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Barberry Admiration is a variety of the Thunberg barberry species that can decorate any space. Translated from English, Admiration means admiration, delight. These are the emotions that the barberry variety with this name evokes. Despite the refined, aristocratic appearance, caring for the plant is quite simple. It is no less easy to propagate Admiration barberry yourself.
Description of Barberry Admiration
Barberry Thunberg Admiration is described as very beautiful and decorative. It is a low-growing shrub, not exceeding 60 cm in height and 1 m in diameter. At a young age, the barberry crown has a spherical shape; subsequently, the bush expands and resembles a round pillow in shape. The shoots of the variety are short, brown, with small needles.
The leaves are small, distinguished by an original shade - bright coral with a yellow border, from a distance they seem simply purple. The intensity of foliage color varies depending on the season and growing conditions. With the onset of autumn cold weather, the foliage acquires brighter colors. Admiration barberry begins to bloom in May.The entire bush is covered with small flowers of a soft pink hue, which are collected in inflorescences of 3-5 pieces. In autumn they are replaced by red berries that taste bitter. They are not unsuitable for food, but they give the bush a decorative appearance.
Barberry Admiration in landscape design
Thanks to its attractive appearance throughout the season, Thunberg Admiration barberry is universally used in landscape design. It is equally suitable for growing in small gardens and on city streets and parks.
Other qualities contribute to this:
- compact size, small height of Admiration barberry, suggesting placement in mixborders, rocky gardens, alpine slides;
- dense, almost impenetrable crown, allowing the organization of hedges and borders;
- the original coloring of the leaves of the Admiration barberry, which sets off monochromatic plantings and allows you to create monochrome flower beds.
Planting and caring for barberry Thunberg Admiration
You can plant a plant without thinking about its preferences for soil and location, and then wait a long time (and as a result not receive) the properties declared by the variety. Any gardener sooner or later comes to the understanding that for every plant, even the most unpretentious, it is important to meet the necessary set of growing conditions.
Barberry Thunberg Admiration will show all the beauty of its foliage if planted in a sunny area. Frost resistance allows the crop to be grown in the climatic conditions of the Central Russian region and some northern regions. The variety is undemanding when it comes to soil, but there are certain preferences.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
Seedlings of the Admiration variety with a closed root system are planted at any time, from spring to autumn.Plants grown in containers have healthy, well-developed root systems and therefore thrive better.
It is advisable to plant Admiration barberry seedlings with bare roots immediately after purchase. The purchase of such plants should occur before the sap flow begins (before buds open) or after it ends (after leaf fall).
Barberry Admiration prefers well-drained, light soils with neutral acidity. Tolerates some soil salinity. The Admiration variety develops better if the soil in which it is planted consists of sand, humus and turf in a 1:1:2 ratio.
In acidic soil it grows slowly and does not set fruit. Therefore, acidic soil must be prepared for planting seedlings by liming. This can be done using slaked lime at the rate of 350 g per plant or wood ash at 250 g per bush.
Rules for planting barberry Admiration
To grow a beautiful Thunberg Admiration barberry bush as in the photo, experienced gardeners have developed certain rules:
- Plant the crop in open sunny areas or partial shade. Due to lack of light, the leaves lose color, the shoots stretch unevenly, and their appearance loses their attractiveness.
- For single plantings, maintain a distance of 1.5-2 m between seedlings. Plant a free-growing green hedge at the rate of 2 seedlings per 1 m. When planting a dense single-row green hedge, place 4 bushes per 1 m, double-row – 5 bushes per 1 m.
- The size of the planting hole should exceed the size of the roots.It is more convenient to dig a trench for planting a hedge.
- For barberry seedlings of the Admiration variety with an open root system, straighten the roots before planting.
- To improve air access to the roots, fill the bottom of the hole with drainage (sand, expanded clay, broken brick).
- Place the plant in the hole and cover it with fertile soil. It is better to plant slightly deeper to encourage the formation of new roots and the emergence of new shoots.
- Water the Admiration barberry seedling and compact the soil around the plant. During the rooting period, the seedling is watered once every 10 days.
- To preserve moisture, the tree trunk circle is covered with mulch, which can be humus, leaves, compost or any organic matter.
- Shorten the shoots, leaving 3-5 buds to make it easier for the plant to take root.
Watering and fertilizing
It is necessary to water the Admiration barberry in the first years of its life as the top layer of soil dries out. Subsequently, the shrub needs moderate watering, which is done at the root with warm water.
Water in 2-3 doses, soaking the soil deeply enough. This southern heat-loving plant cannot tolerate excess moisture even in extreme heat. Admiration barberry is more likely to survive in dry conditions than in soil with stagnant water.
In the first year of cultivation, there is no need to fertilize barberry; the soil is sufficiently fertilized before planting. Next spring, it is important to feed the Admiration shrub with nitrogen fertilizers, for example, urea (20-30 g per 10 liters of water). Then fertilizers are applied once every 4 years:
- in spring - nitrogen;
- in autumn - phosphorus and potassium.
