An American beauty
American beautyberry is the perfect popular name for Callicarpa americana, a homegrown natural beauty. In late summer and into winter, this tough, adaptable shrub is laden with shiny magenta-purple fruit. The ornamental berries are displayed in unusual fashion, held in tight clusters that encircle the plant stem. They remind me of fruit on skewers! Though purple is the most familiar color in the wild, several cultivated varieties include a white-fruiting form, ‘Lactea’, and one with bubblegum-pink fruit, ‘Welch’s Pink’. The latter will hold its color better in a partially shaded location. Beautyberries are suitable for full sun and light shade in well-drained soil; fruiting is heavier in sun. They are drought-tolerant and require no fertilizer. The shrub has an open, often-weeping form and fuzzy, light-green leaves. The lavender-pink flowers produced in summer are inconspicuous. American beautyberry may grow 4 to 8 feet tall, but plants are very tolerant of pruning. Because flowers are produced on new growth, shrubs may be cut back to 4 to 6 inches from the ground in winter or early spring—this will also increase fruit production. Use as a specimen or in hedges or mass plantings. Beautyberry is hardy in Zones 6–10.