Pruning A Callicarpa

Beautyberry Culture

• Several species of beautyberry are commonly grown as landscape plants. Purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma) is the one most available in nurseries. It matures at 3 to 6 feet tall and wide, and features vivid purple berries in full sun in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 8. American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a native species that grows in full sun or partial shade in USDA zones 7 through 10. It is the largest of the beautyberries, and reaches up to 8 feet tall and wide with purple-blue berries. Japanese beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica) is hardy in full sun from USDA zones 6 through 8. It has smaller, more plentiful purple berries than other varieties.

Spring Pruning

• All beautyberries bloom and produce their attractive fruit on stems that grow in the current season. As such, they are pruned in the late winter to early spring. In cold climates, the plants often die back to the roots, but even where freezing temperatures are not an issue, you can get your pruning over quickly and have a full, colorful shrub by cutting your beautyberry down to the ground each year. To avoid a gap in your garden until the plant grows back, cut back only one-third of the oldest stems each year. Cut stems back to lateral branches rather than in the middle of a branch.

Late-Season Trim

• Beautyberries can outgrow their bounds or begin to look leggy by the end of the growing season, particularly when the entire plant was not pruned to the ground in early spring. Prune back plants as they begin to look unkempt through early fall. Pruning too late can force new growth late in the season, which can be damaged by cold weather. Make cuts at lateral branches inside the main silhouette of the shrub.

Pruning Tips

• Remove broken or diseased branches at any time. Hand pruners cut branches up to 1/2 inch in diameter. Use loppers for stems from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch. A beautyberry that is regularly pruned is unlikely to need a pruning saw -- used for branches with larger diameters. Ensure tools are sharp and sterilized with rubbing alcohol or household antiseptic cleaner. Beautyberries can self-seed, but are not considered invasive.