Bayberries
The bayberries arethorny shrubs, with alternate leaves, brightyellow flowers and red, yellow, blue or blackfruits. Many have been grown in America but the U.S. Department of Agriculture has greatly – restricted the number of kinds that can begrown because many act as alternate hosts forthe very destructive black stem rust of wheat.Approximately too different species, forms andhybrids of barberry have been found to act ashosts for this disease and so they are prohibitedfrom being grown and sold in wheat-growingareas, 0. thunbergii being restricted in Canada.Some species and varieties are immune orresistant to this disease, and it is possible togrow them. Fortunately, these are some of thebest ornamental species in the entire group.Because of the restrictions placed on growingthese plants, it is the following which might be grown. These include many native Asiaticbarberries and some of the very best of theevergreen species.
The deciduous bayberries usually havebrilliant red autumn color. They are ruggedplants, being able to grow in poor soils undertrying conditions. As ornamentals they areprominent in flower, in fruit and in autumncolor, and some, like the Japanese Barberry(B. thunbergii), retain their fruits all winter longand well into the spring so that they have interestevery season of the year. They make goodspecimens as well as excellent hedges andbarrier plants. The barberries immune orresistant to the black stem rust disease havefew other insect or disease pests and so makegood additions to any garden where low main-tenance is important.
PropagationSeeds may be sown or stratified as soon asripe or stored dry in airtight containers in a coolplace for a year and then sown. Best to stratifyat 40′ F. for 2 months. Many plants can bedivided with a sharp spade. Softwood or hard-wood cuttings of most kinds can be rooted.
beanIana 8′ Zone 6 Bean’s Barberry
With small yellow flowers in mid-June pro-duced in racemes; purple berries in the fall;red autumn foliage color. Native to China.
buxifolia nano er Zone 5 Dwarf Magellan Barberry
One of the hardiest evergreen bayberries,excellent for very low hedges. It is native to theStraits of Magellan in South America andrarely produces flowers and fruits in this country.Leaves up to an inch long and spiny.
canadeasis 6′ Zone 5 Canada Barberry
This is not immune to the black stem rustdisease but is mentioned here merely because itis native from Va. to Ga. Deciduous, with yellowflowers, red fruits and scarlet autumn color, itis often confused with B. vulgaris. Neither ofthese species should be grown.
candidula 2′ Zone 5 Paleleaf Barberry
Dwarf, dense in habit, making a good rock-garden plant, this has solitary yellow flowers inMay and purplish fruits later. The evergreenleaves are if in. long and the plant is native toChina.
x chenaultii Zees 5 Chenault Barberry
(B. verruculosa x gagnepainii) A hybrid originat-ing in 1928, this evergreen barberry is mostpromising and may turn out to be one of thebest evergreen bayberries for the northern U.S.because of its vigor, its good growth and splen-did appearance all winter. Leaves about t in.long, narrow and spiny.
circumserrata 6′ Zone 5 Cutleaf Barberry
Hardy, deciduous and handsome, this isespecially valued for its fiery-red autumn colorand yellowish-red berries in the fall. The flowersare yellow, small and produced 2-3 in a clusterin late May, each flower being about .} in. india. These do make as big a display as thoseborne in large clusters. Native to China.concinna 3′ Zone 6 Dainty BarberryA low barberry from the Himalayas, half ever-green in some areas, compact in growth, withbright yellow, solitary flowers about -I in. dia.,and red fruits in the fall. The leaves are aboutti in. long and slightly spiny.
darwinii to’ Zone 7 Darwin Barberry
Widely used in England, this evergreen hasslightly spiny leaves s in. long, yellow to reddishflowers in pendant racemes that are strikinglybeautiful, dark purplish fruits and purplishautumn color. The small, hollylike leaves aredistinctive at all seasons. Charles Darwinbrought this from Chile in the famous ship”Beagle” about 1835.
gagnepainii 6′ Zone 5 Black Barberry
An evergreen from China with prickly leaves upto 4 in. long, bluish-black fruits and abundantyellow flowers in clusters in May. This finebarberry grows equally well in Mass. or Calif.gilgiana 6′ Zone 5 Wildfire BarberryA deciduous barberry from China, notedespecially for its profuse pendant flower clusterswith individual flowers about in. and itsclusters of blood-red berries in the fall. Thefoliage turns a vivid scarlet in the fall. It is asuperb sight in fruit, a worthy substitute for theEuropean Barberry, B. vulgaris, which is suscep-tible to the wheat-rust disease. The plant ismore dense than B. koreana.
