Barberry: description, care and cultivation in the garden. Decorative barberry - planting and care on your site

Barberry lollipops are still a favorite delicacy for children, and adults don’t mind feeling the sourness. But hardly many people know what barberry is and what it looks like. Moreover, it never occurs to anyone to have barberry in their dacha; planting and caring for it still remains a secret.

Barberry is perennial, which belongs to the Barberry family. Its name is "beiberi" translated from Arabic means "shell-shaped". This plant prefers to grow in mountainous areas and is found in countries of the Northern Hemisphere. There are at least one hundred and seventy species of this plant in the world.

Gardeners are interested in this shrub in order to obtain raw materials for the preparation of various drinks, jam, and use in folk medicine. The leaves are used for marinades and making honey, while the roots and wood produce a yellow dye. Barberry will decorate any garden as an ornamental plant, since its leaves have an unusual color. In nature, there is barberry with leaves of the following colors:

• green;
• yellow;
• purple;
• motley;
• spotted;
• with border.

Barberry purple

Also, this shrub, depending on the type, can be three meters high and very low - dwarf, growing no more than thirty centimeters. The most common varieties are considered to be common barberry and Thunberg. Gardeners who enjoy barberry need to know how to plant and care for this plant.

Landing site, preparatory work

It is best to plant barberry in the spring, and you need to have time before the buds open. Sometimes landing is done in autumn period. It is best to produce it when the leaves from the trees are falling very actively.

The barberry bush grows both in the shade and in the sun. This plant feels comfortable on an open surface and is not at all afraid of wind or draft. The soil for planting barberry should be neutral, but a slight increase in acidity is allowed. If the acidity is above seven, then it is recommended to add lime to the soil. This must be done either when preparing the soil or during planting. In addition, the soil needs to be fed with fertilizers such as:

• 8-10 kg of humus, compost or garden soil;
• 100 g superphosphate;
• 400 g slaked lime;
• 200 g wood ash.

If barberry is planted as a separate shrub, then there should be a distance of at least one and a half or even two meters between the two bushes. If you want to make from barberry hedge, then the plant needs to be planted in a trench, with one square meter two bushes should be planted.

Planting barberry

Planting young seedlings

There are two options for planting barberry: as a single bush and as a hedge. Before planting the “hedge,” a trench is dug, forty centimeters wide and deep. This should be done several weeks before planting the seedlings. In order for the roots of the bush to breathe freely, the bottom of the trench is lined with sand. If the soil is suitable for plant growth, then a mixture of fertilizers should be poured into the trench, but there is no need to use lime and ash. After this, a barberry seedling is planted, and the roots are sprinkled with soil and thoroughly compacted. After planting, the surface around the plant is abundantly watered and mulched. Peat or compost is used for this. After this, the seedling must be pruned so that only three to five buds remain above the ground.

Barberry seedlings

When planting barberry, you need to remember that it can grow both in the shade and in open areas. But if the bush receives little sunlight, then its leaves completely or partially lose their decorative effect and become faded.

Propagation of barberry by seeds

Barberry reproduces in several ways:

• seeds;
• cuttings;
• lateral shoots of bushes;
• dividing the main bush;
• replanting young shoots.

In our area, a plant such as barberry is very rare, but, nevertheless, you can try growing this shrub. When choosing planting material Certain difficulties may arise, since each of them has its own disadvantages:

• Cuttings develop very slowly root system;
• The seeds have low germination. It fluctuates between twenty and forty percent, and there is no guarantee that the varietal qualities will be preserved;
• In the process of dividing the bush, the root system is significantly damaged, this has a bad effect on the health of the plant;
• Young shoots can only be obtained from certain types of barberry.

In order to propagate shrubs on your site, it is recommended to try all methods and find the most effective one.

Let's take a closer look at the propagation of barberry by seed method. In order to obtain a seedling, you need to use several seeds at the same time, since there is no complete confidence in their germination.

