CALLICARPAS: Repel Insects and Enjoy Their Beautiful Berries!

PLANTS ARE AMAZING! Repel Insects with Callicarpa! Also known as Beautyberry, these plants aren't just beautiful and loaded with berries for the birds, they're also super functional! They repel mosquitos and ticks naturally at the same time! Do you enjoy watching birds outside in your landscape but hate getting bit by bugs in the late spring and summer while doing so? Do you like to host others in your backyard or patio but cant stand the nights when you're just eaten up? Then Callicarpa is right for you!  You can still plant Callicarpas all the way up until the ground freezes. Get them in now so by the late spring and summer time, you can be well on your way to natural insect repellent in your landscape. These are the kinds of plants that we love, beautiful and functional! Read below to see why this is the right plant for you, and to see the different types that we have in stock!!

About Callicarpa This rounded shrub typically grows 2-4 feet tall and is well known for its showy display of lilac/violet fruit. In the summer, small pink/lavender flowers bloom along the stems. These flowers are followed by clusters of berries, ripening in September and looking their strongest in October. The leaves will drop off of this plant well before the berries do, so you can still enjoy them until the beginning of winter!

Callicarpa Blooms Why to Use Callicarpas to Repel Insects Instead of Using Bug Spray Insect attacks and bite marks are definitely annoying, but they can cause a lot more trouble than just being a nuisance. Mosquitos and ticks can spread diseases like malaria or lyme diseases, which makes seeking protection from their bites even more important! The most common way to stop these biters is to use common insect repellents, or "bug spray," because they're easy and accessible... But are they really safe for you and your skin??

These sprays are known to cause skin irritations and allergy reactions. Applying bug spray to your skin will also obviously force you to inhale the chemicals that are used to keep the bugs away, which aren't good for us either when sprayed from the aerosol can! Why harm yourself by spraying chemicals around you when you can take natural precautions that are totally safe! Old folklore remedies many times are found to lead to nowhere, but the power of the Callicarpa is that exception! Many people used to take the leaves, crush them up, and rub the leaves on their arms, repelling the biting insects. After a study in Mississippi, 3 repellent qualities were extracted from the Callicarpa plant, and all three repulse mosquitoes! If you plant them around your yard, you are sure to keep those biting bugs away!

For the Birds Beautyberries are an important food source for many birds such as: Bobwhite Quail  Robins Cardinals Catbirds Finches Mockingbirds Towhees You can never add too many fruiting plants to your garden, but it seems that the birds have no self control and can eat too much fruit! Drunken birds are often a reported sight in the winter time when fruits may ferment. Nature's Liquor Store: Open 24 hours!

Here at Bountiful Gardens Below are two different types of the purple fruit producing, insect repelling beautyberry that we currently have in stock!

Early Amethyst Beautyberry Massive quantities of small, ornamental colored fruits appear along the slender, arching branches. Following the berries are clusters of small pinkish lavender summer blooms. Its green foliage gives way to a gold/brown color in the fall. They're great for borders and, of course, bird gardens! Plant in combination with other fall berry-producing  shrubs like holly for red berries and pyracantha for orange berries.  ORDER HERE

Purple Pearls Beautyberry This particular beautyberry showcases several different colors throughout the changing seasons of the year. Their thin stems produce both pink blossoms in the summer and purple fruit in the fall. The foliage also changes throughout the year, shifting from a deep green to a purple shade in the fall when the temperature drops. This plant can be a decorative border or mixed with other perennials and berry-producing shrubs.  ORDER HERE