We grow an ornamental shrub in our plots
Occasionally in the Moscow region in winter, behind someone's fence, an amazing sight catches your eye - a bush without foliage, decorated with chiseled violet-purple beads-berries. An ornamental shrub, a beautiful-fruit, attracts attention not with a lush crown or luxurious flowering, but with wonderful bunches of rich purple berries. The plant is undeservedly little common in the estates of domestic gardeners.
Species and varieties suitable for growing in temperate climates
Of the 172 naturally occurring species of the genus Callicarpa in the Lamiaceae family, only a few are cultivated in mid-latitudes. They differ in relative resistance to winter cold and slightly freeze over with good shelter.
Beautiful Bodinieri (Callicarpa bodinieri)
Popularly, this type of beautiful fruit is known under the name "pearl bush". A plant up to 2 m high with lavender inflorescences covering the branches in July and purple berries.
For better pollination and dense fruiting, it is recommended to plant several specimens in the garden.
Gardeners have a popular variety of Bodiniera Profusion. Its winter hardiness zone is 5th, and the shrub is perfectly adapted to frosts of a temperate climate. In mild winters, it does even without shelter, but it is still desirable to protect it from significant drops in temperature during the cold season.
Japanese beautiful fruit (C. japonica)
A low shrub with pagons up to 1.5 m. It is grown in the gardens of the 5th climatic zone. The variety Leucocarpa with snow-white berries is of interest to gardeners.
Ornamental shrub (C. dichotoma)
Deciduous plant about one and a half meters tall. The varieties Issai, Early Amethyst are decorative and loved by domestic landscape designers.
American beautiful fruit (C. americana)
A bush with a height of 1.5-1.6 m, available for cultivation in climatic zone 6, since it cannot withstand temperatures below 20-22 degrees below zero.
How to properly plant a decorative shrub
The plant develops well in fertile loose soil with sufficient air permeability and moisture. If the soil on the site does not meet these criteria, the planting hole is filled with a nutrient substrate with the addition of humus and mineral fertilizers.
Thickened plantings are undesirable, the bushes will grow weakened, with elongated pagons. Krasivoplodnik loves lighted areas, but will put up with partial shade. It does not tolerate drafts and stagnation of moisture at the root collar, therefore, they try not to plant it in hollows or in corners of the garden unprotected from the wind.
Seedlings purchased in a container are transferred to a permanent place at any time of the growing season. For plants with an open root system, the best transplanting time is until mid-April or until the 20th of October.
Caring for a beautiful fruit
It will not be difficult to grow a decorative shrub in the Moscow region. The plant is relatively undemanding to care and does not expect special attention and constant presence of the gardener.
The shrub rarely gets sick; fungal lesions or viral pathologies are practically not noticed on it. It tolerates temporary drought and direct sunlight. Only young, recently planted specimens need watering. Adult shrubs are content with sedimentary moisture.
In the spring, formative pruning is carried out, leaving no more than 6 strong, outward-oriented pagons. After 15-20 days after cutting, it is advisable to feed the shrubs with fertilizer with a predominant nitrogen composition. Near-root space mulch dry grass or humus.
The planting and care of the bodinier Profusion is not distinguished by any special techniques. Propagation of varietal plants is carried out only vegetatively - by green cuttings or layering. The seed method is rarely used and only for natural species.
After the leaves fall, the branches cut with berries are used to compose winter bouquets. The fruits do not dry out or wrinkle; they retain their shape for a long time and are effectively combined in a composition with lunaria, physalis and tease.
Among domestic gardeners, of course, such an ornamental plant as a beautiful fruit, or callikarpa, should deserve more attention. A photo of branches crowned with beads-berries against a background of sparkling snow emphasizes the unusual uniqueness of the shrub and makes you want to grow this miracle in your garden.