BERBERIS. Barberry. Widespread, especially in Asia. Someday soon we will have to yield to the latest botanical pronouncements and include the plants fondly known as mahonias under this heading. For now, however, let us continue the traditional division of the groups. The following are spiny shrubs, both evergreen and deciduous. All have beautiful foliage, small, waxy flowers and interesting, sometimes colorful and tasty berries. They are useful as specimen shrubs, foundation plants, hedges and barriers (some are wickedly spiny). They thrive in full sun or light shade and most soils, with moderate to occasional watering when established. Their hardiness varies.
darwinii. Chile. An evergreen, thicket-forming shrub, growing 6-10' tall. It has arching stems, covered with toothed, shiny, deep green leaves. Yellow-orange flowers nestle among the foliage in summer, giving way to showy purplish blue berries. A magnificent shrub for screens and hedges. Hardy to 10oF or less.
x stenophylla ‘Irwinii’ (B. irwinii). A hybrid of B. darwinii, above, and B. empetrifolia. It grows much more slowly than B. darwinii, eventually to a height of 4-5', and the branches are more nearly horizontal. The younger stems are slender and lined with narrow, deep green leaves. Flowers and berries are much like those of B. darwinii. Hardy to 0-10oF.
thunbergii. Japanese barberry. There are many cultivated forms of the common Japanese barberry, used as hedges and foundation plants. All are deciduous and have needle-sharp spines and attractive oval leaves, ½-1" long, often coloring beautifully in fall. Clusters of small yellow flowers dot the plants in summer, followed by red berries. ‘Crimson Pygmy’ is a popular dwarf, seldom over 2' tall with broader spread. It has deep purplish red leaves. ‘Aurea’ is about the same size or a little larger, with bright yellow new growth, changing on the older leaves to lime-green. ‘Gold Ring’ is one of the larger selections. It should reach 6' or more, with arching, intricately branched trunks. The leaves are nearly round, up to 3/4” long, painted deep purple with a narrow yellow rim. ‘Rose Glow’ is smaller, with purplish red and light pink intermingled in each leaf. Hardy to below 0oF.
vulgaris ‘Purple Cloak’. Common barberry. Asia, Europe, North America. A stout shrub, rather similar in appearance to B. thunbergii, above, but with conspicuously furrowed stems, becoming greyish with age. The leaves are broadly oval, dark green in the typical form, and winter-deciduous. Yellow flowers are borne in hanging clusters, giving way to blood red berries. In the selection ‘Purple Cloak’, the leaves are deep reddish purple in hue, much like those of the best B. thunbergii selections. Hardy to below 0oF.
wilsoniae. This is my new favorite of the lot, recently received from the good folks at Forestfarm. It is an erect, fountain-shaped shrub, growing a little over 3' high and about twice that in breadth. The stems are studded with ferocious-looking 3/4" spines, which change in color from tan to grey; yet the plant is considerably less painful to handle than B. thunbergii. The narrow, grey-green leaves are just over 1" long. Decorating the plant in late spring and early summer are pendant clusters of pale yellow blossoms, soon giving way to beautiful coral berries. These persist well into fall. 0oF or less.