Profusion Beautyberry

Every garden deserves something unique and striking, and for eye-catching, drop-dead effect, there is nothing more striking than seeing the glowing violet-purple berries clustered all along the bare branches of the Profusion Beautyberry. That’s right – violet-purple that is almost neon. We are used to fall berries in red, orange, white and dark purples, but this bush is truly special. We know of no other plant with such a powerful color effect, making it a special specimen that you will love to grow. Forming a rounded bush to about 6 feet tall, it is perfect in your shrub beds, looking green and calm until dropping its leaves to reveal this fall treat. It is not hard to grow, and one bush growing alone will give you lots of berries. For an outstanding fall display this is one bush that really makes a splash, and because the berries are very bitter birds usually wait until winter food is very scarce before taking them, which means they remain showy well into the winter months. We tend to overlook fall, outside of leaf color, but you can create a great fall garden with berries too, and they have the advantage of lasting well after the leaves have fallen, into winter. Make sure your garden has several shrubs with good berry development, but put the Profusion Beautyberry at the top of the list – it’s a choice you won’t regret.

Growing the Profusion Beautyberry

Size and Appearance

The Profusion Beautyberry is a rounded deciduous shrub, growing to about 6 feet tall and wide, and in ideal conditions probably reaching 10 feet in time. It has a dense twiggy structure, with smooth, slightly glossy bark of a soft mid-gray color. The leaves are 2 to 4 inches long, and sometimes up to 6 inches long, with a slender oval shape, tapering to a point. They are bronzy-red when young, maturing to dark green, and sometimes taking on red and purple tones in fall before turning yellow. Between May and July, depending on local climate and weather, small clusters of flowers grow out where the leaves meet the stems. These are pale violet to whitish, and the clusters are about 1 inch across. The blooms are interesting and worth examining, but not showy, and may be overlooked among the large leaves. Over summer they develop into clusters several inches across of many berries, individually up to ¼ inch across, often in clusters of 30 or 40 berries. They ripen to a neon-violet color between July and November, depending on when flowering happened.

This plant lives up to its name and does produce a profusion of berries, even if grown alone, and even on young plants. Most other forms of this plant need to be grown in groups, preferably from different sources, to develop a good berry crop, but not this one. For a brief time ripe berries and leaves will be seen together, but the best display is seen once the leaves fall. The berries grow all along the branches, making a great display in a color not seen in any other plant. They are not poisonous, but very bitter and birds won’t take them when there are better choices around. This means a long display well into winter. Deer too are reluctant to eat them unless very hungry.

Using the Profusion Beautyberry in Your Garden

This bush is perfect for the middle or back of shrub beds, where it will be at its best when other plants are dormant. Plant it with other berries, such as white or orange, for a show as bold as any flower bed. It grows well in natural settings or in more formal bed arrangements. Plant near a path where you can enjoy the berries close up, or where the winter sun will illuminate them and make them sparkle.

Hardiness

The Profusion Beautyberry is hardy in zones 5 to 8, covering a large part of the country. It grows best in places with cooler summers and with summer rain, as it is not particularly drought resistant.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun will give the best flowering and berry production, although this plant grows almost as well in light shade. It grows best in neutral to acidic soils, and on alkaline soils it may show some yellowing of the leaves and slower growth. Richer, moist, well-drained soils are best, but this is not a particularly difficult or ‘fussy’ plant to grow.

Maintenance and Pruning

The Profusion Beautyberry is usually free of pests and diseases and left alone by deer, so it’s generally low-maintenance. It doesn’t need any particular pruning, at least for some years, but if you do come to prune it, this is best done in late winter or early spring. Remove some of the oldest branches at ground level, and shorten back growth from the previous year to keep it more compact. Or just leave it to grow naturally.

History and Origin of the Profusion Beautyberry

Beautyberries, Callicarpa, are a small plant group found mostly in Asia, but with one American species, which is found in Florida and Texas. Most are similar, but what sets apart the variety called ‘Profusion’ is its ability to produce berries on a single plant, and the heavy crop of berries. All others need another plant of the same species but a different origin planted nearby. ‘Profusion’ is a selected form of Bodinier’s beautyberry, Callicarpa bodinieri, a Chinese species found in Sichuan and western China. It is much more cold-resistant than the American beautyberry. For a time it was thought to be a selection of another species, Callicarpa giraldii, but botanists now consider that plant to be no more than a variety of Bodinier’s beautyberry. Nurserymen at the Dutch nursery of T. van Veen & Zonen selected ‘Profusion’ from among a group of seedlings, and released it in 1962.

Buying the Profusion Beautyberry at the Tree Center

You will be amazed by this incredible bush, and how incredibly easy it is to enjoy something that seems so exotic, and so likely to be impossible to grow. Be assured, it is an easy shrub for most gardens. It was given the Award of Garden Merit in 1993 by Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society, the world’s top organization dedicated to garden plants, so you can be sure it is good, with that stamp of approval. Order now, because this plant is always in short supply, and won’t be around long on our farm.