Thunberg Barberry is a plant popular among gardeners. Due to its unusual leaves, it is often used in the decoration of landscape design. Berberis Thunbergii can be grown in solitary shrubs, complemented with garden compositions, or create lush green hedges. Currently, there are many varieties of shrubs. Some of them have an unusual bright appearance, others are known only to true connoisseurs of the variety, and there are the most common ones that are most often used to decorate a garden plot. To grow barberry in your country, you should familiarize yourself with the most popular varieties, the rules for growing and caring for them.
Variety Description
This variety is a deciduous shrub. In some cases, it can reach a height of more than 2.5 meters, but this is possible only in the natural habitat. On the garden plot, the bush can grow up to 1.5 meters. In a decorative culture, branches have an arched shape and an orange or red tint. As they grow older, the color of the bark changes to brown or dark brown.
Berberis Thunbergii - one of the varieties
Grown on the street, barberry has a spherical crown with a diameter of up to 1 meter, with very dense foliage. The green mass can be of different colors from the outside and a gray bottom. The shape of the leaf plates is rhomboid or oval, but sometimes it can be round.
Additional Information! On thin shoots, thin but sharp spines grow 1 cm long.
Flowering in the bush begins in the spring. The buds are collected in 3-5 pieces in inflorescences of a cystiform shape.
The fruits ripen in early autumn, have a bright red color and small size. Thunberg barberry has high frost resistance and immunity to fungal diseases.
Additional Information! In its natural habitat, Barberry Thunberg grows in the Far East, North America and Europe.
Popular varieties
Among the varietal variety of barberries, the most common varieties are distinguished, which are most liked by domestic gardeners.
Description of barberry Admiration
A dwarf variety of barberry, which can reach a height of no more than 50 cm. The variety has a bright and spectacular appearance, is able to decorate any garden plot. The following features are characteristic of it:
- high frost resistance;
- beautiful decorative look;
- not demanding on the quality of the soil;
- Looks good in the decoration of rocky gardens and low hedges.
The leaves of barberry Admiral have a bright pink color and a golden border.
Berberis admiration
Description of barberry Aurea
Barberry of Thunberg Aurea has a spherical crown and grows up to 1 meter in height. Shrub refers to slow-growing varieties, quite dense and thorny.
Its distinguishing features are:
- yellow plates become yellow-red over time;
- per year, the bush can grow by 10 cm;
- berberis Aurea loves to grow in shady areas;
- prefers soils with low acidity;
- blooms in early June;
- Suitable as a decoration for a rocky garden and creating a hedge.
Berberis aurea
Description of Barberry Golden Ring
Golden Ring was so named due to the coloring of the sheet plate. In a young plant, it is purple with a gold border. With age, the edging disappears.
Garden culture tolerates frost well and is used as a hedge or a curb composition.
Golden ring
Other common varieties
In addition to the most popular varieties, there are several more varieties that are used by gardeners in landscape design.
Variety Maria
A fast-growing variety of barberry can reach a height of 1.5 meters. The variety is characterized by upright shoots and leaves that change color. In spring, they have a yellow tint, then a red border appears on them. Closer to autumn, the leaves become orange-red.
In September, small red fruits appear on the branches of barberry. Maria loves to grow on fertile soil, which has many nutrients.
Additional Information! Unlike other varieties, barberry Maria loves bright natural light, so the bush can be planted on the sunny side of the site.
Variety Concord
The slowly growing representative of barberries has a compact crown. The bush is characterized by the same dimensions in height and width - about 40 cm.
Leaf plates have a reddish-brown color. Yellow buds bloom in May. They bloom until mid-summer. It has high resistance to low temperatures and diseases.
Gardeners use Concord to decorate flowerbeds and to create rocky gardens.
Golden Rocket
Garden variety in height can reach 1 meter. The crown of this barberry has the shape of a bell. Leaves may be yellow or red-orange.
Golden Rocket begins to bloom in late May. Small buds have a yellow tint. In early autumn, small fruits appear on the branches. The plant likes to grow on a sunny or partial shade. He needs soil of moderate humidity and weak acidity.
This barberry is used as an ornamental shrub in the garden and for landscaping urban lawns.
Features of planting and care
Before planting Thunberg barberry, you need to prepare a place. It should be adequately lit and protected from drafts. Most varieties require a light, breathable substrate. The drainage layer should be deep - planting in a swampy area is not allowed.
Additional Information! If the site does not have the required soil, then it can be done independently. The substrate is made of turf land, sand, humus and is poured into the hole.
Thunberg barberries can be planted in the spring, when the buds are not yet swollen, but it is better to do this in the fall. Seedlings with a closed root system are allowed to be moved to the open ground at any time except winter.
Landing
Planting barberry is very important for the plant to actively grow and develop. It is recommended to perform it in the following sequence:
- Preparing a hole measuring 50 × 50 × 50 cm.
- A sand cushion and prepared substrate are laid at the bottom.
- Then a sapling with straightened roots is placed on top, the voids are filled with soil.
- The surface is compacted and watered. Until the earth has dried, the near-trunk zone is mulched.
- Until the first leaves appear on the seedling, it must be watered every 10 days.
Young planting
Watering
Too frequent watering of the Thunberg barberry is not required. As a rule, natural precipitation is enough for him even in summer.
In order to keep the moisture as long as possible, it is recommended to make trunk holes around the bush. Also, watering should be done directly under the root, and not on the green mass.
Top dressing
Thunberg barberry has a positive attitude to various types of top dressing. Experienced gardeners recommend using organic fertilizers such as compost and humus. It is best to make them in the spring.
This event can be combined with the excavation of the earth. In autumn it will be enough to lay a layer of peat mulch around the bush.
Pruning
Of all the types of pruning, mandatory for shrubs is sanitary. It is performed in spring - frozen, dried and diseased branches are removed.
Forming pruning for barberry is optional. Perform it only if necessary, to remove too long shoots that are knocked out of the general appearance of the crown.
Breeding
Thunberg barberries are propagated in various ways:
- cuttings;
- layering;
- by seeds;
- division.
Cuttings are the most popular method for the mass propagation of barberries. The layering method is used in the spring, and the division of the bush can be carried out both in spring and autumn.
For reference! The most difficult method is to obtain a new plant from seeds, since in this case the germination will be very low.
Use in landscape design
Since there are a lot of varieties of Thunberg barberry, the options for their use in landscape design are also sufficient.
High grades are used to create a vibrant hedge. From shrubs of medium height create compositions with other garden trees and bushes. Dwarf plant species are used to decorate rocky gardens and rockeries.
Barberry in landscape design
Barberry of Thunberg has long been popular with gardeners. Due to its diversity, it is suitable for decorating any summer cottage. And its unpretentiousness in leaving and high frost resistance makes it simply an irreplaceable garden culture in the northern regions of the country.
