Last month, my friend Janet and I went to Rockport’s 33rd annual HummerBird Celebration. While the hummingbirds in migration were amazing, one plant caught my attention. The American beautyberry shrub was in its fall regalia with chartreuse leaves and clusters of brilliant purple berries.
The American beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana) is a large, deciduous shrub that is native to central and southeastern United States. They tend to grow wild in wooded areas.
Native American tribes used its leaves, branches and roots to treat rheumatism and fevers. Roots were used to treat stomach problems and dizziness. A combination of boiled roots and berries was used to treat colic.
Early in the 20th century, farmers rubbed crushed fresh beautyberry leaves on themselves to ward off biting insects. They also placed crushed leaves under horses’ harnesses to repel mosquitoes.
Neil Sperry lists American beautyberry as one of the best fruiting shrubs for East and South Central Texas. Small lilac flowers in the summer are followed in September and October by small, round, iridescent purple berries that grow in clusters along stems. The berries can last into winter but usually the birds devour them.
The berries are a favorite among wild birds like northern bobwhites, cardinals, finches, mockingbirds and other small birds. The foliage is a favorite of white-tailed deer.
Beautyberry is included in landscape designs to attract wildlife. Its berries feed them and the shrub itself protects them. American beautyberry shrubs can be planted in borders, as well as in woodland gardens. Sperry suggests planting this slow-growing shrub among shade perennials like ferns.
American beautyberry shrubs most often grow 3- to 5-feet tall and just as wide. If the soil and moisture are favorable, it can grow 9-feet tall.
Plant American beautyberry shrubs in light shade and well-drained soil. If the soil is poor, mix some compost with the fill dirt when planting it. If the soil is well-draining, wait until spring to fertilize it for the first time. Another practice is to skip the fertilizer but add one or two shovels of compost around the plant in the spring.
Beautyberry shrubs readily reseed themselves. Collect seeds from very ripe berries and grow them in individual containers. Protect them the first year and plant them in a semi-shaded or shaded area after the last frost. Or if you are a more casual gardener, you can scatter the seeds in a suitable area, lightly cover them with soil and gently step on them to press them into the soil.
Newly planted beautyberry shrubs need about an inch of rain per week. When rainfall isn’t enough, give them a slow, deep watering. Once they are established, beautyberry shrubs are drought-tolerant.
It is best to prune American beautyberry in late winter or early spring. The plants bloom and fruit on new wood. In very cold winters, beautyberry plants may freeze to the ground, but they come back from roots.
Two types of pruning are recommended for American beautyberry shrubs. The simplest is to cut the entire shrub back to 6 inches above the ground. It grows back with a neat, rounded shape. This method keeps the shrub compact and you don’t need to prune it every year.
Another pruning technique is less dramatic. Each year, remove one-quarter to one-third of the oldest branches close to the ground. With this method, the shrub grows up to 8 or 9-feet tall, and you will renew the plant every three to four years. Please do not shear off the plant at the desired height because this practice leads to unattractive growth.
American beautyberry plants with white berries have been cultivated under the name Callicarpa Americana var. lactea. Be aware of the difference if you buy this amazing shrub.
SOURCE: “The Southern Living Garden Book”;
Sperry, Neil, “Lone Star Gardening”;
https://bit.ly/2XS1UL0;
American Beautyberry Care;
https://bit.ly/2ZuzfML;
https://bit.ly/3Gyi2TC
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901.
For those of you who like to venture out and find native plants in a natural habitat, you can find the American Beautyberry growing as understory shrubs at the Aransas National Wildlife Reserve near some of the walking trails.
Victoria County Master Gardener Association
