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The unusual coloring combined with contrasting clusters of flowers makes Ottawa barberry one of modern designers’ favorite elements for landscape design. The shrub, unpretentious to the conditions of reproduction and existence, can be grown by every amateur gardener who wishes to have it on his site.
Description of Ottawa barberry
The purple-red crown of the Ottawa barberry bush stands out against the background of any other vegetation. The culture is a hybrid obtained from 2 barberries: Thunberg and ordinary. The external shape is more reminiscent of the Thunberg variety, and the color of the leaves is inherited from the common barberry. Therefore, in the description and photo of Ottawa barberry there are signs of both parents:
- height from 2 m to 3 m, crown diameter – up to 2.5 m;
- the crown is formed by spreading arched branches;
- the main stems grow vertically, the lateral stems hang down in an arc;
- spines sparse, up to 1.5 cm in length;
- leaves are purple-red, alternately arranged, elongated, up to 4-5 cm, lighten in autumn, acquiring orange shades;
- the flowers are small, yellow with a red spot, collected in clusters of several pieces, bloom in May, have a strong, pleasant aroma;
- the berries are large, numerous, bright red, hang on the branches until December;
- the root system is branched, superficial, tolerates replanting well;
- the growth is 30-35 cm per year.
The unusual purple-red color of the leaves is not affected by the location of the bush (sunny side or shady side). However, it is better to plant Ottawa barberry where there is a lot of sun. Bright yellow flowers against a background of red-violet leaves with a bluish bloom are an unusually beautiful decoration for any garden and personal plot.
Ottawa barberry is an excellent honey plant. Bees actively collect nectar from it. There is barberry honey. In addition, edible berries have found their use in cooking for making jelly, preserves, compotes, and seasonings. The healing properties of Ottawa barberry are present in all its parts and are used not only in folk medicine, in the form of decoctions and lotions, but also in traditional medicine in the treatment of the kidneys, liver, and gastrointestinal tract.
Ottawa barberry in landscape design
The culture adapts well to urban environments.The wide spreading crown and its rare coloration with bright contrasting colors are the qualities of Ottawa barberry that designers widely use when designing landscapes. The bush creates a color accent, attracting attention to itself. It stands out in single plantings for decorating lawns, garden plots, in tree and shrub compositions, as well as in dense, living and free-growing hedges.
A hedge of the desired shape and constant size can be obtained only 6-8 years after planting the bushes for permanent residence.
Varieties of Ottawa barberry
Different varieties of Ottawa barberry have a variety of colors. The most popular varieties are Superba, Auricoma and Silver Miles.
Barberry Ottawa Superba
The height of an adult Ottawa barberry Superba can reach 3 m. The crown size is 2.5-3 m in diameter. The leaves are purplish-red in color with a bluish tint, becoming lighter in color in autumn, including shades of orange. This does not happen with all leaves of the bush.
The fruits are elongated, ripen in October and hang beautifully from gracefully curved branches. Edible berries have a sour taste.
For decorative purposes, Superba barberry can be planted singly or as part of a tree and shrub arrangement.
Barberry Ottawa Auricoma
The height of the Ottawa barberry bush Auricoma reaches 2-2.5 m. The leaves are round, up to 4-5 cm long, and have a purple-red color all summer, which does not change depending on the time of year. The shiny, rich red fruits ripen at the end of the 3rd trimester, edible, with a sour taste.
As an ornamental plant, Ottawa barberry Auricoma is widely used in the design of private areas, parks, borders, and hedges.
All parts of the bush are used in medicine: leaves, fruits, bark, roots. Auricoma barberry is known for its choleretic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and hemostatic effects. A decoction of the root is made for gargling and lotions.
Barberry Ottawa Silver Miles
An adult plant of Ottawa barberry Silver Miles reaches a height of up to 2 m in 8-10 years. This species is distinguished by the color of its leaves. From a distance they look dark purple, but upon closer inspection you can see pink-gray spots and stripes of varying sizes on them. It blooms with yellow-red flowers in May, giving a spectacular appearance to the entire bush.
It is possible to form both a dense fence and a free-growing hedge from Silver Miles barberry bushes.
Planting and caring for Ottawa barberry
When choosing a place to plant Ottawa barberry, preference should be given to the sunny side, although the shrub will also grow in partial shade. The more sun, the more magnificent the crown. This culture is not afraid of drafts and wind. However, if the area is exposed to strong winds, it is better to choose a place sheltered from the wind.
