If you want to have some unusual and bright plant on your personal plot, we recommend that you turn your attention to barberry. This unusually beautiful shrub, in addition to its spectacular appearance, is unpretentious, and a wide variety of varieties expands the possibilities of its use in landscape design almost to infinity. In this article we will talk about barberry Aurea. The variety was first described by the Swedish scientist K. Thunberg.
Barberry Aurea: Description
This is a dwarf shrub with a compact wide-round crown, long enough annual growths and leaves of a lemon yellow saturated color. The crown of an adult plant has a diameter of up to 1 m, a height of about 0.8 m. The bush grows quite slowly. The yellow-green young shoots have single spikes of the same color. The leaves are small, almost rounded or scapular, graceful. Their length is 1-3 cm. In autumn, on sunny areas they can acquire an orange-yellow tone. Towards the end of the summer they turn a little green, the autumn color is yellowish-orange.
Flowering and ripening
Barberry Aurea blooms in May with small, unobtrusive, whitish, delicate flowers, which are collected in bunches. At the end of September, numerous bright red brilliant fruits ripen that remain on the branches in winter.
Growing conditions
Barberry Aurea is a photophilous plant, but can tolerate partial shade. But the leaves then lose their bright color, begin to turn green and acquire a lemon yellow color. In the bright sun, barberry is also not worth planting, as the leaves are charred.
Despite the fact that it is a drought-resistant and heat-resistant plant, young bushes must be watered once a week.
Barberry Aurea is undemanding to soil fertility, but most prefers alkaline soil. The plant is able to tolerate urban conditions, is resistant to diseases and pests. Bushes are winter-hardy, but the tops of annual shoots often freeze. The first 2-3 years, barberry Aurea (photo of the plant is attached) must be covered with a spruce for the winter. Pruning of undeveloped shoots is required.
Reproduction and planting rules
Barberry Aurea propagated by cuttings, grafting, seeds, division of the bush and layering. The simplest methods: seed and cuttings. Seeds before sowing are stratified: they are poured into a bag and placed in moist sawdust or moss. So they are stored until April - May at a temperature of 3-5 ° C, then they are planted in the garden or in the greenhouse. Also, seeds can be sown in the fall. Seedlings are planted in early spring or autumn. In spring, old bushes need to be thinned out. When arranging green hedges, pruning is carried out the next year after planting. In the future, pruning is carried out twice a year: in early June and in the first ten days of August.
Landing is recommended in sunny places with drained soil. After landing, mulching is performed. Top dressing begins to be done one year after planting. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, then the bushes are fertilized once every three to four years.
Application
Barberry Aurea is an effective plant that can decorate a rocky garden. From the bush can make magnificent borders. Barberry Aurea looks great in flower beds. Especially beautiful is the combination of different varieties with yellow, green and purple color of the leaves.