The fruits of the Chinese love pearl bush radiate from its branches like precious pearl pendants. The beauty of this magnificent play of colors has long since been discovered here for the beautification of parks and gardens. And best of all: the love pearl bush is also easy to care for.

The love pearl bush lives up to its name with its colorful pearls

Table of Contents

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  1. origin
  2. growth
  3. leaves
  4. blossoms
  5. fruit
  6. Which location is suitable?
  7. hardy
  8. Water the love pearl bush
  9. Fertilize the love pearl bush properly
  10. What is the best planting time?
  11. What soil does the plant need?
  12. The right planting distance
  13. Prune the love pearl bush correctly
  14. In the bucket
  15. Propagating love pearl bush
  16. Is love pearl bush poisonous?
  17. Tip:
  18. sorts

    19. origin

    The love pearl bush is botanically called Callicarpa and has several trivial names. In addition to the enthusiastic name 'love pearl bush', it is also called beauty fruit, purple beauty fruit or Chinese beauty fruit. This also clarifies the question of its origin. In fact, the love pearl bush is native to the central and western areas of China. There it inhabits lowlands and altitudes of up to 3400 meters.

    Here in Central Europe, but also in temperate climate zones on other continents, the shrub is often kept as an ornamental plant in public parks and private gardens.

    Origin at a glance:

    • Originally from central and western China
    • inhabits lowlands and altitudes of up to 3400 meters
    • Cultivated as an ornamental plant in many temperate regions of the world

    growth

    The love pearl bush shows an upright growth with slightly sparse branching. It can grow two to three meters high in suitable locations and also expands up to two meters in width. Its loose, but richly branched shrubbery make it, apart from its high ornamental value, also a very effective privacy screen on property borders.

    Growth characteristics in brief:

    • Upright growth, sparse branching
    • up to 2-3 m in height, 2 m in spread
    • loose, but privacy-protecting shrubbery

    leaves

    The leaves of the love pearl bush are attached with medium-length stems opposite to the branch shoots, which are downy hairy on the young tips. They have an elliptical shape, tapered at the stem base and end, with a gently serrated edge and are about 5 to 17 centimeters long and 2 to 10 centimeters wide.

    In autumn, the deciduous leaves turn yellow to red-orange and fall off in winter.

    blossoms

    The flowers of the love pearl bush are also very pretty, but of course they are overshadowed by the really spectacular fruits. The inflorescences are zymös and are axillary in a branched umbel around the shoots. The individual, small, fourfold flowers have a light violet color, from which the enthroned, honey-yellow glands of the petals stand out like a foam crown.

    The love pearl bush flowers open from the end of June and remain until August. During this time they are only too happy to be swarmed by bees, bumblebees, butterflies and other beneficial insects.

    Flowers in keywords:

    • Branching, axillary umbels
    • small single flowers in light violet with honey-yellow petals
    • Flowering period late June to August
    • Popular insect pasture

    fruit

    After the flowers have faded, the eye-catching fruits appear, which also gave the shrub its name. They actually look almost like the small, colorful sugar pearls that are traditionally sold as confectionery, especially at fairs.

    Like the flowers, the spherical fruits, which are about 4 mm in diameter, are also purple, but with a much stronger nuance. They are clearly shiny, which reinforces the association with the sweet sugar pearls. They hang in clusters of 30 to 40 on the branches and are usually pleasing to the eye well into December. As a result, the fruit stands are particularly suitable for Christmas, decorative arrangements, bouquets and wreaths made of natural produce.

    For some birds, the fruits are also a valuable source of food during the colder days of the year that is drawing to a close.

    The love pearl fruits at a glance:

    • Appear as purple, shiny, small spherical fruits in racemose clusters
    • Strongly reminiscent of the love pearls made of sugar
    • Stay on the bush until winter
    • Very pretty ingredient for natural products decoration
    • Liked to be eaten by birds

    Which location is suitable?

