American Beauty Berry

A really nice plant for your yard that many of you might not be familiar with is American Beauty Berry (Callicarpa americana). Beauty Berry is a wonderful, native small shrub three to five feet tall and about as wide, that grows in shade which makes it a good understory choice. Its branches are loose, long, very graceful and arching. It shows off in the fall and early winter. . Some may know this plant as French Mulberry.

Its most striking feature is clusters of glossy, iridescent purple seeds which hug the branches between the leaf axils in the early fall. One problem is that birds and deer do love these lovely, colorful balls of tasty fruit. In fact, when I went out to check on mine, the lovely clusters were all gone. However, I know the birds were happy... and per haps the deer which ate the leaves. My leaves, however, were still on the shrub. If the birds don’t eat these balls of purple berries, they will hang on and provide colorful berries persisting after the leaves have fallen.

It is a perennial shrub that has white or pink flowers in May, June and July. (And, by the way, I have read that the berries are sometimes white instead of purple, but I have never seen the white ones. ) Beauty Berry is easily propagated but requires some moisture. It is cold and heat tolerant.

If you are not familiar with this plant, ask your nursery folks about it. Good luck! Extra note: Another very showy plant blooming in my yard right now is Cenizo, another small shrub. Check it out, too.

Written by Martha Knies