julianae 6′ Zone 5 Wintergreen Barberry
A popular Chinese evergreen with spiny leavesup to 3 in. long, clusters of yellow flowers in.wide, bluish-black berries and a dense habit ofgrowth. It is a vigorous and usually dependablegrower.
koreana 6′ Zone 5 Korean Barberry
This is another good deciduous substitute forB. vulgaris. The small yellow flowers, each in.in dia., are borne in pendant clusters. The fruitsare a brilliant red, and the autumn color is alsored. Its dense growth makes it an excellentbarrier plant as well as an interesting specimen.x mentorensis 7′ Zone 5 Mentor BarberryIntroduced about 1924, this is a hybrid of B.julianae x B. thunbergii and is recommended forwithstanding the dry summers of the Midwestwhere it does better than any other barberry.The spiny margined leaves are semi-evergreenabout I in. long and the fruits are an uninterest-ing, dull, dark red.
sargentiana 6′ Zone 6 Sargent Barberry
An evergreen shrub from China with spiny leaves 11-4 in. long and simple or 3-partedthorns on the stems as much m an inch long. Theclusters of small yellow flowers appear in thespring followed by bluish-black berries about 1in. across that are not very conspicuous. It issimilar in many ways to B. jullanae but not quiteas good an ornamental.
x stenophylla 9′ Zone 5 Rosemary Barberry
A hybrid (B. darwinii x B. empetrifolia), thisdevelops into a beautifully graceful evergreenspecimen with leaves up to I in. long. The fruitsare black berries, but it makes a splendidlyuniform clipped hedge, or it can be used asa graceful specimen of interest for its habitalone.
thunbergii 7′ Zone 4 Japanese Barberry
The Japanese Barberry is one of the best de-ciduous hedge plants there is. Thorny, vigorousin growth with profuse flowers and bright redfruits, which frequently remain on the plant allwinter long, this plant is one of the best forgrowing in poor dry soils, or in shaded situa-tions. In fact, the statement is often made that ifthe Japanese Barberry will not grow in a tryingspot, practically no other woody shrub will.Even though it is one of the most commonplants grown in America today, it is still worthyof major consideration for planting as a clippedor unclipped barrier hedge (it is very thorny)or as a specimen or as a “filler” in poor soil orshaded spot where other plants do not grow well.There are many truly excellent varieties, cashone of which has special merit all its own. Amongthe best are: atropurpurea‚Äîwith reddish leavesthroughout the entire growing season; atro-ptcpurea `Red Bird’‚Äîsupposedly with leavesmore red and more compact in growth than thevar. atropurpurea, `Crimson Pygmy’‚Äîoftencalled ‘Little Gem’, ‘Little Pygmy’ or var..Atropurpurea nano’; this is a dwarf, red-leaved variety of special merit. Plants 8 years oldare only z ft. high, so it makes an excellent lowand colorful hedge which does not requireclipping. It is definitely mounded in habit ;`Erects’‚Äîpatented ( # t t o) and sometimes calledthe Truehedge Columnberry this grows erect andis very compact. As a hedge it only needs trim-ming at the top every other year or so; `Globe’,Patented (# .86), this has green leaves and aglobe shape; `Minor’‚Äîsmaller in habit, foliageand fruit than the species, an excellent denselycompact variety that dcserves far more use;`Thornless’‚Äîwithout thorns; `Variegate’‚Äîwithleaves variegated with spots of white, light grayand yellow, this has also been patented (# 867).triacanthophora 4′ Zone 5 Threespine
BarberryThis is another Chinese evergreen barberry withnarrow spiny leaves up to z in. long, blue-blackfruits and many long, slender thorns.
verruculosa 4′ Zone 5 Warty Barber,
The leathery evergreen leaves of this Chinesebarberry are lustrous green above but pure whitebeneath, spiny on the margins and about t in.long. The violet-black berries are covered with agrayish bloom. The autumn color of the foliageis bronze. In many ways this could be con-sidered one of the best of the evergreen bar-berries for ornamental use.
vulgaris 7′ Zone 3 European Barberry
The European Barberry was undoubtedlybrought over to America by the earliest colonialsettlers and since those times has becomenaturalized. It is one of the plants commonlyseen in New England but it does carry the wheatrust. The gardeners of colonial times madejellies and jams, pies and drinks from the ediblefruits. It should not be planted and the U.S.Department of Agriculture has placed manyrestrictions on its continued growth. It is up-right in habit, with arching branches, pendulousclusters of small yellow flowers and bright redfruits and it does have scarlet autumn color.However, both B. gilgiana and B. koreanaare very similar in habit and have just asornamental flowers, fruits and autumn color.Either one of these should be grown instead, sincebotharer.istant to the black stem rust of wheat.
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