    The love pearl shrub prefers a sunny to partially shaded, sheltered location. It should be protected from harsh winds as far as possible and therefore better surrounded by other hedge plants than exposed. It makes medium demands on the soil - it thrives best on humus-rich, rather loose soil that ensures good drainage and is still evenly moist. If possible, the pH value should not go into the alkaline range.

    To remember:

    • Location as sunny and warm as possible
    • Well protected from sharp winds
    • Soil humic, well-drained and slightly acidic rather than calcareous

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    hardy

    The beauty fruit is generally hardy - the best-selling variety in this country, Profusion, is particularly hardy. So you don't have to worry about your shrub even when it's freezing below zero.

    The situation is different with newly planted young specimens. They are still somewhat sensitive to frost, especially in the first winter. If the first winter after planting is particularly cold and entails longer phases with severe sub-zero temperatures, you should wrap the young shrub in sackcloth and cover the root area with fir branches.

    To remember:

    • Love pearl shrub generally very hardy
    • However, protect newly planted young specimens in the first winter if the temperature is severely below zero

    Water the love pearl bush

    Once a beauty crop is established in its location, you don't really need to water it much. At best, you can water the shrub properly once in the summer when it doesn't rain for weeks. Otherwise, regular watering is only necessary in the initial period after planting a young shrub.

    Fertilize the love pearl bush properly

    A separate addition of nutrients is also not necessary for the love pearl bush. When planting, however, you can include a long-term supply of gentle, organic fertilizer such as compost or horn shavings (€32.93).

    What is the best planting time?

    As with most garden shrubs, the best time to plant a love pearl bush is spring. Then he has enough time to settle down at his location and gather some strength before his first winter there.

    What soil does the plant need?

    To plant the shrub, dig a large planting hole and first fill it with a drainage layer of pebbles or clay granules. Fill the main part with a sandy soil mixture enriched with leaf soil and horn shavings, insert the root ball and fill completely all around. Finally, a final covering layer of bark mulch is recommended, which protects the root ball from drying out and from extreme cold.

    The right planting distance

    A love pearl bush in a solitary position is certainly a decorative highlight in the garden. Nevertheless, something also speaks for the planting of several specimens next to each other. Because the Callicarpa giraldii belongs to the cross-pollinators, you will also get more fruit decorations in a group of several individuals.

    When planting in rows, the shrubs are placed at a distance of at least 200 centimeters from each other.

    Prune the love pearl bush correctly

    A cut is only necessary about every three years for the moderately fast-growing love pearl bush. Otherwise, at some point it can appear unkempt and bare from the inside.

    Make the cut in the very early spring, around February or March. You can go about it in a relatively radical way. Be sure to remove any old, dead branches and any shoots that are past their prime. You can find out whether this is the case in the previous year by observing the berry load and marking the less productive shoots if necessary. Otherwise, if some shoots are visually disturbing because they are too long, shorten those as well.

    In the cutting year you have to reckon with a less luxuriant abundance of flowers and fruit, but the shrub will sprout all the more vigorously in the following year.

    Cutting rules in brief:

    • Rejuvenating pruning about every three years
    • Pruning time: late winter/ early spring
    • Cut off all old shoots and those that have outgrown their main fruiting season
    • Shorten branches that are too long to shape them

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    In the bucket

    If you are a big fan of the love pearl bush but do not have a garden to plant, you can also keep a specimen in a bucket on the balcony or terrace. There are similar things to consider as with outdoor planting. In this way, you should be able to offer the shrub as sunny a place as possible in your outdoor area. Make the substrate in the pot as humus-rich as possible and provide it with good drainage made of clay granules or gravel.

