Wonderful Barberries. Acquaintance

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Of the rich Barberry family, the most beautiful and striking representative is the Thunberg barberry. In the wild, it is found in the Far East. It took root well in Europe, North America, throughout Russia. Introduced into culture in the middle of the 19th century. What attracts gardeners to a wonderful plant? Where is it used in practice?

Advantages

Barberry Thunberg has a number of undeniable positive qualities:

1. Medium and high frost resistance (depending on the variety).

2. Variety of shapes.

3. Unpretentiousness to growing conditions.

4. Photophilous culture easily withstands partial shade.

5. Retains decorative effect throughout the season.

6. A find for beginners. It propagates without problems by rooting cuttings.

7. Variety of foliage colors. Suitable for any composition.

8. Excellent honey plant.

The list is endless.

Biological features

The powerful root system perfectly extracts all the nutrients necessary for life. The height of the shrub ranges from 0.4 to 2.5 meters, depending on the variety. Arcuate or straight ribbed branches. Young bark is bright red or green and turns brown over time. Cherry-colored buds are round-ovoid, small.

Leaves of various colors (varietal trait) are rounded-oval or in the form of blades with a wedge-shaped base at the petiole up to 3 cm long. The edge of the leaf plate is smooth, without notches. Elastic spines up to 1 cm in size are located nearby.

Yellow-red flowers with a diameter of 1 cm, solitary or collected in small clusters of 2-5 pieces. They resemble spherical bells. The buds bloom in May - early June. Coral red, shiny, elliptical berries ripen in September. Seeds are brown, tough, oblong.

Landscape design

The main direction of using tall varieties of Thunberg barberry is as a hedge. It lends itself well to a haircut. Dense bushes can take any shape according to the gardener's ideas. To create dense plantings, you will need high-quality planting material with a fast growth rate. It takes about 7 years to grow barberry to its original size.

1-2 year old growths are clipped. During the summer, the procedure is carried out several times, removing the protruding branches. The thorns prevent unwanted guests from entering the site. Animals cannot break through dense thickets.

A strong root system keeps the soil of sloping areas well from landslides. It is used to strengthen the slopes when arranging irrigation systems. The ability to withstand the gas pollution of city streets makes it an indispensable culture in the improvement of parks, squares, and local area.

Low-growing forms are good for planting in rock gardens. In some varieties, the crown diameter exceeds its height, so barberry is used as a ground cover plant. Can successfully replace azalea bushes in compositions.

Planting varieties with different leaf colors in groups, you can achieve a stunning effect among the green lawn. Create a bright accent on empty flower beds closer to autumn. Red shiny fruits give the plant additional decorative effect.

Berries

Many gardeners ask themselves the question: "Are the berries of the Thunberg barberry edible?" There is conflicting information on the Internet with directly opposite reviews.

The fruits of this species are edible. It is impossible to get poisoned when using them. They are so small, dryish (most of the berry is occupied by a bone), with the presence of a slight bitterness due to the increased amount of alkaloids, so there is no desire to feast on such a tasteless product.

We will get acquainted with the achievements of breeders in the field of creating new varieties of barberry in the next article.