In order to collect seed, you need to select the ripest berries and remove the seeds from them. After this, you need to thoroughly wash the pulp from them and dip them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. After this, the bone is dried.

Potassium permanganate solution

Barberry seeds are sown in autumn. To do this, the ground is fluffed up, weeds are removed, and a small furrow is made, no deeper than three centimeters. During winter period The seeds are hardened by frost and sprout in the spring. IN spring period You can only sow seeds that have been in the sand all winter at a temperature no higher than +3 degrees. Such seed material is transferred to open ground no earlier than April.

After the seeds have sprouted, they need to be thinned out. During the weeding process, only weakly developing shoots should be removed. Strong seedlings are left behind. On permanent place The seedlings are transferred only next year; before that they are given the opportunity to grow stronger and develop a root system. The first fruits from the bush can be obtained only after two years. In this case, the plant requires vaccination.

Interesting information. Barberry seedlings can be obtained by self-sowing. This occurs when ripe berries were not picked and fell to the ground. In this case, the young shoots can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Rules of care

Any novice gardener can care for barberry, since this plant is completely undemanding. In addition, it does not matter what type of plant is planted on the site. Thus, having studied step by step instructions“barberry growing and care”, you can grow more than one bush of this delicious berry on your plot.

The list of plant care work includes:

• watering;
• loosening;
• weeding;
• feeding;
• pruning

Watering

If there is sufficient rainfall during the season, then watering may not be necessary. If the summer turns out to be hot and dry, then in this case you need to water the plant every week. In this case, it is recommended to warm the water a little in the sun and pour it only on the root system, avoiding it getting on the leaves.

Watering barberry

Plants planted this year are watered in the same way. Watering is carried out until they take root and the root system begins to fully develop. But it should be taken into account that the enemy of barberry is not drought, but excessive rain. The reason for this is the accumulation of water at the root system, due to which it begins to rot and the plant may die.

Weeding

It is for this reason that it is necessary to completely remove weeds from the bush and loosen the soil. In order to make your work caring for the plant easier, it is best to mulch the root zone. For this you can use:

• peat;
• sawdust;
• nut shells.

Top dressing

Since during planting of barberry a certain amount of fertilizer is applied under the root system, this will be enough for the plant for the whole year. Only after a year can you add urea diluted in water. To do this, take twenty or thirty grams of fertilizer per bucket of water. After that nitrogen fertilizers can only be paid after three or four years.

In order to enjoy delicious berries every year, you need to feed barberry with phosphorus and potassium. For one bush it is enough to apply 10 grams potash fertilizers and 15 grams of superphosphate.

Trimming

Barberry, like any shrub, needs pruning, during which all weak, dry and damaged branches are removed. It is imperative to thin out the bush, since in dense growth the fruits will be small. At the same time, you need to know how to prune barberry in the spring. The first haircut on the bush is carried out when the bush is one year old. It is the pruning of barberry in the spring that is done to form a bush; for this, the shoots are shortened by half.

Barberry pruning

After this, barberry pruning can be done twice a season. The first is done in early June, the second - in early August. This is important for the plant not only for the purpose sanitary care, but also in order to correctly form the crown. At the same time, those plant varieties that grow no higher than 30 centimeters do not need pruning.

Pest and disease control

The most dangerous pests barberry are:

• barberry aphid;
• barberry sawfly;
• flower moth.

The appearance of aphids on a plant is indicated by wrinkled and dry leaves. The moth eats the fruits of the plant. In order to destroy pests on a plant, you need to use the following means:

1. Aphids are washed off with the solution laundry soap. To do this, it is diluted in a ratio of 300 grams of soap per 10 liters of water;
2. To destroy the moth and sawfly, more drastic measures are used. To do this, you need to use a three percent chlorophos solution.

In addition to pests, barberry can be affected by diseases, the most common of which are:

• powdery mildew;
• rust;
• leaf spot bacteriosis;
• withering.

