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Common barberry is one of the shrubs of the Barberry family, which includes about 600 species. This southern plant has long been adapted to life in temperate regions, where it is cultivated as a source of medicinal berries, as well as an ornamental plant used in various types of landscape design.
Description of common barberry
The native land of the plant is Southwest Asia. At present, the natural range covers, in addition to the Arabian Peninsula, also Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Southeast Europe. The plant in the wild prefers forest edges, slopes and small lawns; in general, they are sheltered from the wind, but exposed to the sun.
The name of the common barberry in Latin is Berberis vulgaris. This is a rather tall plant (up to 250 cm), which is a shrub with very strong and lignified rhizomes. The outside of the plant is covered with light brown bark, the inside of which has a bright yellow color, unusual for a plant. The roots of the plant are creeping, consisting of several large rhizomes.
Shoots are erect, practically not inclined. Some shoots have a well-defined ribbing. The color of the shoots is yellowish or purple. Shoots have a kind of "specialization", depending on the length. Leaves are formed on shortened shoots. Spines form on elongated shoots instead of leaves.
The leaves of the plant are alternate, rather thin, predominantly elliptical in shape. Their length reaches 4 cm, and their width is about 2 times less. Closer to the base, the leaves taper in a wedge. The top of the leaf is predominantly rounded, in rare cases pointed. The spines have a complex shape - they are usually 3 or 5 separate. Their length reaches 2 cm.
The color of barberry leaves, even within the same species, can vary significantly - from bright green to various shades of yellow or red. Some subspecies can change their color during the season, which is used in landscape design.
A photo of common barberry is presented below:
How the common barberry blooms
The common barberry shrub blooms in late April or early May, depending on weather conditions: the warmer the weather, the earlier the flowering will begin. The flowering period lasts about a month. Pollination is carried out by insects. The plant belongs to monoecious, however, for a larger number of fruits, cross-pollination is recommended and the presence of at least 2-3 plants in the garden at a distance of no more than 30 m from each other.
The flowers of the plant are yellow, small in size (6-10 mm in diameter). Each flower has six sepals and petals. Flowers are collected in "brush" type inflorescences. Each brush contains from one and a half to three dozen flowers. The length of the inflorescence is about 60 mm.
The flowers are arranged as follows: at the base there is an orange nectary, a large pistil is surrounded by 6 stamens located on the side opposite to the petals.
The fruits of the plant ripen for a relatively long time - after setting, at least two months pass before ellipsoidal berries appear, which, within a month, change their color to bright red, in rare cases, purple.The seeds of the plant are short and flattened, up to 7 mm long.
Use in landscape design
Ornamental trees and shrubs of common barberry are widely used in landscape design. You can even say that this plant is used almost everywhere. It is included in the design of the following elements and groups:
- alpine slides or rockeries;
- as free-standing elements of the landscape;
- as a central element of group landing;
- for framing lawns or flower beds;
- for the formation of hedges;
- for decorating the perimeters of flower beds;
- to create high curbs, etc.
It is believed that the rock garden is the most optimal place for planting barberry. Moreover, both plants of medium height (up to 1.5-2 m) and dwarf varieties (no more than 0.5 m in height) are used. In one case, barberry is the pinnacle of the composition, and in the latter case it is used as a transitional element that softens too much difference in the growth of certain plants.
The use of barberry in rock garden is also due to its excellent combination with other plants, in particular, with conifers. In addition, a wide palette of leaves allows it to be perfectly combined with other representatives of the fauna. In autumn, most varieties of barberry change their color and can preserve leaves for a sufficiently long time, maintaining the overall decorative effect of the entire composition.
By using barberry as a curb or hedge, you can be guaranteed to protect your lawn or flower bed from unwanted guests. The dense thickets of this shrub create an almost insurmountable barrier for both bipedal and four-legged visitors to the garden.
A barberry hedge can be either natural or regularly trimmed. The plant perfectly tolerates pruning and can be used to make an obstacle of almost any shape. The use of such design elements can turn a garden or any corner of it into a secluded place hidden from prying eyes.
For small gardens, it will be very practical to use the barberry in the form of a single planting as a free-standing plant. Since the variety of forms of a plant bush or its color is very large, such a design will perfectly fit into any design.
