Plant of the Month: Beautyberry

Beautyberry is a wonderful plant for adding vibrance to your fall landscape design! Just as things begin to become more bare and bleak, beautyberry's jewel-like fruits appear, bringing a gorgeous purple/fuschia color. This sprawling, smaller shrub typically grows 3-8 feet tall and 4-8 feet wide. Its branches form long arches that bend toward the ground, and its leaves are fuzzy and light green. Lavender-pink flowers appear on beautyberry's branches from spring to summer, then transform into green berries. By fall, these green berries turn a shiny, eye-catching purple. Beautyberry is very creature-friendly, as its flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators, and its fruits are greatly enjoyed by birds and other critters. This intriguing plant also has many different varieties, which you can learn about here. Caring for beautyberry is a breeze. You can plant it at any time of year, and it is drought-tolerant once established. While it prefers rich soil, it can grow in poor soil as well, and it is receptive to either full sun or full shade! As far as maintenance goes, pruning the plant can keep it more compact, so long as you prune before it flowers.

Beautyberry is highly adaptable and has many uses. But it can also serve medicinal and edible purposes! Indigenous peoples and early settlers crushed the leaves and rubbed them on the skin as a natural insect repellent. And though the berries don't taste good right off the bush, they can be made into a delicious jelly. When it comes to your Gainesville landscape, beautyberry is also versatile. It can serve as a border, or stand out as a specimen plant, and it is ideal for practically any yard since it works well in both sun and shade. Contact the friendly professionals at LawnMore to find out how beautyberry could be best utilized in your yard!