Powdery mildew looks like white plaque, which covers not only leaves, but also berries and shoots. In autumn, cleistothecia form on damaged areas, allowing bacteria to overwinter. To get rid of this disease, the plant must be treated with colloidal sulfur. At the same time, those areas that are most damaged must be completely removed and burned so as not to leave a source of infection.

Plants get rust if cereal plants grow next to them. In this case, the leaves appear yellow spots or red pads. On plants that are damaged, the leaves begin to dry out and fall off. You can fight the disease with colloidal sulfur or Bordeaux mixture. The plant is being treated in early spring When the leaves just begin to bloom, the procedure is repeated every three weeks.

The plant can be saved from spotting with copper oxychloride, which is diluted in ten liters of water. In addition, Bordeaux mixture can be used to prevent the disease.

Copper oxychloride

Bacteriosis is a cancer that affects a plant. With this disease, cracks, growths, and peculiar tumors form on it. If the disease was only discovered and covered only top part shoots, they must be removed down to the healthy part of the branch. If the lower part of the plant is affected, this means that the bush cannot be saved. It must be completely removed from the area and burned. For prevention, you can use drugs that contain copper.

Growing barberry at home on your own plot is not at all difficult. The main thing for the barberry bush is correct landing and care. To do this, you need to adhere to all agricultural techniques, schemes and rules for caring for the plant. Of course, don’t forget about diseases and pests. Fighting them will be the key to a good harvest and healthy appearance of your plant.

Video

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Barberry - the taste of these berries has been familiar to us since childhood - sucking candies with that name, sparkling water "Barberry". But it’s unlikely that in childhood we thought about what kind of plant this is, where it grows, what its fruits look like, and whether it can be grown on garden plot.

This culture belongs to a large species of plants from the Barberry family. Translated from Arabic, this word means “shell-shaped.” Varieties of this shrub grow mainly in the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere, there are over 160 varieties in total, some of them have been cultivated.

Gardeners grow this plant for its tasty fruits - they are used to make jams, drinks, and are also used as raw materials for the preparation of medicinal preparations.

This culture is also a decoration for any garden plot: barberry foliage has a wide variety of colors - from green to yellow, purple and variegated. Shrubs also vary in size - from miniature bushes (0.3 - 0.4 m in height) to huge three-meter bushes.

Barberry is a decoration for any garden plot

This crop is deciduous, evergreen or semi-evergreen thorny bushes, the foliage of which can be leathery, simple or regular. The spines of this plant are modified foliage, from which, in the process of evolution, only the middle vein has survived to this day. In the axils of these spines, short stems grow, so the foliage grows in bunches. On the shoots that grow in the new season, the foliage grows in a spiral, one by one.

The flowers are small, with a pleasant aroma, golden in color. yellow tint or orange with a red tone. They are collected in corymbose or racemose inflorescences, but can also be located singly. The petals have a pair of nectaries. The scent of flowers always attracts bees, since this shrub is a wonderful honey plant. The shape of the berries ripening on these bushes can be different kind and color - it depends on the variety of barberry.

It can be planted in city conditions (in parks, squares), it can grow on any type of soil, it is drought-resistant and unpretentious. This shrub is one of the best for creating hedges.

Gallery: barberry (25 photos)

Useful properties of barberry (video)

Description of types and varieties of barberry

Barberry Thunberg and its varieties

A deciduous variety of barberry with beautiful foliage colors.

Aurea

Dwarf shrub with crown round shape, about 0.9 m high, branches are green with a yellow tint. In summer the foliage is bright lemon or yellow. The flowers are small, yellow, slightly red at the edges.

Atropurpurea Nana

A dwarf shrub (its height is about 0.4 m), the foliage is purple, turning bright red in autumn. The flowers are collected in inflorescences of several pieces, they are yellow inside, with a red border along the edges.

