The berries are so pretty and I actually like the tiny blossoms that the shrub makes also. Around my yard the Mockingbirds eat up all the Beautyberries.

Yes, they do here too, it is a lot of fun to watch them trying to keep other birds away, but the bluejays team up against them and usually get their their share.

The Japanese Beautyberry is amazing too. I like the way the branches are more uniform and arching. It looks more tidy. The berries are smaller, but there are more of them and they seem to show up better because the leaves are narrower on the shrub. The berries are also held further from the stems.

What's not to like about Beautyberry? It is 'beauty' ful! Here are some pictures of 'Early Amethyst' in my garden as it progresses from bloom to seed.

Thank you Clint for mentioning the Japanese Beautyberry I am sure it is very beautiful also.
One of the many neat things about Callicarpa americana is that it can be found growing in the woods in it's native range.
What a surprise to be waking in the woods and run into one or more.
Nature is amazing!

Wow!! Thank you Vickie for posting those wonderful pictures they are amazing!!
Your shrub seems to have a very pronounced arching to the branches, what a sight it must be!
Is it in berry at this time?

I think I'm going to get one called 'Snowstorm.' Have any of you got this one?

http://www.bluestoneperennials...

We have the white varieties planted around our property in addition to the usual purple suspect. I've seen some of the white fruiting plants in the wild in Sabine National Forest in east Texas.

One of my favorite plants.

Misti, I have seen the white berry ones and they are beautiful as well.
I really can't decide which one I like better, so I guess having both would be the best alternative.

Clint, that Snow Storm plant looks very nice, I wonder if it bears berries also?

I have never seen the white berry ones. But really I will stick with the purple. That color on the berries is just so wonderful.

Vickie, wonderful photos!

I have the white and purple growing side by side. Love them both.

Josephine, it has berries on it now, but they are probably finishing up. The first beautyberry I saw was at my dentist's office. Then I saw another one in Beall Woods, a state park outside of Mt. Carmel, IL. It was just like you said, a surprise to see it in the woods. I just had to have one after that!

The arching branches have been cut back a couple of times, but just enough so my husband can mow under it. But oh my this thing gets huge! The one I saw in the woods was just a little thing

Thanks, Rita! I took a lot of pictures of it this year. Next spring, I am thinking of cutting it way back, but really don't know if I should. It is taking over the area! I will have to do some research on how and when to cut it back.

Cutting them back doesn't bother them at all, they just grow again. I cut my beautyberries back early each spring, just as they are having bud swells for the spring. Otherwise they would get too big for me.

Same here, Rita. There is a good online video on it but I just tried finding it and couldn't. I did find some negative videos on pruning them, which implied pruning them at all was wrong. They are exceptionally easy to start from cuttings.

When I did see it I did some fullscreen captures. The point of it is, they get cut to the ground. I've done it and they're now in beautiful bloom...and low. A neighbor never trims hers and they must be 10 - 12' high.

Yes, mine would over run the garden if I let them.

Well, I guess there is something to be said for going both ways.
I have mine in the back fence row, which I created as a shelter and food area for the birds, so I prefer mine to be large, they are mixed with other shrubs plus fruiting and flowering trees, the birds and the squirrels love it there.

I need to root some cuttings of mine. I have a row of Winterberries that are yellow, orange, and red. I will put these between them. I just ordered some Winterberries called 'Berry Heavy Gold' that would look great with these too!

That sounds like a great idea Clint, all those colors will look great together.

I guess I will be cutting mine way back in early spring then. I looked at mine yesterday and it looks awful now that the frost hit it. It also looks like there is a tree growing up in it, so I will definitely have to get in there and get that out.