American beautyberry has colorful fall berries that last long into winter and is an excellent landscaping plant for color in the southern United States. Many birds flock to the fruit and become prolific seed carriers. Beautyberry has proven to be an attractive plant for forest wildlife within its native range; the fruit has high value protein used by white-tailed deer and will be eaten well into late November.
AFOA interviews a chemist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and confirms that crushed leaves of the American beautyberry plant wards off biting insects, such as ticks, ants and mosquitoes. USDA Chemist Charles Cantrell says, "I've rubbed the leaves on my arms, and it works". The beautyberry plant has been used as a folk remedy but has a future as a marketable product.
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Do you know of a company selling seedlings or seeds of this plant? Thanks so much.
This is actually a picture of a beautyberry in my back yard. I got it from the Alabama Conservation Department for free.
You might have such an opportunity in Arkansas if you contact your game and fish commission / conservation department.
You might try these sources:
http://forestry.about.com/cs/catalogs/a/best_seedling_s.htm
can you grow this plant from the dried berries that it produces???? Where do the seeds come from off of this plant???
I first saw the Beautybush growing wild in Wilmington, NC. Later purchased a plant from a local nursery in Greensboro, NC. Have had great success starting new plants from clippings – in a vase of water! Pale flowers in early summer soon turn into purple berries. Late evening light shows the berries at their best! Beautiful! Our resident mockingbird has claimed the plant’s berries for her family! Also, this is one plant the deer have left alone.
Get beautyberry seedlings at: http://WWW.edwardfortnurseries.com
Bought mine there and they are growing like crazy!
i have these growing all over my property. there are at least 10 to 15 of them that i know of and small ones growing too, i think from the birds eating the berries and dropping the seeds.they are a beautiful bush. actually im wondering if these are trees some of them are quite tall.
i hope we can have this kind of plant here in the Philippines..it is a good BIOCON..
We manage to grow a pair of them here in New Jersey. We’re a bit north of the normal range, I guess, but I cut them back every winter to about a foot from the ground and they grow back every spring.