Content
Barberry is a beautiful shrub that is used not only for decorative purposes, but also for preparing medicinal drinks according to traditional medicine recipes. Breeders have developed several dozen varieties of this shrub, each of which has its own advantages and nuances of cultivation. Barberry Bagatelle is one of the most popular varieties, which is well known to many gardeners and landscape design professionals.
Description of Barberry Bagatelle
In appearance, this variety is one of the most compact. The width and height of the bush are 40 cm each. With proper trimming, you can give it a ball shape that best suits the given shrub. Young shoots have a red-brown color, but by autumn it changes to pure brown.
The leaves of the shrub have a bright purple color when exposed to sunlight. The leaves are about 1 cm wide. The shape is ovoid. If the plant is in the shade, the shade changes to green-red. In autumn, the color of the leaves changes again to bright red. The leaves fall off in winter.
Over the course of a year, the shoots grow by about 2 cm. Barberry Bagatelle blooms with small yellow flowers, which are collected in inflorescences. Flowering period: May–June.When planting, it prefers a lighted place or light partial shade.
The berries ripen in the second half of September. The fruits of barberry Bagatelle are oblong, shiny, and edible. The shrub is able to tolerate heat and drought. It also tolerates frosty winters easily if there is sufficient snow cover.
Barberry Thunberg Bagatelle in landscape design
This variety of shrub is used very widely in landscape design. First of all, these are trimmed hedges and various fences.
Group compositions that combine a variety of barberry varieties also look beautiful.
The compact plant also looks beautiful in single plantings, especially in sunny areas.
Various rock gardens and group plantings with barberries look especially luxurious.
If used correctly, the site can be turned into a real greenhouse.
You can also arrange a monochromatic landscape using only Bagatelle barberry, as in the photo.
Even a non-professional can cope with arranging a site using barberry. It is important to choose the right planting site, as well as regularly carry out formative pruning.
Planting and caring for Barberry Thurnberg Bagatelle
To create a luxurious appearance for a shrub, it is necessary not only to prune it correctly, but also to grow it in accordance with all agricultural technology conditions. Barberry of this variety can be called an unpretentious plant, but there are some nuances in care.
The shrub requires watering and fertilizing, mandatory pruning twice a year, as well as protection from certain diseases and pests that can damage the appearance of the shrub and slow down its growth rate. The very first question that a gardener faces is where and how to plant barberry Bagatelle.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
First of all, you need to decide on a place. Barberry Bagatelle loves the sun, only in open sunny areas will the rich purple color of the leaves appear. It is worth paying attention to the location of groundwater. Barberry does not like soils that are too swampy, and increased humidity causes diseases of the root system.
Bagatelle is unpretentious to soil acidity, although neutral acidity parameters are better suited than all others. The plant will successfully survive a dry summer, will not grow worse in strong winds, and will survive frost. In principle, you can choose any convenient place for planting, and if the soil is very moist, simply make drainage.
For seedlings, it is advisable to prepare a hole in advance, a couple of weeks before the intended planting. It is recommended to maintain a distance, depending on the garden composition:
- single plantings - 1.5-2 m between bushes;
- for a dense hedge – 4 bushes per linear meter;
- for a free hedge - 2 plants per linear meter.
A layer of coarse sand should be poured into the bottom of the hole. If the soil is too wet and groundwater is close, then it is recommended to lay pebble drainage under the sand. The width of the seat should be greater than the root system of the seedling.
If the soil is acidic, it will need liming. For each bush, it is enough to add 300 g of slaked lime to make the soil neutral.
Planting Barberry Bagatelle
A nutrient mixture is used for planting. It is made from humus, sand and garden soil. All components must be taken in equal quantities. Landing is carried out as follows:
- On top of the drainage you need to pour a small amount of the nutrient mixture, which is described above, in a slide.
- Place the seedling, carefully straighten the horses.
- Cover everything with the remaining nutrient mixture so that the root collar is at ground level.
- Compact the earth.
- Water the bush.
- Mulch the seedling with peat.
The part of the seedling that is located above the ground is cut off, but be sure to leave an area with several healthy buds.
Watering and fertilizing
Barberry Thurnberg Bagatelle, according to the descriptions of experts, categorically does not like excess moisture. It is optimal to organize drip irrigation for it. Or make sure that the root system does not get wet. If the summer is rainy, then there is no need to water the bush at all. Natural moisture will be enough for him.
As for feeding, it is not needed in the first two years of life. Then the plant will need nitrogen fertilizers. Dissolve 30 g of urea in 10 liters of water. This is enough until the plant is 6 years old.
Granular fertilizers, which are applied immediately before flowering, also do not hurt. In the second year of life, it will not hurt to add potassium fertilizers in the fall.
As necessary, be sure to weed the bush and also loosen the soil near it. Before applying fertilizer, loosening is a mandatory procedure. If you don't get rid of weed, then the bush may develop diseases or pests that will significantly spoil the appearance of Bagateli.
Trimming
Barberry Bagatelle, like any ornamental shrub, tolerates pruning easily. If it is not produced, the appearance deteriorates, growth is inhibited, and the yield of barberry is reduced. There are two types of pruning: sanitary and formative.
Sanitary pruning of Bagatelle barberry is carried out in the spring, when it is necessary to remove frozen and diseased shoots.In addition, dried branches must be removed throughout the season. A large number of dry shoots negatively affects the health of the entire bush.
To arrange hedges, formative pruning is carried out in the second year after planting, and then twice annually - in early June and in August. Both times cut from 1/3 of the length to 2/3.
The Bagatelle shrub is so compact that in some hedges it does not even need pruning. When planted individually, Bagatelle barberry can be easily given any shape, but preferably spherical.
For proper pruning, you need good quality and sharp tools: a hacksaw, pruning shears, hedge trimmers.
Preparing for winter
If there is no guarantee that the winter will be snowy, then the bush will have to be prepared. Barberry Bagatelle can tolerate frost, but preferably under a layer of snow. In the first two years, it is recommended to cover the seedling. For this, spruce branches, peat or straw are successfully used. At an older age, only the root zone can be covered. During very harsh winters, some gardeners bend the side branches to the soil and also insulate them with spruce branches.
Reproduction
Reproduction of Barberry Bagatelle occurs in different ways. Each gardener chooses the most convenient method for himself. Bagatelle reproduces:
- Layerings and root shoots - the method is used infrequently, since the shoots do not always retain all the characteristics of the mother plant. They can also go wild.
- Seeds. A troublesome method, especially since the seeds have only 40% germination rate. A seedling is obtained only two years after planting. The process is labor-intensive and therefore takes a lot of time.
- Cuttings - the most popular and easiest way to propagate the Bagatelle shrub. For cuttings, cuttings obtained in summer or autumn are used.But summer pruning is considered a better option.
- Dividing the bush - when transplanted, the mother bush is divided into several parts, each of which becomes an independent plant.
After planting, the seedling is cared for more thoroughly in the first year until the plant has completely taken root and begins to bloom and bear fruit.
Diseases and pests
The most common diseases of barberry Bagatelle:
- powdery mildew;
- rust;
- spotting of various types;
- withering.
It should be treated with specialized preparations, according to the instructions.
Of the pests, the most dangerous is the barberry aphid, which leads to wilting and wrinkling of leaves. Soap and tobacco solutions are used for prevention and treatment.
Conclusion
Barberry Bagatelle is used to decorate areas, and its fruit is a healing agent that is used in many traditional medicine recipes. This variety is distinguished by its compact shrub and unpretentiousness. The red leaves, which look especially rich in sunny areas, evoke admiration. In the presence of shade, the leaves become green, which does not look so luxurious.
