Barberry is a tough shrub with gorgeous jewel - toned leaf , but it must be set responsibly .
Thanks to its vibrant fleeceable , yellow , and burgundy foliage , barberry shines throughout the grow season . Although the plant lack showy blooms , barberry’srichly colored leavesand crimson berries declare oneself a unique option beauty . The shrub ’s vivid leafage is center - get , but its mesmerizing appearance obscure a characteristic to be handle with tutelage — stippled along barberry branches are many small , needle - penetrating thorns . In some vitrine , this is a welcomedefense against deer . However , the thorns can also be a hassle when lop and otherwise manage for the works .
When considering barberry miscellany for your landscape , note the shrub ’ overall size and habit . Some older types can get quite declamatory and require extra pruning , so a smaller potpourri is generally easy to care for . It is also all-important to hump that many varieties spread by hugger-mugger runners and may form heavy brushwood , so learn how to properly plant and grow barberry is key to responsibly implement it in your garden .
Credit: Jason Wilde
Where to Plant Barberry
Barberry is atough plantthat can handle a wide variety of conditions , though the shrub performs its best and give the most people of colour in full Lord’s Day . The plant is tough enough to perform well in part Dominicus , but well - draining soil is a must , as barberry base do n’t do well in miry condition .
Barberry allow heavy pollution , salinity spray from roadway , and other ambitious environmental mount , making it a good option for urban garden .
Although barberry shrubs were once planted extensively , some change are now considered invasive in all New England commonwealth from Maine to North Carolina and west to Minnesota . Check with your local agrarian extension before embed barberry .
Credit: Jason Wilde
How and When to Plant Barberry
Fall is the best time to plant barberry shrubs ; it gift them time to educate their root systems before spring maturation . industrial plant nursery - acquire barberry by toil a hole that is doubly as wide and the same deepness as the container . undo the land around the side and at the bottom of the holewith a shovel . If the soil is not well - draining , amend it with compost . Remove the shrub from its container and position it so the ancestor peak sits at soil level . Backfill the hole with the removed soil and tamp it down to remove air pouch . piss your newly constitute barberry and put on a 2 - column inch bed of mulch around its base .
Barberry Care Tips
Barberry is alow - maintenance shrubthat needs little attending to thrive .
Light
works barberry bushes in full sun or fond shade . In regions with frequent eminent temperature , the plant needs more shade to keep its leaves from scorching .
Soil and Water
Barberry is a robust shrub that can tolerate many soil conditions ; however , the idealistic type for barberry is a well - draining , loamy soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5 . The soil should not be soggy , as the industrial plant does n’t do well with damp roots .
Barberry is drought - tolerant , so other than a very juiceless season or scorching temperature , it ’s unlikely it will need lacrimation . However , if leaf begin to fall off the flora , that ’s a sign that water is involve .
Temperature and Humidity
Barberry tolerates a range of temperatures but does best in cool temperatures . The plant struggles in red-hot and humid weather and is vulnerable to gamey winds . Protect it from gusts by slip in stakes in the ground around the plant and then enfold burlap around the stake and bush . Barberry broadly copes well with winter conditions , but you canprotect it from seasonal damageif you ’re originate the shrub out of doors of the hardiness range .
Fertilizer
Barberry does n’t necessitate fertilizing unless the soil is very short . To protect untested plant and keep the soil moist , you may spread mulcharound the nucleotide of the shrub .
Pruning
minuscule , tidy varieties of barberry plant need little tono pruningto maintain a pleasing shape . Remove beat branches or leaves as need , ideally in summertime or wintertime .
Protect your hands from barberry ’s thorns bywearing gloveswhen working with the plant .
Pests and Problems
Barberry is n’t highly susceptible to diseases , but it can be affected by rust or verticillium wilt disease . coarse garden pests like aphids and exfoliation , which wet-nurse on the succus of barberry , can be eliminated with astrong spray from a garden hose .
How to Propagate Barberry
The good manner to propagate barberry shrubs is withstem cuttings , but they can also be propagated from seed . However , seed do not lead in plant very to the parent plant , and they require a menstruation of cold stratification .
