Purple beautyberry
Callicarpa dichotoma · Lamiaceae
A smaller, hardier, more graceful beautyberry from Asia, with slender, arching branches lined with small clusters of bright lilac-violet berries in autumn.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early August
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around purple beautyberry
The planner designed this bed around purple beautyberry when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why purple beautyberry stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Purple beautyberry × 1, pink
- 2 Mountain avens × 3, white
- 3 October daphne × 8, pink
- 4 Big bluestem 'Blackhawks' × 3, purple
- 5 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 6 Wild lupine × 15, blue
- 7 Winter heath × 6, pink
- 8 Allium 'Globemaster' × 6, purple
- 9 Daffodil × 8, yellow
- 10 Schubert's allium × 5, pink
Why this plant
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do big bluestem 'Blackhawks' and winter heath.
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 six weeks. From late June to early August.
- In company. With wild quinine in late June: 2 kinds at once.
Planned as a cottage garden: 32 of the 41 plants (78%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Cool colours (pink, purple and blue) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them. The bold leaves of wild quinine are set against the fine leaves of big bluestem 'Blackhawks', the kind of contrast that keeps a bed from blurring.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where purple beautyberry 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 arching stems are strung with berries along their whole length, an effect that is best seen from the side. Cut it nearly to the ground each spring.
- Autumn berries for colder gardens
- Arching form in a mixed border
- Cut stems for arrangements
What to plant with purple beautyberry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Japanese anemone: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid August.
- 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.
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': in flower together for two weeks, from late July.
Questions about purple beautyberry
Does purple beautyberry need sun or shade?
Purple beautyberry 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 purple beautyberry 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 purple beautyberry flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 8 | Late June to late July |
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 purple beautyberry 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 purple beautyberry 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 purple beautyberry 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 purple beautyberry?
Purple beautyberry comes from China, Japan, Korea, Nansei-Shoto, and Vietnam. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- American beautyberry: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 24 in taller, 12 in wider.
- Snowberry: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; fine leaves, not medium.
- 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 purple beautyberry?
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.
Will purple beautyberry spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Self-seeds, and has begun to escape into the wild in parts of the eastern United States. Where it is hardy, the native American beautyberry is the safer choice.
What flowers after purple beautyberry?
Purple beautyberry 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).
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': from late July to mid September, 2½ 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).
What does purple beautyberry look like in winter?
Purple beautyberry drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is purple beautyberry good for bees and butterflies?
Purple beautyberry is visited by bees, butterflies and songbirds.
More Callicarpa
- American beautyberry Callicarpa americana
- Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst'
- Bodinier's beautyberry 'Profusion' Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion'
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
- Late June to early August; dense clusters; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Arching, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- 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.