    Of course, you have to water regularly with the tub culture due to the lower planting ground volume, but waterlogging should be avoided as far as possible. An occasional fertilizer in the form of some compost in the spring is good for the shrub in the bucket. Caution: In winter, the love pearl bush in the bucket must be protected separately from the cold - it is best to wrap the pot properly with sackcloth or garden fleece and cover the upper substrate layer with fir branches.
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    Propagating love pearl bush

    The Callicarpa giraldii can be propagated in two main ways: by cuttings or by sowing.

    cuttings

    For cuttings, cut young, not yet lignified shoots of about 15 to 20 centimeters from the bush in summer, preferably in July. Make sure the shoot has at least two buds. You can dip the lower end of the cut in rooting powder before planting. Put the cuttings prepared in this way in a planter with potting soil, which you cover with foil. Even better is a mini greenhouse (€7.95) to ensure an evenly moist and protected microclimate. The ambient temperature should not be too warm.

    seed cultivation

    A new love pearl bush can also be grown from seeds. This is possible throughout the year - however, in phases outside the natural germination period, pre-treatment in the form of 24-hour soaking or cold stratification is recommended. With the latter method, the shells of the seeds are roughened by storing them and regularly turning them over in a fine peat-sand mixture that is as sterile as possible.

    Place the seeds prepared in this way deep in a planter with a sandy potting soil substrate. Under a foil cover or the closing lid of a mini greenhouse, she is best at keeping the whole thing evenly moist. Set up the planter bright and warm at around 20°C. After about 2-3 weeks, the seedlings should appear. Prick these out as soon as a pair of leaves appear. The young plants are planted out after the first winter at the earliest.
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    Is love pearl bush poisonous?

    Especially in view of the naming, which is based on the sweet sugar pearl snack, it is important to know that the tempting-looking berries of the love pearl bush are inedible and even slightly poisonous. The fact that birds like to feast on it in winter might give some people the idea of trying it themselves.

    However, the berries contain substances that are toxic to humans. These include, above all, the terpenoids callicarpenal, spathulenol, intermedeol, which in higher doses trigger the usual, natural elimination mechanisms through the body, such as nausea and vomiting. The substance borneol can also have a skin-irritating effect.

    However, there is hardly any serious risk of poisoning. Due to the strong bitter taste of the berries, hardly anyone will voluntarily consume the amount required for this. Of course, caution is not wrong.
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    Tip:

    The terpenoids contained in the love pearl shrub make its plant parts inedible for consumption, but they are also known as an effective remedy against mosquitoes and other biting insects. For example, the leaves can simply be crushed and applied to the skin.

    sorts

    By far the most popular variety is Callicarpa giraldii 'Profusion'. Occasionally, however, representatives of other varieties are also available.

    Callicarpa giraldii 'Profusion'

    The variety draws its charm mainly from the beautiful fruit stands. But the autumn foliage color is also quite refreshing, as are the umbelliferous flowers with their attractive color combination of the soft lilac of the flowers and the honey-yellow of the petal glands - this is also the essential distinguishing feature from the other Callicarpa species.

    The flowers appear in summer from the end of June, the berries then begin to ripen from September. The 'Profusion' variety is characterized by good winter hardiness, but a newly planted shrub should still be protected in the first year.

    Callicarpa bodineri 'Leucocarpa'

    The species Callicarpa bonideri grows a little more upright and stringent than Callicarpa giraldii. With this variant you can expect a growth height of up to 3 meters. At the same time, the shrub remains somewhat slimmer at a maximum of 2.50 meters. In summer from July, the shrub delights with violet to pink flowers, which hang in large numbers on long umbels. The resulting berries do not differ from those of C. giraldii in their magnificent, shiny violet color and fullness.

    Callicarpa americana

    The species Callicarpa americana, which originates from America, shows a habit very similar to Callicarpa giraldii with a bushy, somewhat sparse growth of up to 2.40 meters in height. The leaves are a little different with their light green color and their felty hairs.

    Another difference is the significantly earlier flowering period, which lasts from May to June.

    The fruits have almost the same metallic, shimmering, violet appearance as Callicarpa giraldii - however, they are not poisonous and even taste good. The mosquito-repellent substances are primarily contained in the leaves and are also traditionally used in America for cattle.

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Vegetable garden