Cuttings
After your barberry flora flowers have faded in the springiness or early summertime , take a 6 - in semi - hardwood cutting from just below a leafage lymph node . ( Semi - hardwood cuttings are current year emergence that has start to turn solid . ) Remove any leaves or bud from the bottom half of the cutting , dip it inrooting endocrine , and insert it into a pot fill with a uninspired rooting mass medium . sum up piss and station a exculpated plastic bag over the pot .
Mist the barberry cutting occasionally to keep the intermediate moist but not wet . Test the cutting four to six calendar week later by tugging gently on a leaf . If you find ohmic resistance , the press cutting has steady down . When it has rooted , take out the plastic old bag and continue to grow the barberry seedling in a protect orbit for about a year . Fall is the good time to plant the shrub outside .
Seeds
Harvest several barberry berry in late summertime . Mash the berries and souse them in water overnight to remove the flesh . Discard seeds that float to the top and spread the continue seeds on a newspaper towel to dry , transfer any remaining pulp .
Fill 4 - in skunk with moistened seed - start mix . Sow two seeded player per dope about 1/2 inch deep and add water . Wrap the pot in shaping wrap , creating several holes for ventilating system , and put them in the refrigerator for four to eight hebdomad to frigid - stratify the seeds , watering when the sensitive feels dry .
After thecold stratificationperiod , take the tummy from the refrigerator and remove the credit card . Set them on a warming mat or in a affectionate location . The seeds will germinate about five weeks later . If both seed in a stool germinate , remove the smaller seedling of the two . When the seedling are 3 inches improbable , transfer them to 6 - in pots satiate with garden ground and place them out of doors in a protected area . During gloaming , when the barberry seedling are about a foot tall , they ’re quick to be set in your garden .
Credit: David McDonald
Types of Barberry
‘Crimson Pygmy’ Barberry
Berberis thunbergii‘Crimson pigmy ’ is a popular dwarf barberry due to its particular dark blood-red foliation and cracking mounded coming into court . The deciduous shrub attracts bird and grows 3 feet tall and broad . Zones 4 - 8 are ideal for this variety .
‘Dart’s Red Lady’ Barberry
Berberis thunbergii‘Dart ’s Red Lady ’ offers benighted purple foliage that brightens to shining Bolshevik in downslope . It grows 5 foot tall and wide in Zones 5 - 8 .
‘Aurea’ Barberry
Berberis thunbergii‘Aurea , ’ a slow - growing barberry bush , features chartreuse leaves that show off season - long color . It grows 5 substructure tall and 6 feet wide in Zones 5 - 8 .
Nevin’s Barberry
Berberis nevinii , also known as Nevin ’s barberry , is a rare mixed bag that merit more tending . Nevin ’s barberry grows 6 - 10 foot tall and has bright yellow flowers in winter and fountain . It makes a great impenetrable hedge or a nice covering for teetotal slope in Zones 9 - 10 .
‘Mission Canyon’ Barberry
Berberis aquifolium‘Mission Canyon ’ is a spreading evergreen plant bush that grow 2 metrical foot tall and spread to about 6 foot wide . It is a ruffianly , hardy barberry selection that makes an excellent groundcover in Zones 7 - 10 .
Garden Plan for Barberry
Low-Water Garden Plan
Count on thiseasy - forethought gardento keep your plants intelligent and happy through dry spells in the middle of summertime .
Frequently Asked Questions
Barberry shrubs are either deciduous or evergreen plant . Deciduous barberry shrubs drop off their leave-taking in winter , while robust evergreen shrubs go through a range of fall and wintertime colors as their leaves rick orange , red , or cryptic burgundy .
Full - size barberry bush grow up to 3 pes during their first year in the landscape , whereas little varieties farm to about a ft . Even if you cut the shrub back to the ground in the winter , it rebounds in spring at the same rate .
While its thorns deter grazing creatures from crunch on its leaf , barberry is eff to attract bird . During winter , several bird species flutter around the bush to pluck its Chuck Berry .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Most barberry berries can be eaten raw or cooked in your favorite recipes . However , some metal money of barberry berries are bitter and are n’t as tasty .
These bushes can threaten natural habitats by outcompeting native plants and altering grunge chemistry . They can also increase tick population , which could potentially spread Lyme disease .
Invasive Plant Factsheet : Japanese Barberry . University of Connecticut College of Agriculture , Health and Natural Resources .
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Denny Schrock
Credit: Janet Loughrey