Also popular among gardeners are such varieties of Thunberg barberry as Akrlekin, Golden Ring, Coronita, Harlequin and Superba.

The shrub grows in forest-steppes. Bushes with thorns about 2 - 2.5 m high with brown shoots radiating in different directions from the root.

This hybrid, its “parents” are the Thunberg barberry and the red-leaved barberry. Its height is 1.8 - 2 m. The foliage is oval, purple throughout the season. Small flowers collected in inflorescences (10 pieces each). Their color is yellow with red edges.

His homeland is Korea. Height – 1.8 – 2 m. Foliage – large, slightly leathery. Flowers yellow color with a pleasant aroma, collected in racemose inflorescences.

Plant height is 2 – 2.5 m. The foliage is green with a gray tint. Flowers with a persistent aroma, collected in brushes of 8 - 9 pcs.

Bushes with spreading branches, their height is up to 2 m. The shoots have large spines (about 2.5 cm). The foliage is rigid and elliptical in shape. The flowers are collected in yellow inflorescences. The berries are red.

Grows in eastern North America. The bushes reach a height of 2 - 2.5 m. The shoots are brown and purple, the spines are tripartite, about 1 cm long. The foliage is oval. The flowers are collected in racemose, yellow inflorescences.

Planting barberry in open ground

It is best to plant this plant in early spring, immediately after all the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up. But you need to plant the plants before the leaves begin to appear on the seedlings. But you can start planting barberries at the end of September when the leaves begin to fall.

Selection and preparation of a site

Barberry - very unpretentious shrub, so there will be no problems with choosing a place where to plant it. He is not afraid of drafts, hot rays of the sun and gusts of cold wind, so solar open place. If only areas in partial shade are available in the garden plot, barberry will grow well there too. However sunny place perfect for those species whose foliage is purple; under the rays of the sun it will have a brighter shade.

These shrubs prefer neutral acidity of the soil (with a pH of about 7). If the soil is acidic, lime should be added to make the soil more neutral. You can do this with autumn digging, or before planting add lime to landing hole. Compound soil mixture, which fills such holes, is as follows:

• humus (or compost) – 10 kg;
• garden soil - 10 kg;
• superphosphate – 1 glass;
• slaked lime - 4 cups;
• wood ash - 2 cups.

How to propagate barberry (video)

Technology and planting timing

When such plants are planted singly, a distance of 1.6 - 2.0 meters should be maintained between seedlings. When they want to create a hedge from barberry, then by 1 running meter. two bushes are planted.

Planting holes are prepared at least 10 - 14 days before planting the seedlings. The dimensions of such a hole are 0.4 by 0.4 m, with a depth of up to 0.45 m. To improve the supply of oxygen to the root system, sand 5–6 cm thick must be poured onto the bottom of each hole.

If the acidity of the soil is slightly acidic or neutral, then ash and lime are removed from the composition described above. The hole is filled with most of this mixture, then the seedling is placed in it, the roots are carefully spread over the entire diameter of the hole, the remaining soil is covered on top, and compacted. 8-10 liters of water should be poured under each seedling. and mulch with high-moor peat or rotted compost.

After planting, the shoots of the above-ground part should be cut off by about half, leaving no more than 3 buds on each stem.

It is best to plant barberry in early spring, immediately after all the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up.

Caring for barberry in the garden

It is very easy to care for barberry of any variety and type, even a novice gardener can grow this plant in his garden. After all, care decorative species(whose fruits are too inedible) and for barberry with edible berries absolutely the same.

Therefore, knowing how to care for one type of this crop, you can grow any varieties of barberry on your site in the future.

The main list of agrotechnical plant care measures includes:

• watering;
• weed removal;
• loosening the soil in tree trunk circles;
• formative pruning;
• application of fertilizers.

It is very easy to care for barberry of any variety and type.