The Ottawa barberry shrub does not require much care. After planting, you need to water it on time, loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle, apply the necessary fertilizers and carry out preventive spraying against diseases.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
The soil for planting Ottawa barberry can be of any acidity level (optimal is pH 6.0-7.5), but the plant grows better in neutral soil.If the acidity is high, then you need to add lime (300 g per bucket of water) or wood ash to the soil, after digging up the area where the shrubs will grow.
The site should be drained, without close proximity to groundwater, since the Ottawa barberry shrub does not tolerate waterlogging.
If the seedlings were purchased in a container, then before planting they need to be taken out along with the soil and watered. After this, you can plant it in the prepared hole.
Landing rules
When creating a dense hedge of Ottawa thunberg barberry, it is recommended to plant 4-5 bushes per 1 m. For a free-growing fence, the bushes should be at a distance of 0.4-0.5 m from each other; when planting individually, it is better to maintain a distance between plantings of 1.5 -2 m.
The planting rules are simple and contain the same sequence of actions as when planting many shrubs:
- Dig a hole measuring 50x50x50 cm for a single bush. If you are creating a hedge, it is better to immediately make a trench for all the seedlings.
- Place whatever drainage is at hand at the bottom - broken brick, coarse sand, crushed stone, small pebbles. The height of the drainage depends on the location of the groundwater - the deeper it is, the thinner the drainage (10-20 cm).
- Pour the prepared fertile mixture into the hole - turf soil, sand, humus in equal proportions. More land can be added. Add water.
- Place the prepared seedling vertically in the center of the hole, add soil mixture to the ground level in the area, compact it, and water it.
Some time after planting Ottawa barberry bushes, the ground may sag.It will be necessary to add enough soil so that the root collar is just below the surface of the earth and mulch the root circle with sawdust, tree bark, dry grass, and decorative small stones.
Watering and fertilizing
Barberry is a drought-resistant plant, but can die from drying out soil. You need to water the bushes once a week, a bucket of water per bush. During drought - more often, as the earth dries out.
Since fertilizers are applied when planting a bush, they begin to feed Ottawa barberry with complex fertilizers from the age of 2, before flowering begins. And then they apply fertilizers once every 3-4 years.
Trimming
Spring sanitary pruning will not interfere with Ottawa barberry bushes. After the last snow has melted, you need to cut off all frozen, dried and diseased branches. Free-growing bushes do not require pruning. But when forming a dense hedge, you need to start pruning the branches in the 2nd year and do this 2 times annually: in early June and in August.
Preparing for winter
The Barberry family belongs to winter-hardy plants, but in severe frosts annual shoots may freeze. They do not require special shelter and tolerate the winters of central Russia well.
However, experienced gardeners recommend covering young plants with spruce branches or fallen leaves for the winter during the first 2-3 years. You can put burlap on top and tie it with a rope so that the bush does not open with the wind.
Reproduction
To propagate Ottawa barberry, all vegetative methods, as well as seeds, are used. Propagation by cuttings and layering is most often used.
In the Northern regions of Russia, sowing seeds is best done in the spring. In warmer areas, you can sow seeds in the ground in spring and autumn. To do this proceed as follows:
- In autumn, ripe fruits are collected.
- Squeeze, wash and dry.
- Plant in prepared soil, deepening it 1/3 of a finger.
- Cover with film until it snows.
For spring sowing, preliminary stratification is carried out for 3 months at a temperature of about +50WITH.
Propagation by green cuttings is carried out in the summer. For this purpose, young branches of the current year are used in plants 3-5 years old.
Diseases and pests
Ottawa barberry attracts gardeners with its resistance to fungal diseases and various insect pests. The most common diseases among this variety of barberries are:
- powdery mildew;
- rust;
- withering;
- infectious drying out.
These diseases are easier to prevent than to treat. If the disease starts, it will be difficult to fight it; the plant will have to be dug up and burned. Therefore, in the spring, before flowering begins, the bushes are sprayed with appropriate fungicides for preventive purposes. Then repeat this several times throughout the growing season.
Pests such as moths, barberry aphids and sawflies need to be dealt with immediately after they are detected. Currently, there is a whole range of chemicals to kill such insects.
Conclusion
Ottawa barberry not only attracts attention with its appearance, but also makes the area more saturated and lively. It is not difficult to grow. Its unpretentiousness and resistance to living conditions make it possible to make it part of the garden in almost any Russian region. You don’t need any special knowledge for this either.This culture can give not only aesthetic pleasure, but also be beneficial for health.
