and‘Early Amethyst ’ . ‘ Issai ’ has minor berry that are like flyspeck pink - purple bubble clinging to the bow at each node . More of a weeper in riding habit , its bow curve over , and the small leave of absence are hold in tandem along the branches . ‘ former Amethyst ’ set up its fruit to begin with in the time of year than most cultivars of beautyberry . While ‘ Issai ’ holds the berries close to the stem , ‘ former Amethyst ’ has loose panicle of brilliant deeper purple Berry that are hold forth from the stems .
‘ Welch ’s pinkish ’ American beautyberry(C. americana‘Welch ’s Pink ’ ) is a endearing pick of our North American native , with bubblegum pink fruit in richness . Found en masse shot at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington , D.C. , this planting alone is worth a visit in October .
‘ Duet ’ Asian beautyberry(C. dichotoma‘Duet ’ ) is a existent peach that ’s worthy of a place in any garden . This extract was establish at Tennessee Technological University and bring in through the U.S. National Arboretum . The foliation and fruit talk a duet together , with the white - margined leafage matching absolutely with the plump white berries . The variegated leafage makes ‘ Duet ’ interesting throughout the grow season , specially when placed against a moody backdrop . Its habit is more upright and should stay right at 5 feet grandiloquent .
Japanese beautyberry ( C. japonica ) is another species with glorious medium royal yield . This rounded shrub grow larger thanC. dichotoma , to 6 feet or more , has enceinte foliage and , as a incentive , has a hint of pinkish or balmy yellow fall leafage color . My preferent Japanese beautyberry is the cultivar‘Heavy Berry’(C.japonica‘Heavy Berry ’ ) . As you could imagine from its name , this bush sports the dear berry set of all beautyberries . It produces ample total of metallic majestic berries , almost enshroud the stem , and creates quite a show . A newer introduction , Wine Spritzer ™ Nipponese beautyberry(C. japonica‘Shiji Murasaku ’ ) , is appropriately named , with its lovely white - speckled or “ spritzed ” leafage and beautiful wine - coloured young stems . The leafage display is intellect enough to grow this rounded , thick shrub that stays 4 metrical unit tall . unluckily , it is unsure to blossom and plant yield , but few bush can make as endearing a display of speckled vary leaf as Wine Spritzer ™ .
Not to be overlooked , the reliable and spectacular fruit showing of‘Profusion ’ Bodinier beautyberry(C. bodinieri‘Profusion ’ ) makes it a standout . The clusters of slimly blue - regal fruit are always abundant . ‘ Profusion ’ , a Dutch survival of the fittest from 1887 , is often seen in baby’s room , but the specie itself is rare , and no other selections ofC. bodinieriare readily uncommitted . Often grow to 6 feet or more , its stately mien is erect and neater than some of the other beautyberries , especially when develop in full sun .
Pearl Glam ™ beautyberry(C.‘NCCX2 ’ ) , a fairly new foundation , is a hybrid betweenC. kwangtungensisandC. dichotoma . The former tend to be a large lanky shrub more than 8 feet marvelous with arching branches , but it has wonderful dark purple leafage through summer . C. dichotomahas abundant yield and a smaller habit but rather boring green foliage . Pearl Glam ™ combine the best of these traits with abundant fruit set off against dark imperial leafage . This loan-blend has a small and more compact habit , reaching only 4 groundwork tall and 3 infantry wide . The dark purple leafage and rich empurpled fruit compounding is truly unique .
New and unusual options to try
White - fruited beautyberry(C. longissima‘Alba ’ ) has an spendthrift show of ivory yield that resembles weak and downlike popcorn . The self - fertile prime continue to produce over several months , so the shiny fruits seem to randomly kill as the season come along . The hardiness and ultimate size persist to be seen ; this beautyberry may become a giant for ardent climates .
The Plump and plenteous ™ serial publication of beautyberries features Modern release such as Lilac ( C.‘Kolmalila ’ ) , Amethyst ( C.‘Kolmagicme ’ ) , Purple Giant ( C.‘Kolmapurgi ’ ) , and Snow Star ( C.‘Kolmnostar ’ , pictured ) . These four selections were specially bred for fruit display and carrying into action as trimmed ramification . Although they are too new for an adequate evaluation of their carrying out over fourth dimension in the garden , so far they are look good .
Willowleaf beautyberry(C. salicifolia ) has unusually big blossom of loose purpleness , and the efflorescence are expectant and held out and aside from the branches . The leaf is lustrous immature , and the newest bow are dark purple . The fall fruit showing is equally stunning , fecund , and long - lasting . This flora accommodate potential difference to be apprize as a bloom shrub , but its hardiness over time is untested .
Fun Facts About Beautyberry and Its Fall Friends
•Siting : For unspoiled yield production , beautyberries like full sun . They can take a moderate amount of shade but will produce a reduced amount of fruit .
•Moisture : tolerable wet is good , especially in the first twelvemonth of establishment . mind of plant in sites that are continuously damp with practiced drainage , as I have seen Nipponese beautyberry ( C. dichotoma ) seed into an country next to a stream and in crushed rock production areas that are watered day by day .
•Pests : No serious pest or diseases , and beautyberries are generally not bothered by cervid .
•Maintenance : Pruning help maintain shape and tidiness ; otherwise , beautyberries are maintenance - innocent . Learn how to prune beautyberry .
•Propagation : well disseminate from cuttings and seminal fluid .
•Fruit : These are technically drupes , or Oliver Stone fruit like yellowish pink or plums .
Left: ‘Issai’ Asian beautyberry.Photo: Michelle Gervais.Right: ‘Early Amethyst’ Asian beautyberry.Photo: Jennifer Benner
•Companions : The purple fruits of mantrap berries look big with the flaccid empurpled peak of tatarian aster ( Aster tataricus‘Jindai ’ , Zones 4–8 ) , the yellow fall color of spicebush ( Lindera benzoin , Zones 4–9 ) , or the multicolored fall foliage of witch alder ( Fothergillaspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) . The newer selections of beautyberries that have variegate or royal foliage are dramatic when blend with nearly any dark green or burgundy backcloth .
Andra Windorf Nus is a research medical specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University . She breeds flora for the Mountain Crop Improvement Lab .
illustration : Lyn Alice Hamilton
American beautyberry.Photo: Danielle Sherry
Sources
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‘Welch’s Pink’ American beautyberry.Photo: Michelle Gervais
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‘Duet’ Asian beautyberry.Photo: Nancy J. Ondra
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Wine Spritzer™ Japanese beautyberry.Photo: courtesy of JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University
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‘Heavy Berry’ Japanese beautyberry.Photo: Adam R. Wheeler/Broken Arrow Nursery
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‘Profusion’ Bodinier beautyberry.Photo: Nova Photo Graphik/gapphoto.com
Pearl Glam™ beautyberry.Photo: Nancy J. Ondra
Left: white-fruited beautyberry.Photo: Heather Edwards/gapphotos.com.Right: The Plump and Plentiful™ Snow Star.Photo: courtesy of Plants Nouveau
Willowleaf beautyberry.Photo: courtesy of Andra Nus
Left: spicebush.Photo: Martin Hughes-Jones/gapphotos.com.Center: ‘Jindai’ tatarian aster.Photo: Jennifer Benner.Right: fothergilla.Photo: courtesy of Spring Meadow Nurseries
