Barberry shrub - species, varieties, planting and care
Content:
The flora of our planet is rich and diverse. Shrubs stand out among this splendor. The prickly deciduous barberry is distinguished by yellow or dull orange inflorescences. The foliage has different colors. The bushes themselves vary both in height and in the shape of the leaves. Nature has endowed the barberry shrub with useful characteristics. The fruit has a pleasant taste with healing properties. The shrub is unpretentious to soil, easy to care for. This plant is a real gift for summer residents, land owners.
The origin and appearance of the plant
Barberry grows in Asia, its central and eastern regions, as well as in the southern part of America. On the territory of Russia, the Amur genus, Siberian and ordinary, are cultivated. The names correspond to the geographical area of growth. Amur barberry is grown in the Far East, Siberian barberry - Altai, Sayan, ordinary - European space. Nature has presented to mankind 170 species of this wonderful evergreen, deciduous and half evergreen shrub with thorns.
Spectacular decoration of the yard
Short stalks develop in the peculiar sinuses of these very thorns. The leaves resemble bunches in structure. Young stems are covered with leaf blades in a spiral manner. Taking into account the decorative properties of barberry, the plant is used in landscaping, the design of the urban landscape in the form of a hedge.
Barberry berries are edible
Plant flower description
During flowering, the bushes are covered with small yellow, orange flowers. Against the background of this color, red blotches are visible. Flowers are collected in inflorescences that resemble brushes or shields. Small flowers are excellent honey plants with a fragrant aroma. Each petal contains a pair of nectaries. The time of flowering bushes is associated with the time when bees extract honey.
The best varieties of barberry for growing in the middle lane
More than 50 varieties and species of barberry are cultivated, differing in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes of leaves.
Barberry Thunberg Golden Ring
The bushes of this variety are undersized (1 m in height), with a rounded, spreading crown of purple-red leaves. By the fall, they are gaining a bright scarlet color. By the middle of summer, a yellow border appears on the leaves. The entire shoot is decorated with red inflorescences. In September, berries appear, which ripen in October. The fruits look especially impressive on bushes that have lost their foliage in accordance with seasonal changes.
Variety Thunberg Thorny, undersized shrub
Barberry Thunberg Aurea
This plant variety is extremely attractive. A short bush about 50 cm tall has a bright, yellow color of foliage with shades. Another variety of this variety has variegated foliage with streaks and specks of white.
Barberry Thunberg Atropurpurea Nana
A low-growing shrub (up to 1.5 m), decorated with a crown with small bright green leaves, came from Japan to our latitudes. With the onset of autumn, the color changes to bright red. Flowering lasts up to three weeks. Then elongated fruits are formed, ripen. But these fruits are inedible.
Barberry Thunberg Pink Queen
The variety "Pink Queen" is interesting for its variegated color of leaves. The bush grows up to one and a half meters high. In spring, it is decorated with red foliage with a transition to brown-red. On the leaves, pinkish and gray peculiar strokes are noticeable. According to the description from a distance, the bush looks like a pink spreading creation of nature.
Common barberry Atropurpurea
This species is distinguished by its special decorativeness. Grown in an open sunny area, the leaves of the barberry bushes Atropurpuria are painted in a dark purple color. However, plants of this variety are susceptible to disease from the rust fungus.
Barberry Ottawa Superba
The barberry of the Ottawa Superba variety stands out for 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 an accent color spot. Suitable for organizing hedges.
Common barberry Albo variegata
The leaves of this species have a specific white-variegated color in the form of stripes and spots. On a white background, red fruits look especially bright.
Common barberry Aureo-marginata
The foliage of a dark green color with spots and golden edging adorns the three-meter bushes throughout the summer season. Plants are also beautiful at the time of flowering and ripening of fruits. Used for planting. Differs in good melliferous properties.
Transplant after purchase in open ground
In the spring, after the snow melts, they are planted in the ground. You need to plant the barberry before the buds open, but you can do this in the fall during the fall of the leaves. The plant does not require special care, successfully takes root in open and semi-shaded areas, is not afraid of gusty winds and drafts.
From the standpoint of design, it is better to foresee in advance how to plant barberry bushes of different colors. For example, purple leaves look more original on the sunny side of the site.
Barberry is used in landscape design
What is needed for landing
2-3 weeks before planting the shrub in the ground, planting holes of 40x40 cm are prepared.Cultivation of barberry is practiced by a single method and in the form of a hedge. A distance of 1.5 m to 2 m is maintained between single bushes.In the hedge, it is planned to plant in trenches, and on 1 running meter, only 2 bushes are planted at a trench depth of 40 cm.After preparing the holes, seedlings are placed in them and the required volume of soil is added and ram it down. 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 soils and on acidic ones after liming. Fertilizers are introduced into the soil in advance, but soil replenishment is also allowed during planting.
Before planting, a nutrient mixture is introduced into the hole, which contains:
- 100 g of phosphorus fertilizer,
- 200 g of wood ash,
- 400 g of slaked lime,
- 8 - 10 kg of prepared garden soil mixed with compost or humus.
Step by step process
The step-by-step process of growing barberry from seedlings looks like this:
- The seedlings are thoroughly watered, then carefully removed from the containers so as not to hurt the roots.
- Place the bush in the planting hole.
- They fall asleep and tamp the soil.
- Water, add soil and water again.
How to propagate barberry at home
Barberry propagates well by seeds and vegetatively.
Propagation by cuttings
Planting cuttings, layering is done in autumn or spring. Transplantation by cuttings is carried out after rooting them. Cold greenhouses are used for the rooting process.
Reproduction by cuttings is practiced in autumn and spring.
Growing from seeds
For propagation by seeds, they resort to the method of artificial awakening (stratification) of seeds. Simulating winter conditions is achieved by covering the seeds with leaves and snow. In this case, the shell of the seed is soaked, it absorbs moisture and microelements. In this way, preparation for spring is going on, awakening and readiness for sowing begins. The seeds can be sown in the fall immediately after harvest.
Plants germinate 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 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.
Leaving means:
- timely watering;
- top dressing;
- pruning bushes;
- loosening the soil;
- protection from pests and diseases.
Watering mode
Barberry does not need a lot of water. Therefore, it is enough to water once a week or ten days. In the summer heat, watering increases. Young seedlings should be especially taken care of. 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 are applied. This supply is enough for 1 year. With the arrival of a new spring, the barberry needs to add 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 in 3-4 years.
If the bushes are planted in order to obtain a berry harvest, 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 flowering
The bushes bloom in the summer, when it is required to timely clear the area of weeds and loosen the soil. A mulching method is used to preserve the plant roots.
In dry weather, the plants are well watered.
Features of care during the rest period
Preparation for winter comes down to the introduction of organic matter under the bushes (compost, humus). Make autumn pruning of the shrub. They remove dried branches, as well as twigs and twigs damaged by pests and diseases. When the air temperature drops, the plants are covered to save them from freezing.
Planting and caring for a barberry shrub does not require much effort. Its original appearance, nutritional and decorative values deserve human participation. An ornamental barberry is also a fruit plant. A wonderful cooling, sour lemon and moderately sweet candy taste - these are edible berries of a barberry bush. Blanks 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 properties. For the sake of all these advantages, it is worth growing these bushes on your site.
