Callicarpa
I have been contemplating getting a callicarpa profusion (will post a pic from google later).
I'm pretty sure I will be disappointed and it wont 'berry up' like the pictures or the ones I see in the garden centres.
I have never seen one in any gardens where I live - always a warning sign that they may not do well.
I have read up on care but I'm more interested in personal experiences of real gardeners (beginner to expert all included) rather than from a 'sales' point of view.
I would be really interested in your views especially if you grow this plant- I live in Yorkshire, have you found them disappointing, are they fussy about site and soil, growth habit (messy?), size in a few years and eventual size, pruning, does it need special care to produce berries, does the colour sometimes disappoint, what is it like in spring and summer, back/middle of border, easy or difficult care, can it grow in a pot, etc...
Thank you.
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I had 3 of these for 5 or 6 years. I don't think I had that many berries between the 3 of them in all that time
In the sticks near Peterborough
Mine really struggle. Soil tends to dry out too much in summer and too damp in winter. I have struggled to get more than a few purple berries. I actually think it is not that attractive a plant when it does not have the berries on it.
I've seen some better than mine but never anything as seen in the photo.
Photoshop?
In the sticks near Peterborough
Thanks nut and blairs, confirms my suspicions unfortunately.
The most wonderful of these shrubs grew (and possibly still does) in the garden of my family in Texas! That might give a clue as to why they do not do terribly well here?
I am in Essex and have a beautiful Callicarpa which is covered in berries at the moment. It's dark outside at the moment but will post a picture of the full shrub tomorrow. I have only got a close up pic. of some of the berries (below).
I love my bush which has grown a great deal this year. I bought one for my elderly neighbour next door as I thought my bush would berry better with another bush for pollination purposes, but I can't say it makes any difference. It is a low maintenance shrub which glows at this time of year and I wouldn't be without it. The berries persist for months and are often commented on - the bush is in my front garden in full sun.
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I tried this years ago but it froze to death in a bad winter. However, a friend of mine who has a more sheltered garden has one and it has survived hard winters and usually has masses of berries in autumn.
We inherited a weedy specimen when we moved here - very few berries, and it soon came out as compost fodder. But it might not have been profusion - different varieties often have differing levels of berries.