Loosening and mulching
The Admiration barberry bush will develop well if the soil around the bush is regularly loosened, combined with weeding.Mulching will help reduce the amount of loosening. Vegetable mulch serves as an additional organic fertilizer for the plant.
Trimming
Barberry Admiration is a slow-growing plant, adding 10-20 cm per season. However, pruning the bushes is a mandatory care technique. It improves the appearance of plants and helps prevent diseases. The need for pruning occurs at least 2 times a year:
- in the spring – sanitary, when frozen, broken, thickening shoots, as well as branches located close to the soil surface are removed;
- in summer – shaping, giving the bush certain shapes.
Pruning of barberry in a green hedge should be done in the 2nd year of growth, cutting off half of the green mass. In subsequent years, pruning is carried out 2 times a year, in early June and August.
Preparing for winter
Barberry Admiration is a frost-resistant crop and can survive frost down to -35 °C, but it is better to cover young plantings with coniferous branches or leaf litter for the winter.
Reproduction of barberry Admiration
Barberry Thunberg Admiration can be propagated in several ways:
- sowing seeds,
- cuttings
- layering,
- dividing the bush.
Each method has its own advantages. More often, gardeners use the method of sowing seeds and cuttings.
To propagate by seeds, you should adhere to the following algorithm:
- In the fall, you need to collect ripe Admiration barberries, separate the grains from the pulp, process them in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and dry them.
- Sow seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm, in a specially prepared bed with loose, fertile soil. This must be done 2 weeks before the first frost.
- In spring, thin out the seedlings, giving preference to stronger specimens.
- Young plants can be transferred to the chosen location in the second year after sowing.
- Sowing can be done in spring, but the seeds should be stratified for 3 months (kept in damp sand at a temperature of 0-4 ° C).
In the 2-3rd year of growth, the young bushes will produce the first berries.
It is also not difficult to propagate Admiration barberry from cuttings; for this you will need a greenhouse or a greenhouse.
- Cuttings suitable for propagation are harvested in June. The favorable time for harvesting is the morning before the heat sets in.
- Leaves from the cuttings should be removed all except those at the top, shortening them by half.
- The cuttings are soaked in a root former solution.
- Plant the cuttings in a greenhouse, in moist soil. For the first 14 days, it is necessary to maintain soil moisture and ventilate the greenhouse.
- As soon as new young leaves appear, the seedlings gradually begin to harden. The soil is kept loose.
- Grown plants are planted in a permanent place after 2 years.
An effective way to propagate barberry is by layering.
- Select annual young shoots.
- Under the selected layer, make a recess 10-15 cm deep, into which place the shoot and secure it with a hairpin.
- Cover the hole with soil and moisten it. The end of the shoot should look above the ground.
By the end of the season, a seedling with a ready-made root system is obtained in this way. The good thing about this method is that you can get many cuttings from one bush over the summer.
Admiration barberry bushes at the age of 3-5 years can be propagated by division.
- The bush must be dug out completely.This should be done in early spring, as soon as the ground can be dug.
- Mark the places where the bush will be divided, hoping that each part will receive a sufficient number of large roots. If it is impossible to divide the bush manually, then use a saw.
- The sections should be treated with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or sprinkled with charcoal.
- Plant parts of the bush immediately in permanent places.
Diseases and pests
Colonies of barberry aphids can destroy the plant completely. The leaves become deformed due to the activity of aphids, dry out and fall off. Flower buds, responsible for next year's harvest, are not laid, and the shoots are bent.
Control methods are spraying barberry with a soap solution (250 g of green soap per 10 liters of water) or an infusion of tobacco dust (0.5 kg of product per 10 liters of water with the addition of green soap).
The flower moth poses a threat to barberry fruits. Methods to combat it are treatment with chlorophos, fufanon or decis according to the instructions.
In addition to insect pests, fungal diseases pose a danger to the health of barberry.
Powdery mildew is accompanied by a white coating on all above-ground parts of plants. Leaves and young shoots gradually dry out.
Control methods: spraying with sulfur-containing preparations, the first time before the buds swell, then every 2-3 weeks. Diseased shoots and leaves should be cut off and burned.
Leaf spotting appears on the leaves as spots of varying sizes and colors. The leaves suddenly dry out and fall off. Infected shoots do not survive winter well. The bushes are losing their decorative properties.
Control methods include treating plants twice with copper-containing preparations, before and after flowering.
The wilting of barberry is manifested by the drying out of part of the branches of the bush, and the entire bush gradually dries out. Darkened vessels are visible on the cut of the shoots. To avoid further infection, affected branches should be pruned and burned.
Conclusion
Barberry Admiration was developed only 50 years ago, but quickly gained popularity. It attracts gardeners with the beauty of the shrub throughout the season, ease of propagation and cultivation under simple conditions.
