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8 min read Plants & Place

American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a remarkable plant native to the southeastern United States. It is best known for its display of vibrant purple berries that cluster along the branches.

This deciduous Texas native shrub can reach an average height of 3 to 6 feet, adding a pop of color to gardens and landscapes. The beautyberry's foliage consists of glossy, elliptical leaves that transition from green to yellow in the fall. This plant is aesthetically pleasing and attracts a variety of wildlife, including birds and butterflies, making it a valuable addition to any Texas landscape.

Common Name(s): Beautyberry, American Beautyberry, French Mulberry

Height: 3 - 5' and 3 - 5' wide can reach as tall as 9'

Soil Conditions:  Prefers the moist soils of canyons, bottomlands, woods, and stream banks.

Water: Low, although the beautyberry might enjoy some water in peak summer months. Consider putting the beautyberry near moister parts of your landscape (e.g., near A/C condensation drain lines, gutter downspouts, etc.).

Light: Shade/Part Shade. It can tolerate some sun, but significant enough sun might cause the beautyberry to wilt during peak summer months. My recommendation: Shade is best, but the spotted sun (during the summer) can be just fine, too.

Distribution:

Where is American Beautyberry Native? 

The American Beautyberry is native from Central Texas east, up the East Coast as far as Maryland. Some iNaturalist user observations show the American Beautyberry has been identified even a bit further north.

The American Beautyberry can also be found in South Florida, Bermuda, and Cuba.

37,714 iNaturalist observations - January 4, 2024

As for Texas, the American Beautyberry is mainly distributed to East Texas. In dense concentrations, it's found rarely west of San Antonio. This is most likely due to Beautyberry's preference for moister, shadier landscapes.

11,540 iNaturalist Observations in Texas - January 4, 2024

The Benefits of American Beautyberry: 

For Your Landscape:

Bright magenta beautyberries are beloved by birds of many types.

For Wildlife:

Planting & Care: 

Where to Plant: The American Beautyberry is best planted in the shade of your landscape, even better, where you know it to be on the more moist side. I've planted my beautyberries in known shade/partial shade spots in my landscape. They are a great edge or background plant, so I have them lining my porch, a fence line, and underneath the shade line of the house awning.

I've also strategically placed them where they can get extra runoff or drip in rain events (e.g., next to the driveway for runoff, runoff from an uncluttered roof, and then near a gutter downspout.

The American Beautyberry has become a more popular planting in our city landscapes here in San Antonio (which I'm very happy about). We have incredibly impressive Beautyberry shrubs lining the water near our recently opened San Pedro Springs Culture Park. I do have to imagine those shrubs receive some extra watering, though.

So, thinking of where to place a Beautyberry for yourself:

And if you get this wrong, don't worry! You can always move them. I forgot about the intensity of a summer sun in a spot that's entirely shaded in the winter and I was forced to transplant two beautyberries that were getting scorched in the dead of summer. That's not to say I recommend that, but to show that all is not lost on mischosen location, I transplanted two plants successfully. It was already too late for the third. 😬

Care/Maintenance: Caring for a Beautyberry should be easy if the location is correctly chosen. You can prune back the Beautyberry each winter by half its height to encourage tighter growth, more flowers, and fruit (but you don't have to).

As for establishing the plant, my plants wilted quite significantly in year one during the peak summer heat, and to ensure their survival, I watered them 1-2 times per week. However, in year two, I've had to give the plants a fraction of the supplemental water that I did in year one–maybe a single watering every few weeks.

However, the plants I have in more consistent shade have occasionally looked wilty, but I haven't given them any extra water at all in year two.

Companion Plants: Good companion plants for the American Beautyberry are Pigeonberry, Coralberry, Wood Fern, and Texas Betony. The American Beautyberry can be planted under a number of larger shade trees: Pecan, Live Oak, or Mesquite.

Seasons: What to Expect

Spring: New leaves begin to emerge, and by the time spring is over, full leaves should be established, and you may even start to see Beautyberries begin to bloom.

Summer: Beautyberry flowers should be in full bloom come summertime in tight clusters called cymes, in a light white-ish pink-ish color. It is not uncommon to see the Beautyberry leaves droop during peak periods of heat, which, unfortunately for the landscape, can be unattractive. This is why I prefer the Beautyberries I planted in full shade versus partial shade/sun (less likely to droop in summer).

Depending on the location (more sun, typically), Beautyberries can start to bear their fruit!

Fall: Early fall is when Beautyberry puts on its show. This is when Beautyberries begin to fruit and ripen into the vibrant magenta color while still having bright green full leaves.

Winter: If the Beautyberries haven't been harvested or eaten by wildlife, they will continue to hang onto the branch through winter. As the Beautyberry is deciduous, the leaves will fall, and the plant will now look twiggy through the winter. In late winter, you could prune your Beautyberry to half its overall height and wait for spring.

Medicinal/Edible Uses:

Propagation:

Cuttings from my American Beautyberry plants taken in winter.

American Beautyberry FAQs: 

Sources:

Along with my own experience working with American Beautyberry in my landscape and learning from my observations out in Texas' natural places, here are all the books that I consulted in producing this page:

📚 Books

🌐 Websites

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