The plant world of our planet is rich and diverse. Shrubs stand out among this splendor. Prickly deciduous barberry is distinguished by inflorescences of yellow color or soft orange color. Foliage has a different color. The bushes themselves vary both in height and in the shape of the leaves. Nature endowed the barberry shrub with useful characteristics. Fruits of pleasant taste with healing properties. The shrub is unpretentious to soils, easy to care for. This plant is a real gift for summer residents, owners of land.
The origin and appearance of the plant
Barberry grows in Asia, its central and eastern regions, as well as in southern America. On the territory of Russia, the Amur clan, Siberian and ordinary, is cultivated. Names correspond to the geographical area of growth. Amur barberry is grown in the Far East, Siberian - Altai, Sayan, ordinary - European space. Nature has given humanity 170 species of this wonderful evergreen, deciduous and half evergreen shrub with thorns.
Spectacular yard decoration
Short stems develop in the peculiar sinuses of these same thorns. Leaflets on the device resemble bunches. Young stems are covered with leaf blades in a spiral shape. Given the decorative properties of barberry, the plant is used in landscaping, the design of the urban landscape in the form of hedges.
Barberry berries are edible.
Plant flower description
During flowering, the bushes are covered with small flowers of yellow, orange color. Against this background, red blotches are visible. Flowers are collected in inflorescences resembling brushes or shields. Small flowers are excellent honey plants with a fragrant aroma. Each petal contains a pair of nectaries. The flowering time of the bushes is associated with the time of honey bee extraction.
The best varieties of barberry for growing in the middle lane
More than 50 varieties and types of barberry are cultivated, characterized by a variety of color, shape and size of the leaves.
Thunberg Barberry Golden Ring
Bushes of this variety are stunted (1 m in height), with a rounded, leafy crown of purple-red leaves. By autumn, they are gaining a bright scarlet color. By mid-summer, a yellow border appears on the leaves. The whole shoot is decorated with red inflorescences. In September, berries appear that ripen in October. Fruits on bushes that have lost foliage in accordance with seasonal changes look especially impressive.
Thunberg variety Prickly, undersized shrub
Barberry of Thunberg Aurea
This plant variety is extraordinarily attractive. A short bush about 50 cm tall has a bright, yellow with shades of foliage. Another variety of this variety has variegated foliage with veins and specks of white color.
Thunberg Barberry Atropurpurea Nana
From Japan came to our latitudes an undersized shrub (up to 1.5 m), decorated with a crown with small bright green leaves. With the onset of autumn, the color changes to a bright red color. Flowering lasts up to three weeks. Then, elongated fruits are formed, ripen. But these fruits are inedible.
Thunberg Barberry Pink Queen
Variety "Pink Queen" is interesting for its variegated coloring of leaves. The bush grows to one and a half meters tall. In spring, it is decorated with red foliage with a transition in brown-red color. Pink and gray peculiar strokes are noticeable on the leaves. According to the description from a distance, the bush looks like a pink spreading creation of nature.
Barberry ordinary Atropurpurea
This species is distinguished by a special decorative effect. The leaves of Atropurpuria barberry bushes grown in an open sunny area are painted in dark purple. However, plants of this variety are susceptible to rust fungus disease.
Note! This pest is a danger to crops; for this reason, barberry of this variety is not practiced in the village.
Barberry Ottawa Superba
Ottawa Superba barberry is distinguished by the beauty of a large bush, which, like a tree, quickly grows in width and becomes spreading. It is used for decorative landscape purposes next to groups of perennials as a color spot accentuating attention. It is suitable for organizing hedges.
Barberry common albo variegate
The leaves of this species have a specific white-motley color in the form of stripes and spots. On a white background, the fruits of red color look especially bright.
Barberry ordinary Aureo-marginate
Dark green foliage with spots and golden fringing adorns three-meter bushes throughout the summer season. Plants are beautiful at the time of flowering and ripening. Used for planting. It has good honey properties.
Transplant after purchase in open ground
In the spring, after snow melts, they land in the ground. You need to plant barberry before the buds open, but you can do this in the fall during leaf fall. The plant does not require special care, successfully survives in open and semi-shaded areas, is not afraid of gusty wind and drafts.
From a design perspective, it is better to foresee how to plant barberry bushes of different colors. For example, purple leaves look more original on the sunny side of the plot.
