Barberry is a trendy plant in the modern garden. The shrub is appreciated for its decorative effect, suitability for single and group plantings. It is widely used in hedges and as curbs. The fruits have nutritional and medicinal value.
In the gardens, three types of barberry can most often be found: ordinary, Thunberg and Ottawa. All types of barberry have a similar cultivation technique in garden plots.
Planting a barberry seedling
Barberry is classified as an unpretentious plant, and the further growth of the shrub and the life expectancy in the garden depend on the correct planting of the seedling.
When landing, you should know and fulfill several basic conditions:
1. Barberry grows poorly on acidic soil. With increased acidity, a deoxidizer is required to add 2-3 cups of slaked lime or 1.5 cups of ash per bush to the soil.
2. It is planted in a dry place, as the barberry does not like getting wet roots.
3. Variegated varieties are always planted in a sunlit place. In the shade, the plants will lose their attractiveness of color.
4. When planting, the root collar should be at ground level and not buried.
5. Barberry is planted in tight gloves: the plant has strong thorns on the shoots.
A pit 40x40x40 cm for a seedling is dug in advance, garden soil, humus, sand, fertilizers are added in equal amounts. In heavy soil, on clay soil, plants will also grow, but their development will be slower. From fertilizers, a glass of superphosphate and half a glass of potash fertilizer are added to the pit, then the seedling is watered and mulched.
When barberry is planted
Barberry with open roots is planted in spring before bud break. In autumn - at the end of September, in October. Leaves are harvested during autumn planting. If necessary, cut off excess branches, prune the tops. Seedlings with closed roots grown in pots are planted at any time during the planting season.
Caring for barberry in the garden
The next year after planting, the seedlings begin to feed. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied for growth. During the summer season, the plants are fed 2-3 times in small doses using complex mineral mixtures such as Kemira wagon. For good growth, the fertilizer must contain trace elements. Several times a season, ash is scattered into the trunk circle and embedded in the soil. In the fall, for a safe wintering, fertilizing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers is used.
During the summer, weeds are pulled out, loosened. Despite the fact that barberry is a drought-resistant shrub, it needs watering during prolonged dry weather. Sanitary pruning is done in spring and autumn, and bushes are trimmed in mid-June and early August. Dwarf varieties practically do not need corrective pruning.
Preparing barberry for winter
In the first 2-3 years, all young plants, and especially valuable ones, first of all, are covered for the winter with dry leaves, spruce branches, and peat. In the spring, frozen branches are cut to a living bud.
Reproduction of barberry
Barberries are well cut and you can grow any variety from the cuttings yourself. Summer grafting is effective.
The shrub is also propagated by seeds. Sowing of freshly harvested seeds is carried out in autumn or spring after 2 months of stratification at a temperature of 2-5 ° C in a refrigerator. Seed germination is high, at 90%.
When transplanting, old overgrown bushes are divided into parts in spring or autumn and planted, and shoot trimmings are used for rooting. Reproduction by layering is possible.
The use of barberry in garden decoration
In garden design, barberry is planted in composition with other plants. They are good in the vicinity of conifers, ornamental shrubs (spirea, mock orange, lilac, etc.).
Beautiful-leaved varieties look great as tapeworm plants on the lawn. The highlight in the landscape design is the yellow barberry. Dwarf varieties are planted in rockeries and rocky hills. Use barberry as a curb and hedge. These live ribbons are durable and easy to cut. In autumn, the leaves of many varieties turn bright colors.
The most beautiful varieties from the common barberry group are Albovariegata and Aureo-marginata with variegated leaves in white and golden tones, the Atropurpurea variety has dark purple or red leaves.
In landscape design, the Thunberg barberry, up to 1 meter high, has gained great popularity.
Among them there are varieties with a vertical arrangement of branches, with a pillow-like one, with a horizontal one. The color of the leaves is very original. Among them you can see light green, green, yellow (Golden Rocket, Golden Toch), golden, bright orange (Lyutin Rouge, Orange Rocket), crimson, red-leaved, coral-orange leaves, leaves with all kinds of bright rims along the edge of the leaf. So, the Diabolicum variety, in the spring dissolves pale pink leaves with a red border around the edge, in the summer the leaves turn yellow, and in the fall they turn orange.
Harlequin is attractive with beautifully drooping branches and red foliage with white streaks and streaks. Varieties of foreign selection in the early years may freeze slightly, and they should be covered for the winter.
