PlantFiles: Beautyberry
Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion'

Callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion' BEAUTYBERRY Dec (z6) (Cut,B&W,Bon)
Neat med-sized shrub noted for the deep rose-purple fall color of its long leaves & its clusters of lilac-purple fruits. Sun-PSh/Med

I'm rooting some cuttings from this shrub for my own garden. It grows at a friend's place in a group of 4. I think it's quite beautiful - not overly showy like some shrubs. But I like the subdued look that really shines when one gets close enough to take a better look.

The smaller leaves fill out nicely, providing a dense but still somewhat airy appearance. The individual flowers are tiny (even smaller than pink spirea) & the clusters of flowers aren't that large either so if you like big showy shrubs, this wouldn't be for you. Still, it's charming even as it is but when the berries turn a lovely lavender colour in the fall & practically shine once the leaves fall, it comes into its own & outdoes any other shrub at this time of year.

It looks so much nicer than rhodos or camellias that look sickly as the weather gets hot & dry. They look fresh & healthy at all times & when the frost comes, the leaves turn red & orange.

The cuttings are coming along well so they seem to root easily. It will probably be a few years before mine are big enough to make a show but I can say with pride, when they do, I raised them from mere sticks!

This is supposed to have clusters of bright purple berries in the autumn. Plant bought as a plug from Mair & Thompson circa 1999. Quite quick to grow, can grow to a small tree if not pruned, I let this grow and then moved it to a sunnier spot, pruned it back to make it a little bushier. Also grew 2 new plants from it, easy to do from semi-ripe to ripe stems, as I have not yet had above a few small (not like you see in the garden centre) berries. I have read that these plants need a group of 3 in order to produce good berries, maybe I will get them when the other plants, growing with it, get a little more mature. This variety is supposedly meant to make berries on its own, still waiting.

I would like to come back and give it a positive! The flowers are a little different, leaves turn a light bronze in autumn but not long before they fall.