Purple BeautyberryCallicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii
(kal-ee-KAR-puh)
This picture is from Friday. I thought people might like to see the more widely grown Purple Beautyberry. I found it listed under several different names so I just used the one I have always known it as Callicarpa bodinieri. It is a hardy, fun plant to grow and the color of the berries is something that you just don’t see. I actually prune mine down a little in the late winter/early spring to keep them neat and not to tall. They never seem to have any problems or want extra water so the care is easy. I haven’t tried to root cuttings but I have had some seedlings popping up here and there but not so many as to be unmanageable.
Not my finest hour with a camera but I wanted to show the full view of the beautiful berries.
This picture was taken a month ago and is Purple Smoke Tree (Cotinus coggygria) against a nice blue sky and some yellow Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) leaves. Smoke Tree is another fun plant to have and it adds a lot of color to the garden. One of my gardening heroes, Christopher Lloyd advocated planting the Smoke Tree in borders and cutting down to the ground each year. I have done that and it works well I also like it as an open shrubby tree in the right spot. There are several cultivars and I like the ones with the darkest foliage the best. It gets its name from the panicles of wispy bloomed flowers in the summer. They kind of resemble smoke.I could go on about both of these plants, as they are both worth growing, but don’t really feel like writing. I am just trying to keep up my daily routine for now.
12 comments:
I honestly thought you'd put blackberries though an Apple Mac and enhanced them there ... "beautyberries"..? Never heard of 'em! Great stuff though!!
I will give you a great shout on my blog this afternoon and ask if anyone else knows beautyberries!!
All the very best to you!
from
Gledwood
"Vol 2"...
;->...
really good shot
But do I have room for Callicarpa? (Or any more shrubs, for that matter?) Gorgeous violet purple.
I really like the first one. The colours are brilliant.
I love that purple beautyberry plant and I've always wondered what it was called. I will plant some this spring.
~Oswegan
I love the picture of purple beautyberry. Just wonderful !!
We grow the American beautyberry here in Austin - this Asian cultivar is lovely in a different way, Chris. Callicarpa americana can also be cut back severely in late winter. I forgot to do it this year, and ended up with the beautyberry taller than the Forest Pansy redbud, not the intended effect at all.
I'm just catching up on blogs and didn't know what your last sentence meant - so I went to look at the older ones and saw your Friday post. You and Karen have my sympathy ... what a shock it must have been. I can remember how much my dad grieved for his brother-in-law - and know what a strong relationship that can be.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Please know that you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
I'm glad you've posted the purple beautyberry. It's quite spooky really because I was down the pub with Pete Miller last week and we were looking at one of these plants wondering what it was called.
Annie and lynette, thanks for the kind words.
mike, they are a little weird when you see them for the first time.
Annie, I keep hearing about the American Beautyberry but don't think I have seen it before. Maybe there are hardiness issues.
oswegan, have you had enough rain in your area? I would encourage you to add a Beautyberry to your garden. They are pretty much fail proof.
Nice shot of the beauty berries, now I, we, that is me and Mike know what they are
There is purple beauty berries everywhere down here in san antonio. I was so amazed by them when i first saw them. Another one for my must have list.
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