plants flower on new wood, they can be pruned fairly hard each spring which keeps them in a nice compact form.
Fig. 3. C. dichotoma ‘Issai’ flowering August 11, 2011.
A number of named cultivars exist in the trade that have been derived from the four species mentioned above. From C. dichotoma several cultivars have been selected, including ‘Albifructus’ (white fruited), ‘Dark Star’ (darker colored fruits), ‘Early Amethyst’ (smaller early ripening fruit), Issai’ (heavy consistent fruit producer) and ‘Duet’ (a variegated sport found on ‘Albifructus’). All are considered Zone 5 hardy and would be worthy of trial as ‘burn-down’ or ‘zone-proof ’ plants in Zone 4 regions of Minnesota. However, I have only seen ‘Issai’ growing in the Twin Cities area. We are currently conducting a performance trial of three species, Callicarpa americana, C. dichotoma, and C. japonica at the Horticultural Research Center in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The objective of the trial is to evaluate their horticultural merit in a USDA Zone 4 location and to determine the range of variation for various traits in our environment. q ________________________________________________ Stan Hokanson is a member of the MNLA Nursery Committee and can be reached at hokan017@umn.edu. Fig. 1. Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’ May 10, 2011, dead to the crown.
Fig. 2. C. dichotoma ‘Issai’ pruned to the crown, with regrowth g Mayy 31, 2011.
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