Wintergreen barberry

Wintergreen barberry: how do you recognise it?

Habit

A dense, upright shrub 2–2.5 m tall and wide; as a hedge, easily kept at 1–2 m.

Leaves

Narrowly oval, 5–10 cm, glossy dark green with spiny teeth; older leaves sometimes turn red in autumn before they fall.

Spines

Stout, three-pronged spines of about 3 cm, at the base of each small tuft of leaves.

Flowers

Clusters of small, yellow, rounded flowers in the leaf axils, in May–June.

Fruit

Oval, blue-black berries with a white bloom, ripe in autumn.

Wood

Under the bark the wood is a striking yellow.

Flowering: May–June · Plants: April–May and September–October · Pruning: June

Why grow it?

• Evergreen: a dense, dark green screen all year round.
• Very spiny: a natural barrier against unwanted visitors.
• Clusters of yellow flowers in May–June, a rich source of nectar and pollen for bees.
• Blue-black berries in autumn and a safe nesting place for birds among the spines.
• Grows in almost any soil, in sun or shade, and tolerates drought.
• Hardy and easy: one trim a year is enough.

Wintergreen barberry: where does it grow best?

• Sun, partial shade or even shade; in sun it flowers most and stays densest.
• Any garden soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky.
• Dry to normally moist; once established it copes well with drought, but not with waterlogging.
• As a hedge: 3 plants per metre. As a single shrub: allow 2–2.5 m of space.
• Do not plant it right beside a path, play area or bench, because of the spines.

Light

Sun, partial shade and shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

2.5 m tall, 2.5 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -23 °C)

Goes well with

• Holly: Also evergreen and prickly, with red berries in winter.
• Firethorn: Orange or red berries beside the blue-black ones, and spiny too.
• Hawthorn: A native, thorny partner for a mixed wildlife hedge.
• Privet: A fast hedging plant that helps to fill out a mixed hedge.
• Mahonia: Yellow flowers in winter and blue berries, from the same barberry family.

Wintergreen barberry: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May and September–October.

1. Plant in April–May or in September–October, when the soil is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
2. For a hedge, dig a trench about 40 cm wide and deep; for a single shrub, a hole twice as wide as the root ball.
3. Mix some compost into the excavated soil.
4. Set the plants at the same depth as they were in their pots, about 33 cm apart for a hedge (3 per metre).
5. Firm the soil and water generously; repeat in dry spells during the first year.
6. Mulch with wood chips or compost: this also suppresses weeds, which are hard to pull out between the spines.

Care

Watering

Water in dry spells in the first year; after that it is rarely needed.

Feeding

In March–April, a little compost or organic fertiliser; no more is needed.

Mulching

A layer of wood chips under the hedge saves a lot of weeding among the spines.

Protection

Always work in thick gloves and long sleeves, even when weeding under the shrub.

Checking

From May to August, look regularly for berberis sawfly larvae on the leaves.

Tip: Plant 3 per metre and prune after flowering in June: the hedge quickly becomes dense and impenetrable, with just one trim a year.

Wintergreen barberry: when to prune it?

Pruning months: June.

When: Prune after flowering, in June. If you want plenty of berries, prune lightly: they form on the branches that have flowered.

How:

• Trim a hedge into shape in June, a little narrower at the top than at the base, so that the bottom also gets light.
• On a single shrub, remove a few old branches at the base every few years.
• A neglected shrub can be cut back hard; it usually reshoots from old wood, though you lose a year of flowers.
• Clear up the prunings straight away: the spines stay sharp for a long time, even in the lawn.

Caution: Wear thick gloves and long sleeves: the spines are sharp and easily pierce thin fabric.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings

In August–September, take cuttings of 10–15 cm, remove the lower leaves and root them in a mix of cutting compost and sand in a cold frame. They root slowly.

Seed

Pick the berries in autumn, remove the flesh and sow the seeds in a pot left outside over winter; the cold helps germination.

Layering

In spring, peg a low branch down into the soil; after a year, sever it and transplant it.

Wintergreen barberry: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −23 °C.

• Hardy to about −23 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• In a harsh winter with a cold, dry east wind, some leaves may turn brown or drop; the shrub reshoots in spring.
• Give young plants a little water during dry, frost-free spells in winter: evergreens lose moisture in winter too.

Diseases and pests

• Berberis sawfly: Whitish-green larvae with black and yellow spots that strip the leaves in summer. Pick them off or cut out affected shoots; birds help too.
• Brown leaves after winter: Caused by hard frost or drying winds. Be patient: the shrub reshoots in spring; cut out dead twigs.
• Few berries: Caused by pruning too hard. Prune more lightly or spare some of the branches.
• Bare base: A hedge that is wider at the top than at the bottom goes bare at the base. Trim the sides at a slight slant, narrower towards the top.

Through the year

• March: Add compost or organic fertiliser.
• April: Plant. Mulch.
• May: In flower, busy with bees. Plant.
• June: Last flowers. Prune after flowering. Watch for sawfly larvae.
• July: Watch for sawfly larvae. Water young plants in dry spells.
• August: Take semi-ripe cuttings. Watch for sawfly larvae.
• September: Plant. The berries turn blue-black.
• October: Plant. Sow seed in a pot left outside.
• December: Rest. The berries and the dense bush are there for the birds.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The spines are modified leaves; the true leaves grow in small tufts in their axils.
• The wood and roots of barberries are bright yellow inside; they were once used to dye wool and leather yellow.
• The species name julianae honours the wife of the botanist Camillo Schneider, who described the plant.