American Beauty

It's no secret that one of our favorite native shrubs is the American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). Although it's deciduous, it's an interesting plant every day of the year. The berries that appear in fall stay with the bush through the leafless days of winter (at least until the birds eat them), and when the soft green leaves appear in the spring, the delicate pink blooms won't be far behind.

Most people are familiar with the purple-berried version of C. americana, but on a recent trip to Wilcox Nursery in Largo, we found the white-berried version at last, and we snapped one up to add to our Beautyberry hedge. At this time of year, the leaves and flowers look exactly the same, but we look forward to seeing the white berries mixed with the purple when fall arrives.

If you're new to American Beautyberry, check out some of our previous posts to learn more. If you're already a Beautyberry lover and you don't have the white-berried version yet, check with Wilcox or your local native plant nursery to see if they have any in stock. We're very glad to have one at last in My Florida Backyard!