If you are looking for a plant that will charm your socks off in the fall and through a bit of winter, Callicarpa, commonly called Beauty Berry, is the shrub for you!
Common Name: beautyberry
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Lamiaceae
Zone: 6 to 8
Height: 4.00 to 6.00 feet
Spread: 4.00 to 6.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Lavender
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Good Fall
Fruit: Showy
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best flowering and fruiting in full sun. Stems can become leggy in too much shade. Prune in early spring if needed. Flowers bloom on new wood. Plant in a protected location in USDA Zone 5 where the above-ground stems may not be reliably winter hardy. In the alternative, shrubs may be grown in the manner of herbaceous perennials in Zone 5 by pruning stems back to 6” in late winter each year. Best cross-pollination and resultant fruit production occur when shrubs are planted in groups or massed.
Noteworthy Characteristics
This species of beautyberry is a rounded, deciduous shrub that typically grows 6-10’ tall with upright slender branching. It is primarily included in the landscape for its showy fall display of glossy violet fruit. ‘Profusion’ typically grows to 6’ tall and as wide and is noted for its abundant fruit production. Clusters (cymes) of small, lavender flowers bloom in the leaf axils along the stems in summer. Flowers are followed by large clusters of bright, glossy, violet-purple fruits (each 1/6” diameter) which ripen in September and put on their best show through October. Fruits persist beyond the point of leaf drop but not very far into winter. Elliptic to ovate-elliptic leaves (to 5” long) with acuminate tips emerge bronze purple in spring, mature to dull dark green and turn purplish in fall.
Garden Uses
Group or mass. Borders, bird gardens. Underplanting for open woodland areas. For an interesting fall berry display, plant in combination with other fall berry-producing shrubs such as Ilex verticillata (red berries) and Pyracantha (orange berries).
For more interesting information about this gorgeous shrub and other Callicarpas, look here.
Imagine this underplanted with an orange grass... Yum!
It's a fairly common shrub but those somewhat less than subtle berries thrill me. Mine is planted in my parking strip near where I park so it sends me off to work with a smile each morning and welcomes me home with violet charm at the end of the day.
The weekly favorite meme is hosted by Loree at Danger Garden. Be sure to click on over there to check out what other gardeners are loving in their gardens this week.