The Early Amethyst Beautyberry, otherwise known as the Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ is a pretty well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Early Amethyst Beautyberry Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Early Amethyst Beautyberry can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Early Amethyst Beautyberry wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
- Light: Keep your Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Early Amethyst Beautyberry in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Early Amethyst Beautyberry is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry belongs to the Lamiacea family, the genus Callicarpa and the species Japonica, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ (kal-ee-KAR-puh dy-KAW-toh-muh).
As with other Callicarpa’s, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Early Amethyst Beautyberry is a plant native to the China to Temp. Eastern Asia.
You might be wondering why your Early Amethyst Beautyberry’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 3 – 12 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2B, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Early Amethyst Beautyberry actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ can grow up to 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) and 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm) in 4′ – 6′ (120cm – 180cm).
These dimensions make the Early Amethyst Beautyberry a relatively large shrub compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 48″ – 72″ (120cm – 180cm) free so the Early Amethyst Beautyberry can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ wants regular watering to enhance fruit production but as a landscape plant, too much water will be a problem.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Early Amethyst Beautyberry in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and moist properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Early Amethyst Beautyberry is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry prefers to have soil with good drainage, and moist properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the summer (early, mid, late), and during the fall.
Flowers
You can expect your Early Amethyst Beautyberry to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Early Amethyst Beautyberry produces some beautiful pink, or pink and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Early Amethyst Beautyberry have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
The Early Amethyst Beautyberry is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Garden
Does your Early Amethyst Beautyberry have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Callicarpa Dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of prairie and meadow, informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Early Amethyst Beautyberry’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in hedges and screens, others use it for landscaping in a mass planting, wildlife garden, hedge, specimen, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Early Amethyst Beautyberry’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Symphoricarpos, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Weigela will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Early Amethyst Beautyberry in your garden or home.
