Exotic fruit beauty with attractive autumn colour
Callicarpa bodinieri, also called Love Pearl Bush, is a beautiful, summer-green ornamental plant. Callicarpa bodinieri is one of over 150 different subspecies. As the name suggests, the loosely growing shrub with purple berries is originally native to China. But it is also very easy to care for in our latitudes. It grows to about 2-3 metres high and about 1 metre wide and grows between 15 and 30 cm a year.
In spring, delicate, lilac-coloured flowers form, which bees and bumblebees in particular like to visit. The long-lasting, summer-green leaves turn yellow in autumn. The love pearl bush bears its purple, round fruits from September. Its attractive fruit ornamentation transforms the plant into an absolute autumn dream that is a visual enrichment for every garden.
Care instructions for the Chinese sweet pea
Whoever wants to buy a love pearl shrub is generally well advised, even as a beginner, because it does not require much care.
The plant is also quite gentle when it comes to its water requirements. It also has a very good winter hardiness. It can tolerate temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius without any problems. In spring, pruning is advisable to achieve a compact growth.
The best way to plant a love pearl shrub is to place it in a loose, well-drained soil. Here it will develop a healthy, attractive growth habit. It is advisable to loosen the soil a little before planting to prevent waterlogging.
Ideally, Callicarpa bodinieri should be planted in a sunny to semi-shady location with a fair amount of wind protection.
Possible garden styles for the love bead shrub
Due to its relative undemanding nature and good frost hardiness, various garden styles are ideal for Callicarpa bodinieri. With its purple berries and yellow autumn colouring, it makes an equally good splash of colour at the edge of a rock garden as it does as the centre of attention in a classic country cottage garden.
But a wildly romantic nature garden also benefits from the autumnal blaze of colour. If you want to have a colourful autumn, you can also plant the love bead shrub together with Fächer maple in a garden. The latter, with its orange-red foliage, forms a lovely contrast to the purple-yellow of the Chinese Schönfruit.
Callicarpa bodinieri can be used as a specimen plant, in groups, as ornamental shrubbery and as a point of attraction for bees and other insects.
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