On this week’s Gardeners’ Question Time on Radio 4 there was a discussion about how to make this plant flower and therefore get berries, though planting it was not mentioned. You can listen to the programme by going to the BBC GQT website.
A neighbour of mine has one of these... it develops these showy berries every year without fail... they do nothing to it, and it lives in a dry border in full sun amongst lots of other tough shrubs... judging by that, I would say just plonk it in and let it get on with it...
What's peoples' experience with these regarding the berries and whether birds eat them? They do seem to get labelled as attracting birds by various sources but others that go in a bit more detail seem to suggest they're eaten as a last resort in hard times.
Today I saw a blackbird eating the last few berries on my callicarpa. It was a pretty impressive sight until about the end of December. This is it in early November.
cjhumber, one piece of advice offered on GQT was to keep the plant well watered while it is getting established.
Picidae, that is lovely, have you got more than one plant to get that many berries? Mine always look minute and I haven't noticed any birds eating them.
They look really good! I grew some last year from seed (RHS seed scheme) and they are currently outside in 1-litre pots. I just had a look and the leaf buds are starting to swell already. I'll be planting them in the spring but I've no idea how long it'll take to get berries.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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This may be of some help, judging by the info given ,it is hardy, so as long as the ground isn't frozen, you should be okay to plant. Depends also how big it is, what is the pot size ?
cjhumber, one piece of advice offered on GQT was to keep the plant well watered while it is getting established.