Fundamental Facts
HARDINESS: Zones 5 to 8
PREFERRED SOIL pH: Neutral to slightly acid
PREFERRED SOIL TYPE: Moist, well-drained
PREFERRED LIGHT: Sun to partial shade
ATTRIBUTES: Green, red-purple, or gold foliage; fall berries; for beds, hedges
SEASON OF INTEREST: Spring to fall; year-round for evergreens
FAVORITES: B. julianae; B. thunbergii 'Crimson Pygmy', 'Rose Glow'; B. x mentorensis
QUIRKS: Strong sun intensifies leaf coloring
GOOD NEIGHBORS: Euonymus, holly, foliage plants with chartreuse or burgundy leaves, juniper
WHERE IT GROWS BEST: Full sun in fertile, well-drained soil
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: Plant may grow poorly and colored leaves may revert to green in shade
PRUNING: Prune in early spring to remove damaged wood, control size, or renew
CRITTER RESISTANCE: Excellent
SOURCE: Nursery plants
DIMENSIONS: 3-7 ft (1-2.1 m) tall and equally wide
Barberry in the Landscape
Barberries are a large group of evergreen and deciduous shrubs that get their name from their barblike spined branches. The evergreen types maintain a presence in the landscape year-round whether they are grown as hedges, foundation plants, or specimens in a bed. The deciduous barberries add bright color to the fall scene, and both types produce berries in autumn. Because of their spines, barberries can be planted along property lines or beneath windows to discourage human or animal traffic.
All in the Family
Wintergreen barberry (Berberis julianae) is a dense, vigorous shrub with glossy leaves that are tinted copper when young. Growing into an unpenetrable mass 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and wide, wintergreen barberry produces yellow flowers in spring, followed by small, blue-black berries. Normally evergreen to Zone 5, the leaves blush red in fall, and the plant sometimes sheds its leaves in extreme cold. However, healthy new foliage will appear first thing in spring.
Japanese barberry (B. thunbergii) is deciduous and usually grows less than 4 ft (1.2 m) tall and wide. The green leaves turn scarlet in fall, blending with red berries that last through the winter. Many cultivars have purplish red leaves that intensify in summer sun.These include 'Crimson Pygmy', a compact bush that grows less than 3 ft (1 m) tall and wide, and 'Rose Glow', which can reach 5 ft (1.5 m) tall and wide and has young leaves mottled in silver and pink. These dark-leaved barberries look dazzling when paired with plants that have chartreuse leaves, such as 'Marguerite' sweet potato vine or a sun-tolerant chartreuse coleus. There is also a Japanese barberry with golden yellow foliage named 'Aurea'.
These two species have been hybridized to create mentor barberry (B. x mentorensis), which has the vigor of one parent and vibrant foliage of the other. It grows to 7 ft (2.1 m) tall and 10 ft (3 m) wide and withstands dry conditions like a champ.
Growing Barberry
At nurseries, you will usually find barberries sold in containers. Set them out in either spring or fall, in planting holes twice as wide and as deep as the root ball. Plant them at the same depth at which the plants grew in their containers. Water well and cover the root zone with a 3 in (7.6 cm) thick layer of organic mulch to help maintain soil moisture. Most barberries transplant very easily, show excellent disease resistance, and are seldom bothered by insect or animal pests.
Prune barberries only to shape the plants or remove damaged branches. If plants are leggy or misshapen because of old age or storm damage, severe pruning in early spring will force vigorous new growth.
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