Barberry of Thunberg Atropurpurea in the table of grades of ornamental plants takes one of the leading places. Compared with other shrubs of the barberry family, this variety has several undeniable advantages. He, like other varieties of Thunberg barberries, is smart and bright, but at the same time has remarkable growth - an adult plant reaches 4 meters in height! And its life cycle reaches 65 years, so when choosing a bush for a hedge, you should pay attention to this bright giant.
Description of barberry Atropurpurea
Barberry Atropurpurea belongs to the barberry family. This is a beautiful spreading shrub. The branches of the plant have sharp spikes-thorns - these are modified leaves. They remain purple throughout almost the entire season. The color change during the growing season is insignificant, it differs mainly in the saturation of tones. At the beginning of the season the leaves are bright purple, in the middle of the tone are slightly muffled, and at the end a deep saturated tone is added to the color.
Thunberg Barberry Atropurpurea
The homeland of the bush is the Caucasus region. The plant has great endurance - it easily tolerates both heat and moderate frosts. In the middle lane, Atropurpurea's barberry is often used by gardeners in garden compositions to replace heat-loving boxwood.
The plant is not demanding on the quality of soils; it easily tolerates rocky soils and loam. Permissible landing on slightly acidic soils with acidity not higher than 7.0 pH.
The plant is used as an ornamental shrub. Despite the fact that it bears fruit abundantly, red slightly elongated fruits, in contrast to other types of barberry, are inedible - they have a bitter-sour taste.
The shrub can be attributed to weakly growing plants only by the age of 5 it grows to a height of 2 meters. The crown reaches 3.5 meters in diameter. Barberry Atropurpurea has standard sizes - a tall and sprawling crown 4 meters high and 5-5.5 meters in diameter. The mini version is called the Thunberg barberry Atropurpurea nana - a dwarf plant up to 1-1.4 meters high and a small crown.
Young 2 year old barberry seedlings
The plant is very responsive to sunlight. This must be considered when choosing a landing site. Penumbra tolerates relatively well - the main thing is that for 2/3 days the sunlight fell on the bush. When placed in the shade, the foliage loses its decorative properties, turns green, and growth slows down quickly.
The plant has been used in landscaping since the 1860s. Barberry ordinary Atropurpurea and today remains one of the most popular plants for urban landscaping and landscape design.
Planting a plant
Planting in open ground is carried out in the form of 2-3 summer seedlings or layering. Planting seeds and germinating in vivo is considered ineffective - seed germination in vivo is 25-30%. Therefore, it is recommended to plant seedlings in a container.
Seed planting
In closed ground conditions, seed cultivation is carried out in containers or in greenhouses. The fruits of barberry are removed from the tree, peeled and dried for 2-3 days in the sunlight. For planting, a substrate of sand, humus, turf soil with a pH of not more than 6.5 is used. Seeds are disinfected before planting for 4-6 hours. The depth of planting in the soil is 1-1.5 cm.
After emergence, the film is removed and soil moisture is controlled. The soil in the container should not be too wet, but it should not dry out. It is recommended for 21-28 days after the emergence of seedlings to make top dressing with complex fertilizers and drugs that contribute to the growth of the root system.
Landing in containers is carried out in the second half of February - early March. The hardening procedure begins when the air temperature reaches 10-12 ℃ above zero. Transfer of the plant to fresh air after May 15 - when the threat of frost completely passes. In the second half of September, it is recommended to transplant the plant into a larger container for wintering.
Barberry Atropurpurea in late autumn
Planting seedlings in open ground
For planting in open ground, seedlings of 2-3 years of age are used. The best place is considered to be with plenty of sunlight and moderate moisture content. An adult plant does not tolerate places with a high level of groundwater, wetlands, lowlands.
When choosing a place, the fact that Atropurpurea barberry has a large spreading crown is taken into account. When planting it as a separate plant, the distance to nearby plantings should be at least 3.5-4 meters.
