Purple beautyberry

Fall fruits of purple beautyberry.

* Common name: Purple beautyberry

* Botanical name: Callicarpa dichotoma

* What it is: A flowering shrub with an arching habit and BB-sized clusters of bright lavender fruits all along the stems from mid-September into winter. Gets tiny pink flowers in July to early August, but they’re not terribly showy. Leaves drop in late fall, when fruits really become noticeable.

* Size: 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide if you cut them back nearly to the ground at the end of each winter.

* Where to use: A tough plant and very showy, but only in one season – namely fall, when the unusually colored fruit is prime-time. The habit is a little rangy, so not a great choice for the front foundation. But purple beautyberries are good choices along borders, around a back patio or in any semi-wooded setting. Competes fairly well with tree roots. Sun or part shade.

* Care: Control the ranginess by cutting the plant down to a few inches at the end of each winter. Once established, needs little, if any, watering or fertilizing. Seldom bothered by any bugs, diseases or animal pests.

* Great partner: Mass spring bulbs such as Siberian squill, grape hyacinths and/or daffodils around beautyberries to add life while the new wood is just getting started. In part shade, fringe-leafed bleeding hearts make good perennial partners.