Watering

This fruit bush quite resistant to drought. That's why Watering must be carried out according to a special schedule. If the season is quite rainy, then you should not water the plants. If the season is hot and dry, then barberry should be watered once every 7 days with water. room temperature directly under the root - splashes of water should not fall on the foliage. The seedlings are watered with the same frequency until the bushes take root. The rainy season, when too much moisture accumulates in the soil, is much worse for this plant. A large number of moisture can cause great harm to this shrub.

In addition to watering, you should regularly loosen the soil around the plants and remove weeds. To simplify caring for barberry, you should pour a layer of mulch up to 6–7 cm thick under each bush. It will protect the soil from quick drying, and weeds will not grow in such places.

Barberry is quite drought tolerant

Top dressing

If fertilizers were applied in full before planting seedlings, then these nutrients enough for the bush to last the whole season. The following year, in April or early May, fertilizer, which includes nitrogen, is applied to each plant. Typically, 1 tablespoon of urea is diluted in 10 liters of water. 1 bucket of this solution is added to each tree trunk circle. In the future, nitrogen fertilizers are applied to plants no more often than once every 3 years.

If barberry varieties are grown for their delicious berries, That During the season you should feed them according to the following scheme:

• after the bush fades;
• at the moment of leaf fall.

Such fertilizers should include 1 teaspoon of potassium salt and 1.5 teaspoons of phosphate fertilizer for each plant.

The most optimal fertilizer, which is sold in specialized stores - Kemira is an all-rounder. It is applied in the first ten days of July, diluting 1.5 teaspoons of the drug in 10 liters of water.

Bush pruning

Barberry pruning is usually done in the spring. At the same time, all damaged, dried or frozen shoots are removed. Those branches that thicken the barberry are also removed.

A one-year-old bush should be pruned for the first time in April - early May. In this case, all branches are shortened by half (sometimes more). Subsequently, this procedure is carried out twice per season - in the first ten days of June and in the first ten days of August.

Pruning these bushes is a sanitary procedure, in addition, it is also a formative event. Miniature varieties are usually not pruned.

Barberry pruning is usually done in the spring.

Protection from diseases and pests

Usually this fruit crop is damaged fungal diseases such as:

• powdery mildew;
• rust;
• bacteriosis;
• leaf spotting;
• withering.

Powdery mildew appears as plaque white on foliage, stems and berries. They fight this disease by treating all damaged areas with colloidal sulfur diluted in water. Heavily damaged areas should be trimmed and burned.

Rust It affects those shrubs that grow near fields where cereal crops are planted. It appears as spots orange color on the upper side of the foliage. Severe infection with this disease leads to drying out and falling of the foliage. The disease should be combated with a 1% solution of colloidal sulfur or Bordeaux mixture. Diseased bushes should be treated three times. The first treatment is carried out immediately after the foliage blooms, subsequent treatments are carried out every 20 days.

Against spotting Spraying with copper oxychloride helps a lot (1.5 tablespoons of the drug are diluted in a bucket of water). This procedure is carried out before and after flowering.

Bacteriosis usually damages the entire aboveground part plants. If only the tops of the shoots of the bush are damaged, then the barberry can still be saved - usually the diseased area is cut off completely and burned. But if the lower part of the plant is damaged by this disease, then it cannot be saved - the bush is completely uprooted and burned.

Harmful insects that can attack fruit crops are:

• barberry aphid;
• barberry sawfly;
• flower moth.

The appearance of aphids is accompanied by wrinkling and drying of the foliage, and the moth feasts on edible berries. Helps against aphids soap solution. And other pests are fought with a 2% chlorophos solution.

Rust affects those shrubs that grow near fields where cereals are planted

Preparing the bush for winter

Before the onset of cold weather, the soil around the bushes is covered with a thick layer of mulching material - peat or sawdust. Layer thickness – at least 10 cm.

