Japanese Barberry

(Berberidaceae - Barberry Family)

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• Form
  • small ornamental shrub
  • maturing at 5' tall by 5' wide for the species form, with the varieties and cultivars of the same size or smaller
  • upright rounded growth habit for the species form; upright rounded or spreading mound growth habit for the various cultivars
  • slow growth rate

• Culture
  • full sun to partial sun
  • prefers a moist, well-drained soil, but otherwise is adaptable to poor soils, various soil pHs, soil compaction, drought, and pollution
  • propagated by rooted stem cuttings
  • Barberry Family, with few disease or pest problems
  • moderately to abundantly available amongst the selected cultivars, primarily in container form; however, the species form is rarely available
  • Japanese Barberry is somewhat sensitive to being transplanted in Autumn, and care should be taken to amend the soil, fertilize, water thoroughly, mulch adequately, and avoid Winter salt spray, to enhance survival chances during the first Winter

• Foliage
  • red-, yellow-, green-, and variegated foliage forms are all available
  • alternate leaves are spatulate to obovate, with the base very drawn out, being cuneate to linear but having no petiole
  • margins are entire (that is, no marginal spines exist, as in Mentor Barberry or Wintergreen Barberry)
  • fall color is variable, being orange to wine-colored in late Autumn for green- or red-foliaged forms, and chartreuse to off-yellow for golden-foliaged forms

• Flowers
  • yellow, in late April and early May, in pendulous clusters directly from the stems
  • not showy from a distance but attractive when viewed close-up, and attracting many bees

• Fruits
  • red ellipsoid small fruits are sparse to rare on the cultivars, but often persist into the following Spring when present on either the species form or cultivar forms
  • can be attractive when viewed up-close, but are almost never dense enough to be showy

• Twigs
  • zig-zag, thin, and lightly grooved, with small, scaly buds
  • single, thin, small spines occur along the stems, creating a nagging and persistent itch when brushed against
  • older stems display a cinnamon and white streaked bark (not noticed unless viewed up-close)
  • stems, branches, and roots are brittle and easily broken when bent, pushed against, or during transplanting, revealing a bright yellow interior wood

• Trunk
  • not applicable

• ID Summary
  • small, spatulate leaves are green, gold, or maroon, with leaf bases that are drawn out but without a petiole, and leaf margins that are entire and without spines; stems are thin, densely branching, and with thin single spines; growth habit is short, rounded, and spreading for the smaller cultivars, but upright to arching for the larger variety and its cultivars

• Function
  • specimen shrub, facer shrub, or edging shrub (for the smaller-sized cultivars)
  • formal hedge, informal hedge, or barrier shrub (for the larger-sized cultivars, or the species form)

• Texture
  • fine texture in foliage and when bare
  • thick density in foliage and when bare

• Assets
  • cultivars available in several vibrant foliage colors
  • urban stress-tolerant
  • slow-growing and of small mature size
  • amenable to shearing

• Liabilities
  • spines (if they are not desired)
  • garbage collector to blowing trash and leaves, along the lower stems
  • brittle stems

• Habitat
  • zones 4 to 8, including all variants listed below, but not performing as well in the humidity of hotter climates
  • native to Japan

• Alternates
  • other specimen shrubs that have alternative foliage colors (Cotinus coggygria 'Velvet Cloak', Juniperus chinensis 'Saybrook Gold', Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star', Prunus x cistena, Thuja occidentalis 'Rheingold', Weigela florida 'Java Red', Weigela florida 'Rubigold', etc.)

• Variants
  • Berberis thunbergii 'Bonanza Gold' - a new introduction with bright golden yellow foliage in full sun, not subject to leaf scorch (as is the standard golden cultivar 'Aurea'), maturing at 1.5' tall by 3' wide
  • Berberis thunbergii 'Kobold' - kelly green foliage in spring, maturing to dark green by late summer, maturing at 2' tall by 2' wide
  • Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea - Red Barberry - similar to the species form in growth habit (upright, then arching) and size (5' tall by 5' wide), but with red-purple to maroon Summer foliage color, and best placed in full sun
  • Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea 'Crimson Pygmy' (also known as 'Nana' or 'Atropurpurea Nana') - the most common Barberry, and one of the most common of all ornamental shrubs, very slowly maturing at 2' tall by 3' wide, with deep red-wine Spring and Summer foliage when properly placed in full sun, climaxing as an orangy-red fall color in good years; please note that, in partial sun to partial shade, the foliage color takes on a bronzy-green, rather than red-maroon color; in fact, to see firsthand the color transition, peek within the self-shaded portions of the shrub, or turn a leaf over and look at its pale-colored underside
  • Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea 'Rose Glow' - a variegated mixture of pink and maroon splotches, with new foliage much lighter in color than more seasoned foliage, with an upright then arching growth habit, maturing at 5' tall by 5' wide

• Translation
  • Berberis is the Arabic name for the Barberry fruit.
  • thunbergii is named for Carl Peter Thunberg, a Dutch botanist of the late 18th century who introduced many Japanese plants to the Western World.

• Purpose
  • Japanese Barberry cultivars are some of the most common small- to miniature-sized shrubs, noted for their foliage-color variety, especially the cultivars 'Crimson Pygmy' (crimson-purple) and 'Bonanza Gold' (golden-yellow).

• Summary
  • Berberis thunbergii is a popular but spiny small shrub, of very fine texture and very urban tolerant, with a wide selection of foliage color variants, often used as a single specimen, in group or mass plantings, or as a low thorny informal border.