Hi amateur,

My beautyberries are just now ~barely~ starting to leaf out in zone 5, they are somewhat late to leaf and get going. Once they wake up though they grow pretty fast. You can prune it if you want, how big is it? The resident rabbits prune mine down to about 6" every winter but by late summer you would never know.

Thanks so much. It is about 2 1/2 feet and looks so dead and ugly. We have lots of rabbits - I wonder why they didn't eat it? Oh well. I'll just wait and see what happens...

I have three Callicarpa "Issai' and I cut them back to stubs every spring. Once they get going they grow fast, and by summer they're about 5 feet tall.

laceyvail: Do you find they look nicer when you do that?

The first year/winter I had mine, the rabbits did their thing as described by juicylucy, and the plant looked great the next summer. So I always cut it back either in the winter or very early spring - if the rabbits haven't already beat me to it. Keeps the bush under control and no old woody stems. I moved mine this winter and it's just now starting to send up mew sprouts.

anateur expert--Callicarpa dichotomas, of which 'Issai' is one cultivar, definitely do better treated as cut back plants, like Buddleias. They don't leaf out for a very long time, but then they make a tight, compact mass about 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall.

Yes, all the Beautyberries are very slow to leaf out. They can be prunned alot and will just grow better for it.