A Knock On The Door

I hope I can too Andrew, it's beautiful.

Yes I can see why it caught her eye, its a beauty.......

Lovely Andrew, both the story and the plant. :~)))

Andrew help me out here! I goggled it and could not find a red one only dark green with Mauve berries and no mention of it going red?

Lovely! Plant and tale! :~))

Don't blame her for knocking on your door it is beautiful

Wow, so it is!

Hmmmm I had one of those Andrew but the keypad broke hehehe Great picture tho' it's beautiful.

What a lovely compliment she paid you !

It really is a beautiful plant.
The textbooks say it reaches about 3' but yours looks a lot taller, how high is yours and how old would you say it was ?

I've just read another book that states a height of 4', so once again it's down to us to guess the ultimate height !

WOW! it is a beautiful shrub. I have 2 of those, small, the leaves do not turn that colour. They stay the same green colour, then the drop off when it is time too. Could it be a different type to yours? I must have a look at the label.

That's just the sort of stranger who is welcome on the doorstep Andrew, I think I might have done so myself for such a stunner. How long did you stand there talking plants? LOL

I must admit, I'd have done the same thing - but you never know how the person who answers the door is going to receive you,so its always a risk, but one worth taking, I think, if you really want to know about something, and this is a beauty.

The most usual callicarpa in gardens is C.bodinieri with the variety 'Profusion' carrying the most berries. It can reach ten feet if left unpruned.
This is C.dichotoma which I have had growing in dryish soil in full sun for ten years now. I have never pruned it which is why it's now got to about five feet in height and spread. Every year the foliage turns this amazing colour and some years, but not this year, it carries the lilac berries characteristic of this family. I have been unable to find any reference to the pink autumn colouring in books but one supplier does refer to "good autumn colour" on their website for a clone named "Issai".
I have found a reference to C.japonica which is similar but slightly larger - "with violet-coloured berries which blend beautifully with the pinkish autumn leaves" so perhaps I have this one after all.

I love it and will be looking out for one !!!

Will it grow in clay soil then Andrew? It's so beautiful...no wonder the lady stopped to ask you.

I used to grow C.bodinieri in solid clay - I think as a family they are pretty easy-going. Hmmm - perhaps there's a book in there somewhere - 'Laidback Plants'?

it fits the wall behind perfectly

its a stunner andrew, hope she gets one

Andrew, good idea there !

gr8 compliment! I love seeing this, too! :-))

Only ever seen yellow fall foliage on these but Bluestone Perennials notes that CALLICARPA dichotoma Early Amethyst has "rose-purple fall foliage." Didn't find any images to match yours! Maybe it's your soil. The birds & I like the purple berries at the nodes anyway.

I've used the bad weather today to do some research into this shrub as it seems to be generating a lot of interest and a lot of queries as to why mine goes this wonderful colour in the autumn.

I found this remark in "The Explorer's Garden, Plants and Vines", the new book by the American plant explorer Dan Hinkley:
"Callicarpas should be planted in full sun ... to enhance a buttery lavender-infused autumn colour in the foliage." Not exactly the luminous pink I have achieved but at least a reference to autumn colouring. (If you've never come across Dan Hinkley, I can thoroughly recommend his books if you are plant lover like me)

Next I googled images of both C.dichotoma and C.japonica. Needless to say, these concentrated on the berries but I did find three photos, all of D.japonica, showing some degree of pinkness (one from France, one from Germany and one from Denmark).

But then I came across this reference from Jardinbrio, another French site:
"C. Japonica est aussi très décorative en automne, car ses feuilles prennent une teinte rose intense, puis violacée"
(roughly translating as C.japonica is also very decorative in autumn, its leaves turning first an intense pink tint, then violet)

I now tend to the view this is C.japonica, not C.dichotoma (on account of the autumn leaf colour and its current size). I think a spot in full sun obviously helps with the colouring and, as I suspect most plants are seed raised, there will be some natural variation between plants. Whether it is this or my soil conditions I do not know, but I do seem to have a particularly good plant in terms of autumn colour.

Funny Andrew, I have just spent ages looking up this shrub on the web and also found that there was no mention of the autumn leaf colour. I looked up your blog again to ask you that very question! I will now look up C. Japonica.

Found It! There was one mention of pink autumn colour. I gather it needs quite a lot of sunshine. I might try it as it is beautiful but wont get a lot of sun here!

Skillen - mine seems to colour up like this every year regardless of how good a summer we have had. As long as it is an open, south-facing position, I think there is a fair chance of getting some colour from it

Hi Andrew, I was thinking about buying one of these for Carol but wanted to know first if the berries were poisonous (we often have younger children in our garden) and what would be the best time of year to get one?

Ian - shrubs are best planted either in autumn (when the soil is still warm) or spring, but container grown plants can be planted at any time really as long as you make sure sure they get away well and don't go short of water.
This one is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill plant so you will have to search around to find one. While it is spectacular in autumn, it is nothing special for much of the year so think about whether you really want to give it house room in a smaller garden. The more usually available one is callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion' - this can get bigger, doesn't colour up like this and you need two of them to get a decent crop of berries. I haven't found any reference to them being poisonous but don't take that as a definitive answer

Thank you Andrew, all the info I needed. I think I will have to give it a miss then as I would like something that is better for more of the time, if that makes sense?

That makes perfect sense Ian. In limited space, plants really have to earn their keep with a long season of interest - a long flowering period, attractive leaves or a succession of new growth, flowers, berries and autumn leaf color. That's one of the joys of flowery things in the garden :-)

Thanks Andrew. :~)))

Another turn in the saga of this shrub.
I have just found a description of a named variety of C.dichotoma called 'Issai'. The last sentence of the description reads:
'Foliage turns a rich rose-purple in autumn'
Looks like this is the one I have got!

Fess up, Andrew, you really spray painted it, didn't you?! My daughter dyed her blond hair a "rich rose-purple" for Halloween, and I can tell this must come from the same dye!

Well yes and I used the same dye last year (see my pictures) and the leftovers on a heuchera (see my blog 'First Impressions"). How did you guess?

Every one knows Georgia Peaches aren't rose purple, even blushing! To find two so perfectly matched suggests artifice!

But aren't all gardens artifice?

Well, you know that "artifice" has devolved from "making art" into a sense of guile or trickery, crafty contrivance rather than honored craftsmanship. I'll grant that all gardens are made, the best by those with skill & elegance that evoke a harmonic resonance, working with nature. Carnations dyed blue or green (or purple!), or 20 ft trees clipped to 20 inch hedges impose an extraneous deformation. Some of the hybrid hibiscus so popular strike me as abominations: it's a visceral revulsion. So, too, an "attractive" plant or garden, or wilderness, draws forth something of my soul, enhancing an innate knowing, revealing connection rather than imposing or interposing an idea between the felt perception --- rather like working the grain of the burl into the scrolled carving. We may be glib about what we "plantaholics" HAVE to have, but I don't think it's acquisitiveness nearly as much as a primordial response to a beauty we also are.

Thanks for telling me about this. I have found out it grows 3 - 4 ft and that would suit my garden.

A truly beautiful shrub Andrew......I shall keep a look out for it, imagine having this colour in the Autumn!