With its distinctive variegation, landscapers are clinking wine glasses over this beautiful new shrub.
Wine Spritzer™ Beautyberry is the spectacular new variegated beautyberry with dazzling leaves that are heavily speckled and splashed with green and cream on wine-colored stems. Beautyberry has rough or coarse leaves and rough stems similar to its close relative Lantana, also in the Verbena Family. In the case of Wine Spritzer™ the large leaves are almost white with green speckles and are the ornamental feature of this new introduction. The leaves look like they have been heavily painted or “spritzed” and in autumn the cream and green leaves turn yellow and green.
Slender branches arch gracefully on this Asian beauty and in summer tiny, pollen-laden, pink to pale-lavender flowers appear in the axils of the opposite leaves, appealing to butterflies and bees. Wine Spritzer™ is not a prolific bloomer or fruit setter. The foliage carries the full burden of beauty and interest, and it does it very well indeed. When berries do appear, they persist as a late-season fruiting food source for birds after other berries are gone. Mature berries are not damaged by frost.
This moderate to vigorous growing shrub matures at 5-6 feet tall with a slightly larger spread. Wine Spritzer™ is cold hardy to USDA Zones 5-8, since the species is more cold tolerant than species native to the southeastern U.S. WineSpritzer™ Beautyberry prefers well-drained soil, and color is terrific in sun to partial shade.
Use Wine Spritzer™ by Garden Debut(R) as a specimen in the landscape for the outstanding variegated leaves, also perfect for mass plantings or screens. Multiple plants in close proximity will boost berry production. Shrub size can be controlled with yearly pruning in late winter; The Manuel of Woody Landscape Plants recommends cutting beautyberry to the ground before growth begins to take full advantage of vigorous leaves on new growth.
An interesting but little-known fact about beautyberry; modern research by Ag Research Services of the U.S.D.A. has substantiated the “old mouse’s tale” that rubbing beautyberry leaves on human skin or on animals is an effective repellent against mosquitoes and ticks.
For more information on Wine Spritzer™ Callicarpa and other superior plant introductions from GardenDebut® brought to gardeners by Greenleaf Nursery Company, visit www.greenleafnursery.com.
Statistics Chart for Wine Spritzer(TM) Beautyberry PPAF, Callicarpa dichotoma 'Shija Murasaki'.
| Plant Category: | Coarse textured, deciduous shrub |
| Mature Height: | 4-5 feet; if cut to the ground each winter (to promote large leaves on new growth), then shrub may not reach full height |
| Mature Spread: | 4-5 feet |
| Mature Form: | Rounded |
| Branches: | Rough, but does not carry spines or thorns |
| Growth Rate: | Vigorous |
| Sun Exposure: | Versatile; direct sun to partial shade Full sun (recommended) will bring out the strongest color, but light shade will help with drought resistance |
| Soil Type: | Sand, loam, clay; very adaptable |
| Soil Moisture: | Well-drained soils, dry to average, drought resistant once established |
| Flowers: | Pink or light lavender in leaf axils; attracts bees and butterflies |
| Native: | Native to China |
| Foliage: | Papery thin |
| Fruit: | This variegated cultivar fruits sparsely; increase fruit production by planting multiple plants together |
| Fall Color: | Variegation stays true until leaves drop |
| Landscape Uses: | Wine Spritzer is a tough plant that tolerates heat, humidity, deer, rabbits and slopes; use as specimen or accent plant, border, in front of the foundation planting, container, massing, screening, and striking when planted next to pastel flowers or yellow- or silvery- blue foliage plants to contrast with the burgundy foliage. |
| Root system : | Vigorous once established, with a moderate salinity tolerance |
| pH Level: | 6.0 – 7.5 neutral to slightly acid soils |
| Climate Zones: | 6-9 (winter lows -10 degrees F.) |
| Heredity: | Japan, cultivar introduced by Southern Plant Group, Atlanta, GA |
Garden Debut® great new plants!
