Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'
Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst' · Lamiaceae
Arching branches are lined in autumn with tight clusters of small, shining, violet-purple berries, a colour like nothing else in the garden.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid July to early August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'
The planner designed this bed around beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' × 1, pink
- 2 Winter heath × 16, white
- 3 Sea thrift × 11, pink
- 4 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 3, tan
- 5 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 6 Purple coneflower × 8, purple
- 7 Easter lily × 4, white
- 8 Hardy gladiolus × 5, pink
- 9 Grecian windflower × 7, blue
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are bells, globes, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do winter heath and switchgrass 'Prairie Sky'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to wild quinine (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid July to early August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With wild quinine, purple coneflower and Easter lily in mid July: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 8 of the 8 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, from mid July. The flowers stay on the cool side of the palette: pink, purple, blue, white and tan.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The berries colour early and in great numbers. Cut the whole shrub to a hand's width in early spring: it fruits on new wood and stays compact.
- Purple berries in autumn
- Mixed borders
- Cut branches
What to plant with beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese anemone: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid August.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid August; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'
Does beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' need sun or shade?
Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid July to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Mid July to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid July to early August |
| Zone 7 | Early July to early August |
| Zone 8 | Early July to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'?
Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' comes from China, Japan, Korea, Nansei-Shoto, and Vietnam. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Snowberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid June to mid July, fine leaves, not medium.
- American beautyberry: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 24 in taller, 12 in wider.
- Virginia rose: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in taller, flowers mid June to mid July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after beautyberry 'Early Amethyst'?
Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' is over by early August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': from mid August to mid October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' look like in winter?
Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' good for bees and butterflies?
Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' is visited by bees, butterflies and songbirds.
More Callicarpa
- American beautyberry Callicarpa americana
- Bodinier's beautyberry 'Profusion' Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion'
- Purple beautyberry Callicarpa dichotoma
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid July to early August; dense clusters; pink, lavender
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- China, Japan, Korea, Nansei-Shoto, and Vietnam
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.