Does it flower? This is a full sun plant and would really appreciate more than 3 hours, I think.

more leaves.. means more food production.. means more vigor.. means faster establishment ...

ergo ... do NOT prune for the first year or two.. if its shear size is not an issue .... if its bigger than the house... well then trim it back .... but if you can avoid it.. please do ...

either prune it to try to invigorate it.. or move it.. but dont do both ... cutting off all its roots.. and all its leaf making ability might be counter productive ...

MOSt flowering shrubs... which are a prerequisite to berries... prefer as much sun as possible ...

the only other thing that might forestall flowering.. is too much nitro.. as in.. fertilizing the heck out of it.. as in trying to love it to death ...

i would dig the new hole .... get some good rope... strangle it altogether to give access to the root area... dig away ... drag to new hole ... refill with native soil.. and water it PROPERLY ... letting it nearly dry in between waterings.. insert finger to find out how the soil moves water ... nice mulch ring will help ... you most likely will not need to water it much this winter .... while the weather is cold.. err towards not watering .... once you are sure it is well watered in... once the heat starts coming in late spring ... then up the waterings according to your inserted finger ...

good luck

ken

Thanks! I think I'll try cutting it back this year (it's about 3 yrs old and has never been pruned) and moving it in the late Fall if the pruning didn't help.

Lisa

Why would you cut it back? Callicarpa americana is not a cut back shrub.

i would move it also ...

the issue is lack of sun ...

ken

Many references recommend cutting back Callicarpa in early Spring because it blooms on new wood.

I personally would think that 3 hours sun is quite enough for this shrub to at least produce some berries, but I have no other helpful suggestion about why it may not be bearing.

Recommendations to cut back Callicarpa are for C. dichotoma, not C. americana.

Dear laceyvail z5b WV,
I'm suprised _Callicarpa americana_ even survives in cold West Virginia. Here in the Southeast, _Callicarpa americana_ is a native plant growing on the Coastal Plain and in the Piedmont. Our _Callicarpa americana_ is a fine, bird-planted specimen that sprang up in a semi-shady location along the driveway. There is another bird-planted beauty berry that has come up in the median of the driveway. That one needs to be relocated. In a pristine, natural environment hidden away from the hand of humankind, _Callicarpa americana_ would not, of course, be cut back unless a tree fell upon it and broke it down or a deer took a fancy to it and feasted upon it. However, in the controlled environment of a garden, _Callicarpa americana_ definitely produces a heavier crop of purple berries if it is cut back in late winter. Cutting _Callicarpa americana_ back forces an abundance of new, vigorous spring growth. The plant blooms on the new wood and, thus, sets a much heavier crop of fruit than if it is left to its own devices.

I'm actually zone 6--tried several times to change my page info, but it doesn't take and I've given up. There's a wild C. americana down the road from me. I grow C. dichotoma 'Issai'. thanks for the info on C. americana as to cutting back.

I'm in 5a and I have Callicarpa americana. I treat it like a perennial as it dies to the ground every winter.

I have my Beauty Berry under my hickory tree in FULL SHADE. It was green and lush and had alot of berries, but it shed all its berries and leaves within a few weeks. I don't know if that is normal.