Barberry is used in landscape design
What you need for landing
2-3 weeks before the bush is planted in the ground, planting holes 40x40 cm in size are prepared. Barberry is cultivated by a single method and in the form of a hedge. Between single bushes, a distance of 1.5 m to 2 m is maintained. Planting in trenches is planned in the hedge, with only 2 bushes being planted per 1 meter at a depth of 40 cm trench. After preparing the pits, seedlings are placed in them and the required amount of soil is added and ram it. Then abundant watering is carried out and the trunk circle is mulched with peat or compost.
Optimal soil
Neutral soil is the most suitable, but bushes grow both on calcareous and acidic lands after liming. Fertilizers are introduced into the soil in advance, but soil recharge is also allowed during planting.
Before planting, a nutrient mixture is introduced into the hole, which contains:
- 100 g of phosphate fertilizer,
- 200 g of wood ash
- 400 g slaked lime
- 8 - 10 kg of prepared garden mixed with compost or humus soil.
Note! For better aeration of the roots of the plant, the bottom of the well is covered with a sand layer.
Step-by-step process
The step-by-step process of growing barberry from seedlings looks like this:
- Seedlings are carefully watered, then carefully, so as not to touch the roots, removed from containers.
- Put the bush in the landing hole.
- They fill and compact the soil.
- Water, add soil and water again.
Important! You should not fall asleep growth point, so as not to slow down the process of growth, flowering and fruiting. A buried growth bud can cause seedling to die.
How to propagate barberry at home
Barberry is well propagated by seeds and vegetatively.
Propagation by cuttings
Planting cuttings, layering do autumn time or spring. Transplantation by cuttings is carried out after rooting them. Cold greenhouses are used for the rooting process.
Propagation by cuttings is practiced in autumn and spring.
Seed cultivation
For propagation by seeds, they resort to the method of artificial awakening (stratification) of seeds. Imitation of winter conditions is achieved by covering the seeds with leaves and snow. At the same time, the seed coat softens, it absorbs moisture and trace elements. In this way, preparation for spring is beginning, awakening and readiness for sowing begin. Seeds can be sown in the fall immediately after harvest.
Plants emerge in the first year after sowing. Growth at this time is slow, up to 10-15 cm per season, and later growth accelerates. Flowering and fruiting occurs only in the fourth - fifth year. Seedlings at the age of two years are transplanted to a place of constant growth in pits, the size of which is 40x40x40 centimeters.
Barberry Care
It is known that barberry is an unpretentious plant.
Note! Evergreen varieties get along well in partial shade, and deciduous breeds need light, otherwise the bushes can be deprived of their natural attractiveness, beauty.
Leaving involves:
- timely watering;
- top dressing;
- pruning bushes;
- loosening the soil;
- protection against pests and diseases.
Watering mode
Barberry does not need much water. Therefore, it is enough to water 1 time per week or decade. During the summer heat, watering increases. Young seedlings need special care. To preserve the beauty of the glossy surface of the leaves, you need to adjust the watering mode.
Top dressing
During planting, a certain amount of fertilizer mixtures is introduced. This stock lasts for 1 year. With the arrival of new spring, barberry needs to be added with nitrogen fertilizers in the form of urea at the rate of 20-30 g per bucket of water. Further nitrogen replenishment into the soil is done after 3-4 years.
If the bushes are planted in order to obtain a berry crop, then at the end of flowering a complex mixture of potassium and phosphorus fertilizer is introduced (15 g of phosphorus plus 10 g of potassium)
With good care, barberry can serve as a hedge
Features of care during the flowering period
Bushes bloom in the summer, when it is required to clean the site of weeds in a timely manner and loosen the soil. Apply the method of mulching to preserve the roots of plants.
Note! Tall bushes can be cut, freed from dried twigs. In the landscape, plants are pruned twice during the summer (June, August).
In dry weather, plants are well watered.
Features of care at rest
Preparation for winter comes down to adding organic matter (compost, humus) under the bushes. Autumn shrub cutting is done. Remove dried branches, as well as knots and twigs damaged by pests and diseases. When the temperature drops, plants are covered to save them from freezing.
Planting and caring for a bush of barberry does not require much effort. Its original appearance, nutritional and decorative values deserve human participation. Barberry ornamental shrub is also a fruit plant. A wonderful cooling, souring lemon and moderately sweet candy taste are the edible berries of a barberry shrub. Preparations in the form of jam, compote, jams acquire a special flavor with the addition of these berries. Another important property of the plant is its medicinal, antipyretic and antibacterial beneficial features. For the sake of all these advantages, it is worth growing these bushes on your site.
