Description
Callicarpa – Beautyberry –
There are about 140 species of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and small trees, in this genus. They occur from woodland in mainly tropical and subtropical region as well as temperate regions of Eastern Asia and North America. They have opposite, conspicuously veined, toothed, leaves with downy undersides and bear dense, axillary cymes or panicles of numerous tiny, white, pink, red, or purple flowers in spring or summer. They are untidy in growth. They are grown for their flowers and clusters of small but often highly colorful shiny, spherical, white, mauve to purple, bead like fruits, to 1/8″ across, which persist into winter, they are ideal for a shrub border, they fruit most prolifically in long, hot summer and if planted in groups. Where not hardy grow indoors in winter and move outdoors in summer.
Grow in fertile, moist but well drained soil in sun or dapple shade. Cut back older branches, in late winter.
Prone to cottony camellia scale, black mildew, dieback, leaf scorch, and Lercospora leaf spots.
C. rubella – Chinese Beauty Bush – This compact, evergreen or semi evergreen, erect, open shrub is found from India to China and Malaysia and grows 3-10′ feet tall and 3-6′ feet wide. It produces obovate to lance shaped, yellow-green leaves, 5″ long, and are downy beneath. In summer it bears axillary cymes, to 2″ across, of small, purplish pink flowers, followed by bright purple-red fruit. Flowers and fruiting heads have a fine covering of fine hairs that gradually wear off.
Zones 8-11
