Beautyberry Issai

An extraordinary, compact deciduous shrub famed for its vivid fruiting display, Callicarpa dichotoma 'Issai'  brings striking colour to the garden late in the season. In Spring and Summer, clean, long-pointed green foliage covers graceful, arching branches, accompanied in mid-Summer by small clusters of delicate, pale pinkish-purple flowers. By early Autumn, as the flowers fade, dense, eye-catching clusters of metallic, violet-purple berries coat the stems. The leaves turn a clear light yellow in Autumn before falling, leaving the brilliant purple berries hanging on bare stems well into early Winter. A free-fruiting Japanese cultivar, it begins bearing fruit at a much younger age than other species.

Site: Requires shelter from wind storms or coastal gales
Soil: Moist, fertile, well-drained soil; prefers neutral to slightly acidic ground but copes well in mild clay or sand
Position: Full sun, partial shade
Season of Interest: Summer flowers, vivid violet Autumn berries, and bright yellow Autumn foliage
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height: 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m) Spread: 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m)

Images by cultivar413 cropped and licensed under CC BY 2.0