Shrubs that are less than 5 years old (especially evergreens) are covered with spruce or pine branches for the winter. Large bushes are tied tightly with twine and installed around it metal mesh(it should be higher than barberry), dry leaves are poured into the gaps, and the mesh is covered with any covering material on top.

Options for using barberry in landscape design

IN landscape design varieties of this shrub are used with decorative foliage . Species with the same foliage color or with different leaves that match each other can be planted nearby.

Usually like this ornamental plants used to create hedges or in single plantings.

Methods for propagating barberry

Reproduction of this fruit crop perhaps in four main ways.

Seeds

Seeds are planted directly into the ground, in a specially designated bed. In spring, seedlings appear. When they grow 2-3 true leaves, the seedlings are thinned out - the distance between them should be 2.5-3 cm. Young plants should grow in one place for two seasons, and only then they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Barberry can be propagated by seeds

Cuttings

Cuttings are taken from healthy shoots in early summer, lower leaves remove, cut off half of the top ones. Such parts of the shoots are placed in solutions that accelerate the formation of roots for a couple of hours, then planted in a greenhouse, the soil in which consists of equal parts of humus, fertile land and peat bog. Add ½ part there river sand. The greenhouse should be ventilated from time to time. Such seedlings are also planted in a permanent place after two seasons.

By layering

When propagating by layering, the strongest annual shoot is selected from the lower branches and immersed in a pre-dug ditch, secured and covered with soil on top. Only the top few leaves of the shoot are left on the surface. A similar procedure is carried out in the spring, and by the beginning of September the shoot will take root, it can be separated from the mother bush and transplanted to a permanent place.

When propagating by layering, the strongest annual shoot is selected from the lower branches and immersed in a pre-dug ditch, secured and covered with soil on top

Barberry is a powerful bush that greets you with thorns and various colors of berries. This shrub is actively used in landscape design due to the huge number of small, bright, original pear-shaped fruits.

In order to grow barberry that will become your pride, you don’t have to be professional gardener, you just need to know the rules for planting and caring for this plant.

Timing and choice of landing site

Barberry - effective ornamental shrub with bright red, yellow or white fruits. The leaves of barberry are elliptical in shape and come in a variety of colors: green, red, yellow, purple. In spring, the plant pleases with yellow flowers collected in clusters.
"Like festive fireworks, these bushes are growing. As soon as autumn comes, all colors play."- this is what poets say about barberry, but even such a description will not convey the beauty of this delightful shrub.

The fruits of barberry are aromatic and are widely used in medicine and cooking. They have a mild sour taste and are perfect for compotes, jelly, syrups and jam.

It is quite unpretentious in cultivation and resistant to cold. However, before planting you need to remember that in the shade decorative leaves barberries lose their color. The more light there is, the brighter and more attractive the bush's foliage will be.

If you like lonely barberry, then it is better to plant it at a distance of 1.5-2 m from other plantings. It is impossible to grow a beautiful, well-proportioned bush in cramped conditions.

If you plan to grow barberry in the garden as a hedge, then the bush needs to be made more voluminous.

To create a dense fence, you need to plant 3-4 bushes per meter. For staggered placement, seedlings are placed 25 cm apart in a row. The distance between rows should be 45 cm. For a thinner hedge, the number of plants is reduced.

If barberry is grown for fruit, it simply needs light, so barberry should be planted sparingly, and the bush should also be thinned out regularly.

Important!Unripe barberry berries contain a high concentration of alkaloids and are very poisonous.

Medium acidic soils are suitable for barberry. But if the soil on your site is highly acidic (more than 7.0 pH), you can add slaked lime to the soil before and after planting.

Since stagnation of moisture can be detrimental to barberry, it should be planted at higher elevations and sand should be added to the soil for drainage.

Planting is carried out in the fall (mid-September - mid-October) or spring (third decade of March - mid-April). If the seedlings were in a container, they can be planted on a cloudy day in the summer, providing enough sunlight for the first few days.