A well-grown shrub will look very organic in almost any style of garden design. Small inflorescences, covering the shoots of the plant in large numbers, will not leave anyone indifferent. Despite the love of barberry for sunny areas, its single plantings can also be carried out in partial shade. Usually, in an open area, an ordinary purple barberry with variegated shades of leaves is planted; in the shade or partial shade, bushes with foliage of a green or dark green hue are mainly planted.
Barberry combines perfectly with various plants, which ensures its use in various flower beds or mixborders. And changing the color of the leaves depending on the season gives an even greater variety of decorative solutions.
So barberry is well adjacent to lilacs, jasmine or wisteria. From autumn flowers, it gets along well with asters, chrysanthemums or saintbirns. By combining various plants, taking into account their growth and other features, you can create very interesting compositions in which the accent at different times of the year will be riveted to different representatives of the flower bed population.
What is made from ordinary barberry
The berries of common barberry have a sweet taste with a barely noticeable sourness. Mostly various sweets are prepared from them:
- jam;
- jams;
- jelly;
- marmalade.
Also, various juices, syrups and nectars are obtained from barberry berries.
In addition, barberry is included in many recipes of traditional and classical medicine. For medicinal purposes, not only its berries are used, but also leaves, roots and bark.The main diseases in the treatment of which barberry products can be used:
- liver and kidney disease;
- gallbladder disease;
- various pathologies of the stomach and intestines;
- diseases of the oral cavity;
- eye diseases;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- diseases of the organs of vision;
- scurvy;
- tuberculosis.
In addition, barberry is used as a component for a wide range of homeopathic medicines.
Planting and caring for common barberry
Caring for common barberry is extremely simple and does not require serious skills from the gardener. The main thing is not to allow its excessive growth or thickening. The growth rate of barberry is moderate, so the crown will have to be formed almost every season.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
Growing barberry is best done in a sunny area, shade or partial shade is a compromise. Nevertheless, the plant will feel good there too, but its growth rate will be somewhat lower.
Barberry prefers light soils with a medium degree of moisture. However, it can be grown in any soil. It is advisable to use dry soils, since the plant tolerates drought better than waterlogging.
Landing rules
Planting is best done in early fall or late spring. Seedlings must contain at least 4 buds on each shoot. Planting is carried out in such a way that the distance between the bushes is from 50 cm to 1 m.
On poor soils, a complex fertilizer for ornamental garden plants is applied to the holes, containing all the necessary set of trace elements: nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.
Watering and feeding
Watering is carried out exclusively as the soil dries out. This usually happens once every 15-20 days.
The first feeding is done in the second year after planting. It consists of nitrogenous fertilizers (urea in a concentration of 0.2% in an amount of 10 liters per bush). In the same season, the bushes are mulched in late autumn with a layer of peat. In subsequent years, this procedure is repeated.
Pruning
Pruning consists of sanitary and shaping. Sanitation is carried out in early spring. Its technology is standard: dry, diseased and damaged branches are removed. Also, with her, shoots growing "inside" the bush are removed.
Formative pruning is carried out, depending on the chosen role of the plant in landscape design. It is done twice a season, usually in early summer and early fall. The "format" of pruning and its intensity depend on the chosen shape of the shrub and its place in the overall composition.
Preparing for winter
Common barberry is able to withstand frosts down to -45 ° C, so it does not need preparation for winter. Even young plants survive the harshest winters without additional shelter.
Reproduction
Barberries reproduce in standard ways:
- dividing the bush;
- using cuttings;
- layering;
- offspring;
- seeds.
There are no particular preferences, however, it is believed that it is preferable to propagate barberry by layering or cuttings.
Diseases and pests
Barberry is quite unpretentious and easily copes with diseases on its own. The only problem a gardener can face is powdery mildew. They fight it by repeatedly spraying the plant with a solution of colloidal sulfur until the symptoms disappear.
Of the pests, the barberry aphid should be noted, which, attacking the leaves of the plant, leads to its drying. This parasite is small and difficult to detect, so you should regularly inspect the underside of the leaves. It is recommended to use a soap solution at a concentration of 0.3% as a means of combating aphids.
Conclusion
Common barberry, due to its decorative properties, is widely used in the landscape design of gardens, summer cottages and household plots. This plant can be used in various combinations with others and tolerates cold climates perfectly.
