BEAUTYBERRY is a big, ungainly shrub with two redeeming qualities. First, it grows almost anywhere, including that troublesome setting beneath large trees known as dry shade. Second, it produces vivid, eye-catching, head-turning, what-is-that purple berries in autumn. Leaves are still on the plant when the slightly arched stalks become ringed with clusters of bright, shiny berries. But the foliage soon withers and drops, revealing the crop of color more clearly. The fruit persists into winter, eventually shriveling and drying into dark little inoffensive raisins. That is, if the birds haven't cleaned out the berries, first. The purple fruit attracts many wild birds, most notably, mockingbirds.

     AUTUMN COLOR   Beautyberry is outstanding in the autumn landscaping, a nice surprise among the traditional reds and yellows of the season. Cut branches laden with berries are excellent for use in arrangements. Fortunately, this shrub flowers on new growth, so you can cut plenty of branches in autumn for use in decorating without removing next year's beautiful berries.

If you enjoy wild birds, plant a beautyberry where you can see it from a window, patio, or porch. Many species of birds feast on the berries from autumn into winter.

    EASY PRUNING   On occasion, you can also severely prune and overgrown or woody plant that's producing few fruit in order to induce new growth and better berry loads. Prune in early spring. Beautyberries growing in the upper parts of the South may suffer freeze daman during cold winters; such shrubs can be cut nearly to the ground in spring to prompt new growth. Plants that have been whacked back early in the growing season can usually be counted on to produce berries the following autumn, though the shrubs themselves will naturally be smaller in size for a few years.

     TOUGH   The durability of this native plant is legendary. You can grow it in the woods, at a beach house, or pretty much anywhere in the landscape where you've got room. Beautyberry can grow in full sun, where it'll produce gobs of berries, but it's particularly useful for partially shaded areas. Because establish shrubs can tolerate dry conditions, beautyberry is a good choice for growing beneath large trees with widespread roots. Such trees tend to consume most of the available moisture, making it difficult for other plants to grow, but beautyberry rises to the challenge. This shrub can even grow in dense shade, but branches will be sparse and berrying will be reduced. Though flowering is inconspicuous, the pale summer blossoms hidden by big yellow-green leaves are essential to berry production.

      NOT PICKY   Any soil that's not extremely alkaline or heavy clay is suitable for growing beautyberry. Soil that's wet, dry, fertile, poor, or even sandy will do. Mulch shrubs with pine straw to lower the soil pH and mimic natural conditions of piney woodlands where beautyberries grow wild.

Cut branches of purple berries are prized by florists for
use in arrangements. You'll love cut sprays indoors.

     NOT LITTLE   Make sure you've got room for a plant that's going to get big: A 6-foot high and wide beautyberry is not uncommon. Plants are irregular in shape, with stiff branches that arch at the ends. The form is open and loose and somewhat awkward. Though its shape keeps it out of most formal gardens, a single beautyberry is actually the perfect foil for a frame of dense, dark green boxwoods or hollies (and quite Victorian in such an eclectic composition). Fences and walls make good backgrounds for beautyberries, too. You may have to seek a native plant sale to purchase beautyberry. It's not commonly sold a landscape centers.

All images and text copyright Jo Kellum 2008
All rights reserved. No reproduction without written permission of the author/photographer.
Excerpted from the book, published by The University Press
of Mississippi: Southern Shade: A Plant Selection Guide
which features perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, groundcovers, and vines that thrive in various shady conditions in Southern gardens.

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