American Beautyberry

Callicarpa Americana

American beautyberry most often grows 3-5 ft. tall and usually just as wide, It can reach 8-9 ft. in height in favorable soil and moisture conditions. Fruit distinctly colored, rose pink or lavender pink, berrylike, about 1/4 inch long and 3/16 inch wide, in showy clusters, persisting after the leaves have fallen.

American beautyberry is a wonderful, large understory shrub with a naturally loose and graceful arching form. In the fall and early winter, the branches are laden with magenta purple (sometimes white) berry clusters that look spectacular as the leaves drop in autumn. It is useful as a screen in swampy or wooded locations or under shade trees in a garden setting. The shrub may temporarily defoliate and lose developing fruit during periods of prolonged summer drought.

American Beautyberry is a gorgeous shrub that prefers shade and, by autumn, produces magenta berries that are more spectacular than many flowers.

The intense metallic purple fruits really become dramatic in mid-September and will hold that color until early December. The intensity of the color will fade with sun exposure, so you may notice the tops “bleaching” before the lower sides of the fruits.

Beautyberry is not plagued by any significant disease or insect problems and will grow well in either part sun or part shade. Occasionally the plant has a faint pink or yellowish fall color. Planted in full sun it requires lots of water.