Important! Barberry planted in the spring will grow actively, and autumn seedlings will have time to strengthen over the winter and will begin to actively develop in the spring.

Preparatory work on the site

In order for barberry to please with its healthy appearance, and care and cultivation does not cause trouble, you need before planting, clean, carry out certain work on the selected area:

1. get rid of weeds and roots of other plants;
2. dig up the ground;
3. fertilize the soil (taking into account its acidity and fertility).

Did you know? Barberry thorns are nothing more than transformed leaves.

Rules for planting young barberry seedlings

Before growing barberry in the country, you need to carry out a number of works:

Important! When planting, you need to ensure that the roots of the barberry do not come into contact with fertilizers - this can cause burns, and the seedlings will get sick or may die.

How to care for barberry on the site

Caring for barberry includes a few procedures: watering, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, cutting and protection from pests.

Watering, weeding and loosening the soil

Barberry is a plant that does not like excess moisture, so it is enough to water it once a week. IN abundant watering Only young plants need it, and then only until they get stronger. There is no need to water the plant cold water right at the root, being careful not to wet the leaves.

In addition to watering, a mandatory procedure is regular weeding between the bushes, removing root shoots and loosening the soil around them. To make maintenance easier, it is recommended to mulch the soil with sawdust, peat or walnut shells.

Fertilizer application

Fertilizing when planting barberry will last the plant for a year. The next feeding is done next spring.

When choosing the best way to feed barberry, give preference to nitrogen fertilizers. 20-30 g of urea are diluted in a bucket of water and fertilized each bush.

It is enough to apply such fertilizing once every 3-4 years.

However, if barberry is grown for fruit, then after flowering and after the end of the season, the plant must be fertilized with a mixture of superphosphate (15 g) and potassium (10 g) for each bush. Can be used ready-made fertilizers(“Kemira station wagon”), which are introduced in early July.

Barberry, which grows as a hedge, needs feeding most of all - it needs to be fertilized at least 2 times a year.

Important! Chemicals may adversely affect the characteristics of the fruit.

Proper pruning

Knowledge of how to properly prune barberry will allow you to have not only a beautiful, but also a healthy plant on your site.

Since barberry branches grow almost vertically, then the shrub can be given any decorative form (ball, pyramid and others). Barberry tolerates pruning painlessly before sap flow begins, so the bush should be formed in early spring, before the leaves bloom.

It should also be taken into account that the barberry shoots will initially grow in different directions, therefore it is not recommended to plant it in the middle of the plot.

Since a bush has many trunks, the extra ones need to be cut into a ring.

In order to thin out and maintain plant sanitation, old, diseased, weak, dry and heavily thickened branches should be regularly pruned. In this case, old branches can be cut off either completely or partially to form new branches. Such anti-aging pruning should be carried out on plants older than 10 years.

Important! It is impossible to shorten barberry branches too much, since its flowers and fruits appear on annual shoots.

Wintering barberry

In the first 2-3 years, barberry is covered for the winter with peat, dry leaves, spruce branches or burlap. If the bush is voluminous, its branches are tied together with rope or twine, a cylinder is built around the plant and dry leaves are poured inside and covered on top.

Mature bushes tolerate frost well, so they do not need shelter.

If the winter was frosty and the branches were frozen, they should be pruned in early spring.

Selection of neighbors for barberry

Amazing compositions can be obtained by combining different shrubs. Barberry's neighbors can be any shrubs, flowers and even trees. Eg, dwarf varieties not only decorate lawns and flower beds, but also protect flowers from trampling. They can also be planted at the foot of large trees.

Did you know? It is believed that the famous Lee Kin Yen was able to live to 252 years thanks to the daily consumption of barberry fruits.

How to deal with pests and diseases of barberry

In order to recognize pests in time, you need to regularly pay attention to what barberry looks like. The most dangerous insects for barberry are:.