We get acquainted with the photo and description of varieties of barberry of the Thunberg species
The Thunberg barberry, famous for its decorativeness, which naturally grows on the mountainous slopes of a number of Chinese provinces and in Japan, was noticed by gardeners in the second half of the century before last. And since 1864, when this species became widespread as an ornamental crop, breeders have created more than 50 different varieties of barberry.
Barberry of the Thunberg species, photos and descriptions of varieties of which are presented below, is an unpretentious plant that occupies a worthy place in hedges, in mixborders and group landings. They endure:
- lack of moisture and frost;
- attacks of pests and diseases;
- cultivation in urban conditions, in rocky areas and not very organic soils.
But they love the abundance of sunlight and light aerated soil. At the same time, the most beautiful deciduous shrubs with leaves of yellow, orange, purple and brown shades retain their decorative effect throughout the year.
Barberry Thunberg Erecta (Erecta)
This variety of barberry blooms annually, giving small delicate flowers of a yellow or reddish hue. And by autumn, bright red berries with a dense glossy peel ripen on the bushes of the Thunberg Elekt barberry, which maintain the attractive appearance of the plant until winter.
Barberry Thunberg Admiration
The bright, outwardly attractive Thunberg Admiration barberry is a miniature shrub no more than half a meter high with a rounded dense crown up to one meter in diameter. The shrub can grow in one place for up to 50 years, growing by only 5-7 cm annually.
You can distinguish this barberry variety from a number of equally beautiful related plants by its unusual foliage. Small oval leaves are painted in yellow and orange tones in summer, and become juicy, red in autumn. At the same time, a thin yellow edging is clearly visible along the edge of each sheet.
In May, brushes of yellow, about a centimeter in diameter, flowers appear on the bush, and in the fall the barberry of Thunberg Admiration is already decorated with fruits of a light red hue.
Barberry Thunberg Coronita (Coronita)
The height of the Thunberg barberry Koronita is characteristic of many varieties of this species. The crown of an adult bush has a height of about one and a half meters and a width of no more than a meter, which is due to the vertical arrangement of young shoots. The branches become more spreading with age.
The decoration of the plant is pointed lanceolate foliage, on young shoots it has a purple-red color with a green border, and on older branches with large pink spines, the leaves become dark, almost purple.
In the spring, graceful yellow flowers bloom on the Thunberg Koronita barberry, in place of which bright red glossy berries appear by October.
Barberry Thunberg Harlequin
The variegated, extremely decorative Thunberg Harlequin barberry has a height of about one and a half meters. The diameter of an adult bush is about 2 meters.Every year the plant grows up to 15 cm. Young shoots with yellowish or reddish bark cover small, not more than 3 cm in length, amazing motley pink-burgundy leaves.
Such amazing foliage, as in the photo of a barberry of this variety and species, is a rarity even for this decorative culture. And the yellow small flowers that appear in May and June have a mild aroma and are often collected in several pieces in the leaf axils. By the end of summer, the shoots are decorated with oblong glossy berries of a coral shade, berries that remain on the bushes even until spring.
An adult Thunberg barberry bush Harlequin tolerates winter well, and it is better to cover young seedlings so that frosts do not damage their decorative effect.
Barberry Thunberg Rose Glow (Rose Glow)
Distinguished by variegated leaves on young shoots, the Thunberg Rose Glow barberry is a medium-sized shrub, one and a half meters high. The nearly globular crown consists of prominent pink-red shoots of this year and darker purple-gray branches older than a year. The foliage of this variety and type of barberry, as in the photo, changes color to match the shoots. On growths, it is variegated, with white or pink spots on a purple background, and on old branches it becomes darker, the variegation disappears.
Flowers, carmine outside and yellow inside the corolla, appear in May. The fruits of the Thunberg barberry Rose Glow are bright, glossy saturated red. The berries ripen in September and decorate the shoots until winter, and sometimes become an original decoration of the site in the winter.
Barberry Thunberg Golden Rocket
This is a bright variety with a one and a half meter pyramidal crown and rich yellow-green foliage. The five-year-old bush of the Thunberg barberry Golden Rocket does not exceed 70 cm in height, the width of the compact crown is two times less. Small yellow flowers appear in early summer, and the few fruits in the middle lane take on a scarlet color in late summer or September.
In many regions of Russia, during frosts, one-year-old shoots of the Thunberg Golden Rocket barberry can suffer, which freeze without shelter to the level of snow cover. But even in such a situation, the decorativeness of the plant is soon restored. And so that during wintering it does not break the dense crown, it is better to tie it or strengthen it in the fall with a net.
Barberry Thunberg Orange Rocket (Orange Rocket)
Small and unpretentious shrubs of the Orange Rocket barberry are distinguished not only by the compact pyramidal shape of the crown, but also by the unusually bright orange foliage for the height of summer. This color of the leaves remains until the beginning of autumn, when the foliage acquires a pink-red blush.
An adult shrub in height does not exceed 1.2 meters with a width of this 40 cm. Barberry Thunberg Orange Rocket grows slowly, is not afraid of drying out the soil and cold weather, but when grown in the shade can lose most of its decorative effect.
Barberry Thunberg Dart's Red Lady (Dart's Red Lady)
The graceful plants of the luxurious Thunberg barberry Darts Red Lady with a beautiful rounded crown, about 70 cm in diameter, are covered with purple foliage, against which the yellow or reddish small flowers that appear in May look especially impressive.
Young shoots of this species and the variety of barberry, in the photo, are colored, like the leaves, in a juicy purple color, covered with thorns and are arranged vertically. In the second year, the color of the bark darkens, and the branches begin to deviate strongly. Dense leaves with a glossy surface turn orange by autumn, and scarlet berries are clearly visible against their background.
Barberry Thunberg Red Chief (Red Chief)
A tall, two-meter high barberry of the decorative Red Chief variety forms a wide spreading bush with dark red shoots and the same lanceolate foliage narrowed to the petiole. Flowering begins in the last days of May or June, when yellow flowers, collected in 3-7 pieces, open on the bushes.The oblong fruits of pink or red color ripen by September and remain on the branches even under snow.
With high decorativeness, the Thunberg Red Chief barberry in the middle lane can seriously freeze in winter, so it is better to cover young and weakened plants in autumn in the fall.