The Pink Fairy Duster, otherwise known as the Calliandra Eriophylla or Purple Beautyberry ‘Early Amethyst’, Beautyberry ‘Early Amethyst’, Early Amethyst Beautyberry, Early Amethyst Purple Beautyberry, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its dark green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Pink Fairy Duster is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Pink Fairy Duster Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Pink Fairy Duster can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Pink Fairy Duster grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
- Light: Keep your Calliandra Eriophylla in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Pink Fairy Duster in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Pink Fairy Duster will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Pink Fairy Duster belongs to the Lamiaceae family, the genus Callicarpa and the species Dichotoma, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Calliandra Eriophylla (kal-ee-AN-druh er-ee-oh-FIL-uh).
As with other Callicarpa’s, the Pink Fairy Duster is a semi-evergreen plant, which means it will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
Growing Region
The Pink Fairy Duster is a plant native to the Native to China and Japan..
You might be wondering why your Pink Fairy Duster’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 Calliandra Eriophylla will be most used to the heat zones in the 7 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2B, 3, 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 Pink Fairy Duster is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Pink Fairy Duster actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Calliandra Eriophylla can grow up to 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm) in 3′ – 4′ (90cm – 120cm) and 4′ – 5′ (120cm – 150cm) in 4′ – 5′ (120cm – 150cm).
These dimensions make the Pink Fairy Duster 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″ – 60″ (120cm – 150cm) free so the Pink Fairy Duster can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Pink Fairy Duster is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Calliandra Eriophylla grows best with watering each week. Increase the frequency of watering when it gets hot.
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 Pink Fairy Duster 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, moist, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Pink Fairy Duster then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Pink Fairy Duster needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Pink Fairy Duster prefers to have soil with good drainage, moist, and occasionally dry 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 Pink Fairy Duster requires 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 Calliandra Eriophylla 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 semi-evergreen plant, the Pink Fairy Duster will shed its leaves but only for a short period of time.
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 Pink Fairy Duster to flower around the spring, summer and the fall months from April to June (spring), from July to September (summer), and from October to December (fall).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its long bloom season and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Pink Fairy Duster produces some beautiful pink, or pink and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Pink Fairy Duster have a beautiful dark green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a opposite organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Calliandra Eriophylla to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Pink Fairy Duster 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.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Calliandra Eriophylla will be fine.
Garden
Does your Pink Fairy Duster have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Pink Fairy Duster’s best location within your garden is in hedges and screens, beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a rock garden,
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Pink Fairy Duster to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