Additional Information! Before planting, soil preparation is carried out. During spring planting, holes are dug in the fall and compost, sand and liming are introduced. During the autumn planting, all these works are done in 2-3 weeks, so that by the time of planting the acidity of the soil has already been normalized.
When planting seedlings for 2-3 years, the size of the pit should be 30x30 cm and up to 40 cm in depth. Dolomite flour or lime necessarily spills out to the bottom. On top of the deoxidant sprinkled with a layer of sand. For backfilling, it is recommended to use peat, sand, and the upper fertile soil layer. Mix for filling is prepared in such a proportion - 2 parts of compost, 2 parts of humus, 3 parts of fertile soil 300-400 grams of superphosphate.
Planting is carried out in early spring, during the period of swelling of the kidneys. 10-12 liters of water are poured into the prepared hole, after which a layer of prepared soil with a thickness of 10-12 cm is poured. Next, a seedling is established and the rest of the soil is poured. At the final stage, watering is carried out with 10-12 liters of water.
After planting for 2-3 days, it is recommended to loosen the ground and mulch.
How to care for Atropurpurea barberry
The main secret to getting a beautiful and healthy shrub is the right choice of planting location, watering, feeding and pruning. And if everything is quite simple with the choice of a place, then with the rest of the components there are some nuances.
The use of barberry in composition with other plants
Watering
For young plants 3-4 years old, the irrigation regime is established 1-2 watering in 5-7 days in the first year after planting. The next year you can water less often - 1 time in 7-10 days. For adult plants, it is enough to water 2-3 times a month.
Note! Thunberg Barberry Atropurpurea is very picky about the presence of oxygen in the soil. It is necessary to make it a rule for 2 days after irrigation to carry out loosening of the soil and mulching of the root circle.
Top dressing
After planting, the first top dressing is carried out in the spring. For feeding, a urea solution of 30 grams of substance per 10 liters of water is made. Such dressing is carried out in the future 1 time in 2 years.
Before the flowering period begins, top dressing is done with infusion of manure - 1 kilogram of manure is bred for 3 liters of water. The procedure is repeated 7-14 days after the flowering of the plant.
For late autumn, fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is suitable. The dosage for one adult bush is 15 grams of superphosphate. It is scattered dry under plants before the onset of autumn rains.
Pruning
When grown as a stand-alone plant, barberry purpurea tolerates pruning better in early spring, when the plant is at rest - frozen branches are removed. At the same time, a hedge of barberry Thunbergii Atropurpurea was also trimmed.
Autumn pruning is scheduled for October-November, when all processes slow down and the plant goes into winter mode.
Breeding methods
Like all shrubs of barberry Atropurpurea propagated by seeds, layering and division of the bush. True, you need to remember that the latter option is very problematic, given the size of the plant. For home breeding, it is preferable to carry out propagation by seeds and layering.
Diseases and Pests
The main diseases and pests of Atropurpurea barberry are:
- powdery mildew;
- rust;
- barberry sawfly;
- barberry aphid.
Note! It is recommended to deal with pests with a solution of chlorophos or an aqueous solution of laundry soap. To combat diseases, complex preparations are used.
Flowering period
The flowering period of the plant mainly falls in the second half of May - early June. The yellow flowers of a rounded shape collected in a brush bloom 10-13 days. The inside of the petals is yellow, the outside is bright red.
Winter preparations
According to the description, barberry Atropurpurea easily tolerates winter frosts. But, for the first 2-3 years it is recommended to cover the bush with lapnik for the winter.
Use in landscape design
For estates it is recommended to use as decorative elements of the Japanese garden, alpine slides or hedges. Mini variety is applicable as a border plant and for zoning suburban areas.
Beneficial features
Barberry is great for building hedges especially where natural noise protection is needed. The plant has a small growth, only 20-30 cm per year, so hedges will not require constant cutting.
Barberry of Thunberg Atropurpurea has long won the hearts of many gardeners and is considered to be one of the favorite plants for decorating sites. In addition, it does not require special agricultural care techniques, so even an inexperienced beginner can grow a beautiful plant.
